Bg 9.30
api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
Bg 9.31
kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
Translation
30. Even if the most sinful worships Me, with devotion to none else, (or with single-pointedness) , he too should indeed be regarded as 'righteous, ' for he has rightly resolved.
31. Soon he becomes righteous and attains Eternal Peace, O Kaunteya, know for certain that My devotee is never destroyed.
Commentary
The practice of devotion, understood in the special meaning in which it is used in the Geeta, is glorified here by indicating its effects upon each individual practitioner. In the Geeta, Bhakti is selfless contemplation with a single-pointed mind upon the non-dual Brahman considered as nothing other than the very Essence in the devotee. When this Bhakti is practised for a sufficiently long time, with the required intensity and sincerity, the evolution in the individual is mapped out here showing the various stages in its efflorescence.
Ordinarily, there is a vague belief that a vicious sinner or a desperate criminal is an outcaste, who can never dare to enter the courtyard of heaven. This condemnation of the immoral sinner is an unhappy mis-reading of the spirit of Vedic literature. THE VEDAS CONDEMN THE SIN, NOT THE SINNER. The evil ways of the sinner are but expressions of the evil thoughts in his mind, and so, if the texture of the thoughts flowing in his mind could be changed, the texture of his behaviour would also be transformed. He who has come to keep consistently in his mind, thoughts of the Lord, accomplishes, in the warmth of his growing devotion, so total a rehabilitation of the mental life that he cannot thereafter carry on his career in sin.
EVEN IF A WICKED PERSON WORSHIPS ME --- Not only does the Geeta throw its gates open to the sinners, but the Singer of the Divine Song also seems to have great missionary zeal to redeem all sinners, and bless them. Even those who are given to evil ways are not debarred from entering the field of spirituality because of their undivine actions and the impurity of their lives. The only insistence is that the worship of the Self must be performed by the devotee with "undivided devotion." Here the term 'undivided' (Ananya) can be applied both to the 'mind of the meditator' and to the 'goal meditated upon.' On the whole, the phrase implies that devotion can pay its promised dividend only when the devotee, with a single-pointed mind, contemplates upon a goal that is non-dual and permanent. The non-dual Self is not to be considered as different from the very Essence in the devotee himself (Ananya).
HE SHOULD BE REGARDED AS GOOD --- Even though he has been, till this day, a man of evil ways, wicked and cruel, living the life of the senses, uncontrolled and passionate, even then, from the moment he has taken to the path of contemplation upon the Supreme, with devotion, he is to be considered, says Krishna, as 'SAINTLY AND GOOD.' Such usage of words is common to every language, when we want to emphatically assert a state or condition to be fulfilled in the immediate future. In all such cases, we claim it as a state accomplished, even in the present 'baking the bread,' 'making the tea,' are all examples when, even while kneading the flour or boiling the water, we refer to these acts with a term indicating anticipatory fulfilment. Similarly here, one who has taken to the "Path Divine" is called, from that very moment, as "GOOD AND SAINTLY" because he will soon (Acirat) grow out of himself to thrive and flourish in the vaster atmosphere of spiritual glory; it is an anticipatory statement.
Such an individual is to be considered good and divine, "FOR," as Krishna puts it, "HE HAS RIGHTLY RESOLVED." In the Life Divine, right resolution is more important than mere routine. The majority of seekers only plod on their "paths" --- a melancholy brood, like famished cattle, treading their way to the meat-market! Such a melancholy procession can reach nowhere but the butcher's block where Time hacks them into pieces! He who steadily walks the path with an iron-heart of resolution, open-eyed and enthusiastic, cheerful and heroic, alone is noted for sure success and therefore, the Flute-bearer emphatically asserts that the rightly resolved man of evil ways is to be considered, from the moment of his noble decision, as one especially marked out to be soon a successful man-of-Perfection.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WHAT YOU ARE TALKING IS NOT A BLUFF? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE EFFECT OF SUCH A SINGLE-POINTED DEVOTION?
The logical thoughts that lie behind the daring assertion of Krishna are being indicated in this stanza. When a man of evil ways takes to a life of single-pointed devotion propelled by his ardent resolve, that man "SOON BECOMES RIGHTEOUS." The term Dharma was already explained as "the Law of Being." Just as heat is the specific quality (Dharma) of fire, without which fire cannot exist, the Dharma of man is the Divine Atman in his heart, without which none of his personality layers can ever come to express themselves. Therefore, the term 'Dharmatma,' in the stanza, is not fully expressed when it is translated as 'a man of righteousness.'
Single-pointed devotion and self-application develop concentration, and therefore, enhance the subtlety of perception of the mind, and such a mind finds its balance even in the highest altitudes of meditative flights. "IN GOOD TIME," meaning, ere long, he gains glimpses of the Infinite experience and thus, comes to live more and more as a dynamic saint, wafting the fragrance of divinity through his motives, thoughts, and actions.
