Bg 9.23
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
Bg 9.24
ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te
Bg 9.25
yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām
Translation
23. Even those devotees, who, endowed with faith worship other gods, worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, (but) by the wrong method.
24. (For) I alone am the enjoyer in and the Lord of all sacrifices; but they do not know Me in Essence, and hence they fall (return to this mortal world) .
25. The worshippers of the DEVAS or gods go to the DEVAS; to the PITRIS or ancestors go the ancestor-worshippers; to the BHUTAS or the elements go worshippers of the BHUTAS; but My worshippers come unto Me.
Commentary
All the people in the world do not worship at the same altar. Not only is this physically impossible, but it is psychologically absurd, since tastes differ from person to person.
The devotees, during their respective worship at the different altars, adore the same Vitality that is the Substratum for the created world of change. Even when they worship different deities, if their devotion is sufficiently reinforced with perfect faith, they are invoking nothing but the one Eternal Truth expressed through the form of their adoration. When once we accept the Infinite Reality as "One-without-a-second," remaining the same in the past, present, and future, it is evident that the Self, as Consciousness --- that expresses through the equipments of all Saints and Sages, Prophets and Incarnations of the past --- is one and the same.
Toleration is the very breath of the Hindu creed, and we have already discussed earlier, how non-dualists, accepting the Absolute as Infinite, cannot but be tolerant. Intolerance is the creed of those who accept a single Prophet as God. Even among Hindus, all these who worship as members of a particular creed or sect, are generally found to be unrelenting fanatics. Some crude examples are even noticed where a devotee of one deity believes that, to utter blasphemies against the deities of others is adoration of his own beloved Lord! These are mere perversions, obnoxious and vulgar, which have no sanction in the Bible of the Hindus or anywhere in the cultural tradition initiated by the Rishis.
The large-heartedness and endless love in the heart of Krishna makes him declare here that "THEY TOO WORSHIP ME ALONE, EVEN THOUGH BY WRONG METHODS."
The stanza, viewed as an instruction for the external life in the work-a-day-world, suggests that, instead of seeking the infinite profit of the Bliss of Self-hood, those devotees who are trying to invoke other limited gains in the different fields of human activity, are also invoking the Grace of the Self --- only "BY THE WRONG METHOD."
Even the most sensuous, when he is planning to earn, to save and to spend so that he may procure, possess and enjoy the sensuous objects, is invoking the dormant capacities that lie in the Self in him. Sans Self none will be able to act either negatively or positively. Even in the case of suicide, a person is invoking Life, inasmuch as, even in the act of raising a weapon against himself, he is misusing the Grace of the manifested Life in him.
In this context the phrase "BY THE WRONG METHOD" only indicates that ultimately, it leads the seekers to the wells of dejection and sorrow that lie in the darkness of the not-Self, instead of leading to the Bliss-of-Perfection which is the nature of the Self.
WHY DO WE CALL THEIR METHODS AS "AGAINST WHAT THE LAW ORDAINS"?
In all ritualistic sacrifices, the Self alone is "THE ENJOYER AND THE LORD." It is the Self, in one form or another, expressing some special power that goes to form the different deities, for the invocation of whom the various sacrifices are performed by the seekers of their grace. Here the Lord says "I am the Immutable Reality" that is behind all the deities that are invoked during every sacrifice with faith and devotion, be it in a Temple or a Church, in a Mosque or a Synagogue. But because they invoke "limited potentials in Me" (Devatas) they do not come to realise "My Infinite Glory revelling as their Self," and therefore, jumping from one worship to another, they slip down to fall into delusory confusions and endless entanglements.
Applying it to life, in all fields of activity wherein men strive (Yajna), they are invoking some finite profit or the other (deity), and do not strive to improve spiritually so as to come to rediscover the Self as their own essential nature. Treading on the slippery slopes of sensuality, they fall to the levels of brutal animalism and prove themselves a disgrace to the dignity and status of man.
