Chapter 7: Jñāna Vijñāna Yog – Self-Knowledge and Enlightenment
ज्ञानविज्ञानयोग · 30 verses
Chapter Summary
The seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Gyaan Vigyana Yoga ". In this chapter, Krishna reveals that he is the Supreme Truth, the principal cause and the sustaining force of everything. He reveals his illusionary energy in this material world called Maya, which is very difficult to overcome but those who surrender their minds unto Him attain Him easily. He also describes the four types of people who surrender to Him in devotion and the four kinds that don't. Krishna confirms that He is the Ultimate Reality and those who realize this Truth reach the pinnacle of spiritual realization and unite with the Lord.
Verses
- 7.1 — The Blessed Lord Krishna said: O Arjuna, hear how, with your mind intent on Me, practicing Yoga and taking…
- 7.2 — I shall declare to you in full this knowledge, together with realization, by knowing which nothing more…
- 7.3 — Among thousands of men, hardly one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, hardly one…
- 7.4 — Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and egoism—thus is My Nature divided eightfold.
- 7.5 — O mighty-armed Arjuna, this is but My inferior nature; know it as distinct from My higher nature, the…
- 7.6 — Know that all living beings are born from these two natures; thus, I, Shri Krishna, am the source of the…
- 7.7 — O Arjuna, there is nothing higher than Me. Everything in this universe is strung upon Me, like clusters of…
- 7.8 — I am the taste in water, O Arjuna; I am the radiance of the moon and the sun; I am the syllable Om in all…
- 7.9 — I am the original fragrance of the earth and the heat in the fire; I am the life of all that lives, and the…
- 7.10 — Know Me, O Arjuna, as the eternal seed of all beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent, and the…
- 7.11 — I am the strength of the strong, devoid of desire and attachment; and in all beings, I am the desire that is…
- 7.12 — Know that all states of being—whether they are of goodness (sattva), passion (rajas), or ignorance…
- 7.13 — Deluded by these three modes of nature (gunas), the entire world fails to recognize Me, who am beyond these…
- 7.14 — Verily, this divine illusion of Mine, consisting of the three gunas (modes of material nature), is difficult…
- 7.15 — Those who are miscreants, who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen…
- 7.16 — Four types of virtuous people worship Me, O Arjuna: those who are distressed, those who seek knowledge,…
- 7.17 — Among these, the wise one who is ever steadfast and devoted to the One is the best; for I, Shri Krishna, am…
- 7.18 — All these seekers are indeed noble, but I regard the man of wisdom as My very Self. Being steadfast, he is…
- 7.19 — After many births of spiritual practice, the man of wisdom finds refuge in Me, realizing that everything is…
- 7.20 — Those whose knowledge has been obscured by various desires resort to other gods, observing specific vows,…
- 7.21 — Whatever form any devotee desires to worship with faith, I make that same faith of his firm and unflinching.
- 7.22 — Endowed with such faith, he engages in the worship of that deity and obtains his desires, as these benefits…
- 7.23 — But the fruits gained by those of small intelligence are limited and temporary. Those who worship the…
- 7.24 — The unintelligent think of Me, the Unmanifest, as having taken on form, not knowing My supreme, immutable,…
- 7.25 — I am not manifest to everyone, being veiled by My Yoga-Maya. This deluded world does not know Me, the unborn…
- 7.26 — I know all beings of the past, the present, and the future, O Arjuna, but no one truly knows Me.
- 7.27 — O descendant of Bharata, O conqueror of foes, all living beings are born into delusion, overcome by the…
- 7.28 — But those men of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, and who are freed from the delusion of the…
- 7.29 — Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realize in full that Brahman,…
- 7.30 — Those who know Me as the governing principle of the material manifestation (Adhibhuta), of the divine beings…