Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9: Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga, Patram Pushpam Explained

Chapter 9 is often called the sweetest chapter of the Gita. It is named the king of knowledge and the king of secrets, because here God says that He carries the whole burden of the devotee, accepts even a leaf or a flower offered with love, and turns no one away, whatever their past.

Verses 1 to 3: the royal knowledge

"Since you do not find fault, I will tell you this most secret knowledge together with realisation, knowing which you will be free from evil. It is the king of sciences, the king of secrets, supremely pure, directly experienced, in accord with dharma, easy to practise and imperishable. Those without faith in it do not reach me and keep returning on the path of death and rebirth."

Verses 4 to 10: all in me, yet I am not in them

"This whole world is pervaded by me in my unmanifest form. All beings rest in me, but I do not rest in them. And yet beings do not rest in me: see my divine power. Though I sustain and nourish all beings, I do not dwell in them. As the mighty wind moving everywhere always rests in space, all beings rest in me."

At the end of a cycle all beings return to my nature; at the beginning I send them forth again. Governing my own nature, I send forth this whole multitude again and again, helpless under nature's sway. These acts do not bind me, for I sit as one indifferent, unattached. Under my supervision nature produces the moving and unmoving, and so the world revolves.

Verses 11 to 15: the deluded and the great souls

Fools disregard me when I take a human form, not knowing my supreme nature as the great Lord of all beings. Their hopes, actions and knowledge are in vain; they cling to a demonic nature. But great souls who take refuge in the divine nature worship me single-mindedly, knowing me as the imperishable origin of all beings. Firm in their vows, they always sing my glory, strive, bow to me and worship me with devotion. Others worship me through the offering of knowledge, as one, as distinct, or in my many-faced cosmic form.

Verses 16 to 19: I am everything

"I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb and the mantra; I am the ghee, the fire and the act of offering. I am the father of this world, its mother, sustainer and grandsire; I am what is to be known, the purifier, Om, and the Rig, Sama and Yajur Vedas. I am the goal, the support, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the friend; the origin and dissolution, the foundation, the treasure-house and the imperishable seed. I give heat, I hold back and send forth the rain; I am immortality and death, being and non-being."

Verses 20 and 21: even heaven is temporary

Followers of the Vedic rites, drinkers of soma, cleansed of sin, worship me with sacrifices and pray for heaven; reaching the world of Indra through merit, they enjoy divine pleasures. Having enjoyed that vast heaven, when their merit is spent they return to the world of mortals. So those who desire pleasures keep coming and going.

Verse 22: God's word

Ananyash chintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam yoga kshemam vahamy aham (9.22)

Meaning: Those who worship me thinking of no other, ever devoted, I personally carry their yoga and kshema: I bring them what they lack and preserve what they have.

Verses 23 to 25: worship of other gods

Even those devotees who worship other gods with faith worship me alone, though not in the right way. I am the enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifices, but they do not know me in truth, and so they fall. Worshippers of the gods go to the gods, of the ancestors to the ancestors, of spirits to the spirits, and my worshippers come to me.

Verses 26 to 28: the offering of love

Patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayachchhati
tad aham bhakty upahritam ashnami prayatatmanah (9.26)

Meaning: Whoever offers me with love a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of love from a pure heart I accept.

Yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurushva mad arpanam (9.27)

Meaning: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give and whatever austerity you practise, son of Kunti, do it as an offering to me.

So you will be freed from the bonds of action and their good and bad results, and with your mind set on renunciation you will come to me.

Verses 29 to 33: no one is shut out

"I am the same to all beings; none is hateful to me and none dear. But those who worship me with love are in me and I in them (9.29)."

"Even if a person of very bad conduct worships me with undivided devotion, they should be regarded as good, for they have resolved rightly (9.30). They soon become righteous and attain lasting peace. 'Kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranashyati': declare it boldly, son of Kunti, my devotee never perishes (9.31)."

"Those who take refuge in me, Partha, whether women, merchants, labourers or those born in low circumstances, also reach the supreme goal. How much more the pure Brahmins and devoted royal sages. Having come into this transient, joyless world, worship me."

Verse 34: the essence

Man mana bhava mad bhakto mad yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi yuktvaivam atmanam mat parayanah (9.34)

Meaning: Fix your mind on me, be devoted to me, worship me, bow to me. Uniting yourself with me and making me your goal, you will come to me.

What this chapter teaches

• God wants not wealth or grand rituals but love: a leaf or a cup of water is enough.
• Every daily act, even eating, becomes worship when offered to God.
• God's door is open to everyone, whatever their past.
• For one who depends fully on God, God Himself carries their needs and their protection.