Complete happiness and satisfaction, perfect contentment and peace, lie only in the innermost precincts of the bosom and not in the extrovert fields of profit and success, glory and fame. Unmindful of this enduring profit that lies within themselves, men, bitten by a thousand scorpions of desire, run amuck --- bringing about chaos and sorrows not only to themselves but to others walking the same road. Necessarily, therefore, when a generation of such deluded people come to live, freely encouraging their own mental weaknesses, and never caring to pause and estimate their own actions, the history of that period can be written only upon the face of a blasted world with the very blood of the killed and the maimed --- diluted with the tears of the bereaved mothers and widows! Indeed, they return to the sorrows of the mortals (Chyavanti te).
HOW CAN WE SAY THAT EVEN THOSE WHO ARE INVOKING THE ETERNAL BY METHODS WHICH THE LAW DOES NOT ORDAIN, COME TO ENJOY THEIR CERTAIN FRUITS?... LISTEN:
It is the law-of-life that as you think so you become. The thoughts entertained at a given moment get crystallised to form a blue-print for the individual's character formation in days to come. This is a fact, very well realisable by everyone in his own life. Applying this natural law of psychology in the field of spiritual self-development, Lord Krishna says: "VOTARIES OF THE DEVAS GO TO THE DEVAS," etc. The worshippers of the Devas, ancestors (Pitris), and the elements (Bhutas), as a result of their worship and adoration with single-pointed mind for a sufficiently long time, come to attain the desires of their constant meditation.
Devas, we have seen, represent the various sense-organs, through which we experience the world. To indicate the work done, by the term denoting the instrument with which the work is executed, is quite common in life. To axe, to scissor, to knife, to hammer, to steer, to pen, etc., are examples wherein the name of the instrument is employed to indicate the work done with it. Similarly, here also, the plural noun 'Devas,' may be taken to mean "the entire field of all physical experiences." Those who are courting the external world of joys and successes consistently and with the required amount of devotion, come to gain that field of demanded experiences.
Accepting the term 'Pitri' as denoting the 'ancestors,' 'votaries of ancestors' would mean 'persons who are enthusiastically alive to the cultural purity and tradition of their ancients, and who are striving to live up to those ideals.' An individual, who is constantly endeavouring to live up to the ancient cultural tradition of spiritual India, as a result of his constant self-application, comes to gain the beauty and the shine of the exquisite life of purity and perfection.
The ancient Seers of our land did not overlook the fact that, apart from the spiritual aims, in any society, there would also be active scientific enquiries and repeated discoveries that were possible among the folds of Mother Nature's own garments. The active quest in the field of "objective-sciences" is a part of man's hunt for knowledge, and therefore, the "worshippers of the Bhutas," are the secular scientists who try to observe, codify and systematize the observed knowledge of physical nature and behaviour of things and beings as it is now done under such classifications as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Zoology, Botany, Engineering, Agriculture, Politics, Sociology, Geography, History, Geology, and so on --- an endless array of specialised lines of investigation, adopted, pursued and accepted by the modern world. A large portion of the Atharvana Veda gave us the accepted theories of nature and its behaviour, as finally conceived of by the Rishis of that time. The psychological theory, which Krishna is observing here, is applicable to all branches of human endeavour --- that is, if one were to pursue diligently even in the secular field, success would be assured in direct proportion to the amount of self-application put forth by the seeker.
Thus, if consistency of meditation upon the Devas yields the Devas; if constant meditation upon the "ancestors" takes us to our ancestral heritage; and if diligent self-application in the fields of intellectual enquiry (Bhutas) can ultimately assure us a positive success in ripping open the secret vaults of nature --- then, according to the same principle, we are assured that, "MY VOTARIES COME UNTO ME." By constant meditation, with a single-pointed mind, upon the nature of the Self, the meditator can, in the long run, successfully discover his total identity with the Self, Eternal and Immutable. In our elementary text-books on Vedanta, this technique of the ego's constant meditation on the Self and its ultimate transformation into the Divine Self, has been indicated by comparing it with the manner in which a "worm" is transformed into a wasp.
The attempt of the Geeta is to give, not only the Jnana but also to supply the Vijnana. In order to convince the student that this elementary technique can take the seeker to the highest achievements, this stanza is given. Just as consistent pursuit with all dedicated self-application brings, in the end, sure success in all fields of activity of art or science, so too, in the realm of the "within," and ultimately in the field of spiritual achievement, constant meditation will definitely pay. The logic behind this assurance is given here by the Lord.