This substantial edifice of peace which strengthens and fortifies the existence in us, is the tranquillity divine, which we come to live as our essential being when the mind stops its mad revelry among its agitations and excitements. There is no religion in the world which does not point to this goal, which can be experienced when the mind is at rest. A still mind is an open window through which man peeps out to see himself reflected in the mirror of Truth. The term guaranteeing here that "a true devotee soon REACHES the Supreme Peace," is to be rightly understood not as a destination that lies far away from us, but only as a REDISCOVERY IN OURSELVES OF OUR OWN REAL NATURE.
The perfection indicated in religion lies only as far away from us as our waking state is from our dream. It is a question of rightly adjusting the focus; if a camera is 'out of focus' the photograph will give only a blurred representation of fairyland, while the same scene photographed by the same camera, well-focussed and adjusted, gives us the photograph in all its gorgeous beauty, and wealth of detail. A mind and intellect, mal-adjusted and incessantly getting shunted among the ever-rising waves of desires and passions, are not the right instruments to cognise and discover the Truth that lies within itself.
The second line of the stanza brings out the incomparable missionary in Krishna, who bursts out into an assertion, in his own rising fire and enthusiasm. After declaring the truth that even a man of dire evil ways can start his pilgrimage on the very day he takes unto himself the firm resolve to re-educate his mind, and after indicating the stages of his growth, till he reaches the Supreme Peace, Krishna, as it were, pats Arjuna on the back and declares "MY DEVOTEE IS NEVER DESTROYED."
Toeing the line of the Rishis, Krishna says that Arjuna should declare from house-tops the one unchallengeable truth that the seeker of the nobler values shall know no failure if his resolve is firm and if he be sincere in his self-application. The special phrase, employed here to declare Krishna's advice to Arjuna, Pratijaneehi, has, in Sanskrit, its own special powers of assertion, and it can express a sort of imperative urgency. Those who are students of the Sanskrit language can easily perceive it; those who are not, may make a note of the same.
In short, this and the previous stanza together express that he who has come to entertain constantly, at least in one corner of his mind, a continuous awareness of the Divine Principle and allows it to influence the rest of his mental field, is the one marked out for progress and growth, both in his life within and in his life without. Just as a blue street light adds a blue tinge to the colour of the dresses of all those who pass under it, irrespective of the actual colour of their various dresses, so too, in the blaze of Divine Awareness, even criminal thoughts rising in that mind would gather the golden hues of godly perfections. Just as moth-balls kept in a wardrobe protect all the clothes kept therein and keep away all the worms, so too, the constant Smarana of the Divine Nature of the Self protects the human personality from the destructive worms of its inner negativeness.
Sources: Vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
Bg 9.31
kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
Translation
30. Even if the most sinful worships Me, with devotion to none else, (or with single-pointedness) , he too should indeed be regarded as 'righteous, ' for he has rightly resolved.
31. Soon he becomes righteous and attains Eternal Peace, O Kaunteya, know for certain that My devotee is never destroyed.
Commentary
The practice of devotion, understood in the special meaning in which it is used in the Geeta, is glorified here by indicating its effects upon each individual practitioner. In the Geeta, Bhakti is selfless contemplation with a single-pointed mind upon the non-dual Brahman considered as nothing other than the very Essence in the devotee. When this Bhakti is practised for a sufficiently long time, with the required intensity and sincerity, the evolution in the individual is mapped out here showing the various stages in its efflorescence.
Ordinarily, there is a vague belief that a vicious sinner or a desperate criminal is an outcaste, who can never dare to enter the courtyard of heaven. This condemnation of the immoral sinner is an unhappy mis-reading of the spirit of Vedic literature. THE VEDAS CONDEMN THE SIN, NOT THE SINNER. The evil ways of the sinner are but expressions of the evil thoughts in his mind, and so, if the texture of the thoughts flowing in his mind could be changed, the texture of his behaviour would also be transformed. He who has come to keep consistently in his mind, thoughts of the Lord, accomplishes, in the warmth of his growing devotion, so total a rehabilitation of the mental life that he cannot thereafter carry on his career in sin.
EVEN IF A WICKED PERSON WORSHIPS ME --- Not only does the Geeta throw its gates open to the sinners, but the Singer of the Divine Song also seems to have great missionary zeal to redeem all sinners, and bless them. Even those who are given to evil ways are not debarred from entering the field of spirituality because of their undivine actions and the impurity of their lives. The only insistence is that the worship of the Self must be performed by the devotee with "undivided devotion." Here the term 'undivided' (Ananya) can be applied both to the 'mind of the meditator' and to the 'goal meditated upon.' On the whole, the phrase implies that devotion can pay its promised dividend only when the devotee, with a single-pointed mind, contemplates upon a goal that is non-dual and permanent. The non-dual Self is not to be considered as different from the very Essence in the devotee himself (Ananya).
