Introduction

The eighth Adhyãya ended with glorificatary notes about Brahman - conscious state to be attained through devotional meditation. This state surpasses all pious fruits derived from studying Vedas, performing sacrifices or austere penance’s and giving charity etc. Knowing the Absolute he reaches the highest abode. Path of meditation requires the physical and mental control through the practice of Pãtanjal Yõga. Concentrating one’s mind on syllable om, the symbolic representation of the Brahman, the Absolute, is an essential factor in this exercise. However effective this method be it is very difficult for common men to follow it. Getting the knowledge of Imperishable Unmanifest and to attain the state of transcendental bliss remains beyond common man’s reach. Understanding this difficulty the Lord opens up a royal path easily to be practised by anybody irrespective of his mental, intellectual and physical power. This is the path of devotion wherein the Absolute Formless Brahman appears in the manifested form and becomes the object of personal love. The theme of the ninth Adhyaya is Saguna bhakti, the devotion of the God manifesting in human form.

Verses 1 to 6

The Lord promises Arjuna that he would impart to him the profoundest of the secrets, the Divine knowledge of God along with the knowledge of Its universal manifestations in physical world. This enlightenment will free him from the evil.

This knowledge is royal and supreme, the king of secrets, the most sacred realised through the direct experience, of righteous nature, easy to be practised and eternal.

But those who do not keep faith in this sacred path fail to attain Him and again return back on this path of mortal world.

The supreme Lord has pervaded this entire universe by His unmanifest nature. All creatures exist within him but the Lord does not exist in them. And yet these creatures do not exist in Him. Know this as His miraculous power, the divine mystery. He being the very source of creation and though sustains all creatures, He does not exist in them. As the mighty wind wandering every where always stays in the sky, know in the same manner these creatures stay in Him.

Godhead being in two opposing forms, one nirguna, having no attributes and the second saguna having attributes these contradictory statements arise. The Lord’s mystic power is beyond intellectual understanding . The Lord now turns up to describing the cycle of creation :-

Verses 7 to 10

At the end of the kalpa of millennium years all these creatures return to His nature called Prakriti and at the beginning of another kalpa, He again brings them out.

Activating His divine power called Prakriti He automatically and repeatedly creates the entire cosmic order which is helpless being under the control of Prakriti.

But these acts do not bind Him because He remains indifferent and totally detached from such activities.

Under His supervision this Prakriti produces moving and non - moving beings and that is why this world spins into creation and dissolution.

Verses 11 to 19

Even after creating the entire universe how is it that the Absolute Brahman remains action less? Every entity is born according to its own Karma in previous life and the Godhead has no hand in it. After explaining the cycle of creation, the Lord briefly describes the two categories of people divine and demoniac.

The ignorant fools insult Him who has taken a human form not knowing His status as the Lord of all beings. These people take the shelter of demoniac and monstrous but attractive nature. Vain are their hopes and in vain their activities. Their knowledge in vain. They are lost in madness. But the great souls who possess the divine nature worship Him with undivided mind knowing Him as the eternal source of all living entities.

Always chanting His glories, striving hard with steadfast vows, offering salutations to Him and always following Yoga, they worship Him.

Others worship Him with the sacrifice of knowledge realising Brahman everywhere, in one form or many forms or in the universal form.

The Lord starts describing his presence in various things of noble existence. He says " I am the sacrificial rituals , I am the sacrifice. I am the offering made to forefathers. I am the medicinal herbs. I am the mantra, hymn. I am the purified butter. I am the fire and I am the oblation offered.

I am the father of this world. I am the mother, the sustainer; the grandfather. I am the goal of knowledge, I am the sacred OM I am Rik, sama and yajus.

I am the place where the journey ends, I am the sustainer, the Lord, the witness, the refuge, the friend. I am the beginning and the dissolution, I am the preservation, the resting place and the seed that is imperishable. I offer heat, I send and withdraw rains. I am the nectar, I am the death. I am the real, I am the unreal.

Verses 20 to 28

The Lord presented a brief picture of diversity of forms of the Absolute Godhead and it’s relationship with it’s creation Now he starts telling the difference between the worship of the Higher and the worship of the lower.

Those well versed in triple vadas, the drinker of sõma juice and whose sins are purified, worship Him by offering sacrifices and pray for heavenly abode. And attaining the sacred world of heaven there they enjoy godly pleasures.

Having enjoyed pleasures of specious heaven, they return to the mortal world once their merits are exhausted. Thus following the path of rites of Vedas and motivated by sense enjoyment they obtain the constant cycle of birth and death.

The Lord brings to our attention his important obligation when he proclaims: -

I take care in fulfilling the needs and protecting the possessions of those who become constantly absorbed in Me by their worship of undistracted meditation upon me.

The worshippers of gods go to gods, the worshippers of the forefathers go to the forefathers, worshippers of the spirits go to the spirits and those who worship Me, they come to Me. In fact all types of worships reach the Supreme God only but because they are ignorant about the Supreme Godhead they miss reaching Him. The fruits of worship depends on the level of worship. Even these lower fruits are granted by the Supreme God only.

The Lord therefore advises Arjuna to offer Him whatever he does, whatever he eats, whatever sacrifice he performs, whatever he gives, whatever austerities he performs. Everything he should offer to God.

Thus he will be freed from the bondage of his actions and their auspicious and inauspicious results. Arjuna has to engage his mind in the spirit of renunciation of actions so that getting liberated he would reach the Lord.

The Lord had referred to easy and happy nature of the devotional worship in the beginning of this Adhyaya. Now he is referring to another great virtue of equanimity of the mind. The Lord says :-

" In all creatures I am equal I hate nobody so also I love no body. But those who devotedly worship Me they are in Me and I am also in them.

Even if a man be a big sinner if he worships Me whole heatedly he should be regarded holy because of his right resolution. He at once becomes the great soul and attains eternal peace. The Lord proclaims :-" Arjuna, be certain that my devotee-never perishes.

"They may be the men of lower births, may they be women or vaishya or shudra they also reach the highest spiritual realisation if they take refuge in Me. Then this will also be true of holi Brahamins, pious devotees, and saintly kings."

Arjuna, therefore is advised to worship the Lord, finding himself in this transient and sorrowful world. Becoming the Lord’s devotee, with his heart always merged into Him he should bow down to him surrendering his self completely in the service of the Lord so that in the end he would reach Him.