Sources: Vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
Bg 9.24
ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te
Bg 9.25
yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām
Translation
23. Even those devotees, who, endowed with faith worship other gods, worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, (but) by the wrong method.
24. (For) I alone am the enjoyer in and the Lord of all sacrifices; but they do not know Me in Essence, and hence they fall (return to this mortal world) .
25. The worshippers of the DEVAS or gods go to the DEVAS; to the PITRIS or ancestors go the ancestor-worshippers; to the BHUTAS or the elements go worshippers of the BHUTAS; but My worshippers come unto Me.
Commentary
All the people in the world do not worship at the same altar. Not only is this physically impossible, but it is psychologically absurd, since tastes differ from person to person.
The devotees, during their respective worship at the different altars, adore the same Vitality that is the Substratum for the created world of change. Even when they worship different deities, if their devotion is sufficiently reinforced with perfect faith, they are invoking nothing but the one Eternal Truth expressed through the form of their adoration. When once we accept the Infinite Reality as "One-without-a-second," remaining the same in the past, present, and future, it is evident that the Self, as Consciousness --- that expresses through the equipments of all Saints and Sages, Prophets and Incarnations of the past --- is one and the same.
Toleration is the very breath of the Hindu creed, and we have already discussed earlier, how non-dualists, accepting the Absolute as Infinite, cannot but be tolerant. Intolerance is the creed of those who accept a single Prophet as God. Even among Hindus, all these who worship as members of a particular creed or sect, are generally found to be unrelenting fanatics. Some crude examples are even noticed where a devotee of one deity believes that, to utter blasphemies against the deities of others is adoration of his own beloved Lord! These are mere perversions, obnoxious and vulgar, which have no sanction in the Bible of the Hindus or anywhere in the cultural tradition initiated by the Rishis.
The large-heartedness and endless love in the heart of Krishna makes him declare here that "THEY TOO WORSHIP ME ALONE, EVEN THOUGH BY WRONG METHODS."
The stanza, viewed as an instruction for the external life in the work-a-day-world, suggests that, instead of seeking the infinite profit of the Bliss of Self-hood, those devotees who are trying to invoke other limited gains in the different fields of human activity, are also invoking the Grace of the Self --- only "BY THE WRONG METHOD."
Even the most sensuous, when he is planning to earn, to save and to spend so that he may procure, possess and enjoy the sensuous objects, is invoking the dormant capacities that lie in the Self in him. Sans Self none will be able to act either negatively or positively. Even in the case of suicide, a person is invoking Life, inasmuch as, even in the act of raising a weapon against himself, he is misusing the Grace of the manifested Life in him.
In this context the phrase "BY THE WRONG METHOD" only indicates that ultimately, it leads the seekers to the wells of dejection and sorrow that lie in the darkness of the not-Self, instead of leading to the Bliss-of-Perfection which is the nature of the Self.
WHY DO WE CALL THEIR METHODS AS "AGAINST WHAT THE LAW ORDAINS"?
In all ritualistic sacrifices, the Self alone is "THE ENJOYER AND THE LORD." It is the Self, in one form or another, expressing some special power that goes to form the different deities, for the invocation of whom the various sacrifices are performed by the seekers of their grace. Here the Lord says "I am the Immutable Reality" that is behind all the deities that are invoked during every sacrifice with faith and devotion, be it in a Temple or a Church, in a Mosque or a Synagogue. But because they invoke "limited potentials in Me" (Devatas) they do not come to realise "My Infinite Glory revelling as their Self," and therefore, jumping from one worship to another, they slip down to fall into delusory confusions and endless entanglements.
Applying it to life, in all fields of activity wherein men strive (Yajna), they are invoking some finite profit or the other (deity), and do not strive to improve spiritually so as to come to rediscover the Self as their own essential nature. Treading on the slippery slopes of sensuality, they fall to the levels of brutal animalism and prove themselves a disgrace to the dignity and status of man.