HE SHOULD BE REGARDED AS GOOD --- Even though he has been, till this day, a man of evil ways, wicked and cruel, living the life of the senses, uncontrolled and passionate, even then, from the moment he has taken to the path of contemplation upon the Supreme, with devotion, he is to be considered, says Krishna, as 'SAINTLY AND GOOD.' Such usage of words is common to every language, when we want to emphatically assert a state or condition to be fulfilled in the immediate future. In all such cases, we claim it as a state accomplished, even in the present 'baking the bread,' 'making the tea,' are all examples when, even while kneading the flour or boiling the water, we refer to these acts with a term indicating anticipatory fulfilment. Similarly here, one who has taken to the "Path Divine" is called, from that very moment, as "GOOD AND SAINTLY" because he will soon (Acirat) grow out of himself to thrive and flourish in the vaster atmosphere of spiritual glory; it is an anticipatory statement.
Such an individual is to be considered good and divine, "FOR," as Krishna puts it, "HE HAS RIGHTLY RESOLVED." In the Life Divine, right resolution is more important than mere routine. The majority of seekers only plod on their "paths" --- a melancholy brood, like famished cattle, treading their way to the meat-market! Such a melancholy procession can reach nowhere but the butcher's block where Time hacks them into pieces! He who steadily walks the path with an iron-heart of resolution, open-eyed and enthusiastic, cheerful and heroic, alone is noted for sure success and therefore, the Flute-bearer emphatically asserts that the rightly resolved man of evil ways is to be considered, from the moment of his noble decision, as one especially marked out to be soon a successful man-of-Perfection.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WHAT YOU ARE TALKING IS NOT A BLUFF? WHAT EXACTLY IS THE EFFECT OF SUCH A SINGLE-POINTED DEVOTION?
The logical thoughts that lie behind the daring assertion of Krishna are being indicated in this stanza. When a man of evil ways takes to a life of single-pointed devotion propelled by his ardent resolve, that man "SOON BECOMES RIGHTEOUS." The term Dharma was already explained as "the Law of Being." Just as heat is the specific quality (Dharma) of fire, without which fire cannot exist, the Dharma of man is the Divine Atman in his heart, without which none of his personality layers can ever come to express themselves. Therefore, the term 'Dharmatma,' in the stanza, is not fully expressed when it is translated as 'a man of righteousness.'
Single-pointed devotion and self-application develop concentration, and therefore, enhance the subtlety of perception of the mind, and such a mind finds its balance even in the highest altitudes of meditative flights. "IN GOOD TIME," meaning, ere long, he gains glimpses of the Infinite experience and thus, comes to live more and more as a dynamic saint, wafting the fragrance of divinity through his motives, thoughts, and actions.
This substantial edifice of peace which strengthens and fortifies the existence in us, is the tranquillity divine, which we come to live as our essential being when the mind stops its mad revelry among its agitations and excitements. There is no religion in the world which does not point to this goal, which can be experienced when the mind is at rest. A still mind is an open window through which man peeps out to see himself reflected in the mirror of Truth. The term guaranteeing here that "a true devotee soon REACHES the Supreme Peace," is to be rightly understood not as a destination that lies far away from us, but only as a REDISCOVERY IN OURSELVES OF OUR OWN REAL NATURE.
The perfection indicated in religion lies only as far away from us as our waking state is from our dream. It is a question of rightly adjusting the focus; if a camera is 'out of focus' the photograph will give only a blurred representation of fairyland, while the same scene photographed by the same camera, well-focussed and adjusted, gives us the photograph in all its gorgeous beauty, and wealth of detail. A mind and intellect, mal-adjusted and incessantly getting shunted among the ever-rising waves of desires and passions, are not the right instruments to cognise and discover the Truth that lies within itself.
The second line of the stanza brings out the incomparable missionary in Krishna, who bursts out into an assertion, in his own rising fire and enthusiasm. After declaring the truth that even a man of dire evil ways can start his pilgrimage on the very day he takes unto himself the firm resolve to re-educate his mind, and after indicating the stages of his growth, till he reaches the Supreme Peace, Krishna, as it were, pats Arjuna on the back and declares "MY DEVOTEE IS NEVER DESTROYED."
Toeing the line of the Rishis, Krishna says that Arjuna should declare from house-tops the one unchallengeable truth that the seeker of the nobler values shall know no failure if his resolve is firm and if he be sincere in his self-application. The special phrase, employed here to declare Krishna's advice to Arjuna, Pratijaneehi, has, in Sanskrit, its own special powers of assertion, and it can express a sort of imperative urgency. Those who are students of the Sanskrit language can easily perceive it; those who are not, may make a note of the same.
In short, this and the previous stanza together express that he who has come to entertain constantly, at least in one corner of his mind, a continuous awareness of the Divine Principle and allows it to influence the rest of his mental field, is the one marked out for progress and growth, both in his life within and in his life without. Just as a blue street light adds a blue tinge to the colour of the dresses of all those who pass under it, irrespective of the actual colour of their various dresses, so too, in the blaze of Divine Awareness, even criminal thoughts rising in that mind would gather the golden hues of godly perfections. Just as moth-balls kept in a wardrobe protect all the clothes kept therein and keep away all the worms, so too, the constant Smarana of the Divine Nature of the Self protects the human personality from the destructive worms of its inner negativeness.
Sources: Vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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