Shrimad Bhagavad Gita · 34 verses
Chapter 9: The Royal Secret
The most secret knowledge: God pervades everything. Even a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water offered with love is accepted.
All verses, with meaning
9.1The most secret knowledgeKrishna says: Because you do not find fault, I will tell you this most secret knowledge, a…9.2King of knowledgeThis is the king of knowledge and the king of secrets, supremely pure. It can be directly …9.3The need for faithPeople who have no faith in this dharma, Arjuna, fail to reach me and keep returning to th…9.4All rests in GodThis whole world is pervaded by me in my unmanifest form. All beings rest in me, but I do …9.5God's divine mysteryAnd yet beings do not rest in me — behold my divine mystery! I sustain and bring forth all…9.6Wind in the skyAs the mighty wind, moving everywhere, always rests in space, so all beings rest in me — u…9.7The cosmic cycleAt the end of a cosmic age, Arjuna, all beings merge into my nature; at the start of the n…9.8Creation again and againTaking hold of my own nature, I create again and again this whole multitude of beings, who…9.9God unbound by actionThese actions do not bind me, Arjuna, for I remain unattached to them, seated as one who i…9.10Nature under God's watchUnder my watch, nature gives birth to all that moves and does not move. Because of this, A…9.11Failing to see the avatarThe deluded disregard me when I take a human form, not knowing my higher nature as the gre…9.12Empty hopesTheir hopes, actions and knowledge are all in vain. Without discernment, they cling to a d…9.13Devotion of great soulsBut great souls, Partha, rooted in divine nature, worship me with undivided minds, knowing…9.14Singing and bowingAlways singing my glories, striving with firm vows, and bowing to me in devotion, they wor…9.15Worship by knowledgeOthers worship me through the offering of knowledge — as the One, as distinct from themsel…9.16God in every offeringI am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the offering to the ancestors, I am the healing …9.17Mother and father of allI am the father of this world, the mother, the sustainer and the grandsire. I am what is t…9.18God as refuge and friendI am the goal, the support, the Lord, the witness, the home, the refuge and the friend. I …9.19Immortality and deathI give heat; I hold back and send forth the rain. I am immortality and death, Arjuna; I am…9.20Seeking heavenThose versed in the three Vedas, purified by drinking soma, worship me with sacrifices and…9.21Return when merit endsHaving enjoyed that vast heaven, they return to the mortal world when their merit runs out…9.22God carries their welfareFor those who worship me with undivided thought, always united with me, I bring what they …9.23All worship reaches GodEven devotees who worship other gods with faith are in fact worshipping me alone, Arjuna, …9.24Lord of all offeringsFor I am the enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifices. But they do not know me in truth, and so …9.25As you worship, you reachThose devoted to the gods go to the gods; those devoted to the ancestors go to the ancesto…9.26A leaf, a flower, a fruitWhoever offers me with love a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water — that loving gift…9.27Offer everything to GodWhatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in worship, whatever you give and wh…9.28Freedom through offeringIn this way you will be freed from the bonds of action and their good and bad fruits. With…9.29God is equal to allI am the same to all beings; no one is hateful or especially dear to me. But those who wor…9.30Devotion transformsEven if a person of very bad conduct worships me with undivided devotion, he should be reg…9.31My devotee never perishesHe soon becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. Declare it boldly, Arjuna: my devotee…9.32Devotion is open to allPartha, whoever takes refuge in me — even those society looks down on, women, merchants or…9.33Worship in this passing worldHow much more, then, the virtuous brahmins and devoted royal sages! Having come into this …9.34Fix your mind on meFix your mind on me, be my devotee, worship me and bow to me. Uniting yourself with me thi…