Complete happiness and satisfaction, perfect contentment and peace, lie only in the innermost precincts of the bosom and not in the extrovert fields of profit and success, glory and fame. Unmindful of this enduring profit that lies within themselves, men, bitten by a thousand scorpions of desire, run amuck --- bringing about chaos and sorrows not only to themselves but to others walking the same road. Necessarily, therefore, when a generation of such deluded people come to live, freely encouraging their own mental weaknesses, and never caring to pause and estimate their own actions, the history of that period can be written only upon the face of a blasted world with the very blood of the killed and the maimed --- diluted with the tears of the bereaved mothers and widows! Indeed, they return to the sorrows of the mortals (Chyavanti te).
HOW CAN WE SAY THAT EVEN THOSE WHO ARE INVOKING THE ETERNAL BY METHODS WHICH THE LAW DOES NOT ORDAIN, COME TO ENJOY THEIR CERTAIN FRUITS?... LISTEN:
It is the law-of-life that as you think so you become. The thoughts entertained at a given moment get crystallised to form a blue-print for the individual's character formation in days to come. This is a fact, very well realisable by everyone in his own life. Applying this natural law of psychology in the field of spiritual self-development, Lord Krishna says: "VOTARIES OF THE DEVAS GO TO THE DEVAS," etc. The worshippers of the Devas, ancestors (Pitris), and the elements (Bhutas), as a result of their worship and adoration with single-pointed mind for a sufficiently long time, come to attain the desires of their constant meditation.
Devas, we have seen, represent the various sense-organs, through which we experience the world. To indicate the work done, by the term denoting the instrument with which the work is executed, is quite common in life. To axe, to scissor, to knife, to hammer, to steer, to pen, etc., are examples wherein the name of the instrument is employed to indicate the work done with it. Similarly, here also, the plural noun 'Devas,' may be taken to mean "the entire field of all physical experiences." Those who are courting the external world of joys and successes consistently and with the required amount of devotion, come to gain that field of demanded experiences.
Accepting the term 'Pitri' as denoting the 'ancestors,' 'votaries of ancestors' would mean 'persons who are enthusiastically alive to the cultural purity and tradition of their ancients, and who are striving to live up to those ideals.' An individual, who is constantly endeavouring to live up to the ancient cultural tradition of spiritual India, as a result of his constant self-application, comes to gain the beauty and the shine of the exquisite life of purity and perfection.
The ancient Seers of our land did not overlook the fact that, apart from the spiritual aims, in any society, there would also be active scientific enquiries and repeated discoveries that were possible among the folds of Mother Nature's own garments. The active quest in the field of "objective-sciences" is a part of man's hunt for knowledge, and therefore, the "worshippers of the Bhutas," are the secular scientists who try to observe, codify and systematize the observed knowledge of physical nature and behaviour of things and beings as it is now done under such classifications as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Zoology, Botany, Engineering, Agriculture, Politics, Sociology, Geography, History, Geology, and so on --- an endless array of specialised lines of investigation, adopted, pursued and accepted by the modern world. A large portion of the Atharvana Veda gave us the accepted theories of nature and its behaviour, as finally conceived of by the Rishis of that time. The psychological theory, which Krishna is observing here, is applicable to all branches of human endeavour --- that is, if one were to pursue diligently even in the secular field, success would be assured in direct proportion to the amount of self-application put forth by the seeker.
Thus, if consistency of meditation upon the Devas yields the Devas; if constant meditation upon the "ancestors" takes us to our ancestral heritage; and if diligent self-application in the fields of intellectual enquiry (Bhutas) can ultimately assure us a positive success in ripping open the secret vaults of nature --- then, according to the same principle, we are assured that, "MY VOTARIES COME UNTO ME." By constant meditation, with a single-pointed mind, upon the nature of the Self, the meditator can, in the long run, successfully discover his total identity with the Self, Eternal and Immutable. In our elementary text-books on Vedanta, this technique of the ego's constant meditation on the Self and its ultimate transformation into the Divine Self, has been indicated by comparing it with the manner in which a "worm" is transformed into a wasp.
The attempt of the Geeta is to give, not only the Jnana but also to supply the Vijnana. In order to convince the student that this elementary technique can take the seeker to the highest achievements, this stanza is given. Just as consistent pursuit with all dedicated self-application brings, in the end, sure success in all fields of activity of art or science, so too, in the realm of the "within," and ultimately in the field of spiritual achievement, constant meditation will definitely pay. The logic behind this assurance is given here by the Lord.
Sources: Vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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