Rāja Vidyā Rāja Guhya Yoga

The Supreme Lord said: To you who are free from envy, I shall now impart this most secret knowledge combined with realized wisdom, knowing which you shall be freed from the miseries of material existence.

This knowledge is the king of sciences, the king of secrets, supremely purifying, directly realizable, righteous, joyful to practice, and imperishable.

Those who have no faith in this dharma, O scorcher of foes, without attaining Me, return to the path of death and rebirth in this material world.

By Me, in My unmanifest form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them.

And yet beings do not dwell in Me - behold My divine mystic power! I am the sustainer and source of all beings, yet My Self does not dwell in them.

Just as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, always rests in space, so know that all beings rest in Me.

At the end of a cosmic cycle, O son of Kunti, all beings merge into My material nature, and at the beginning of the next cycle, I create them again.

Taking control of My own material nature, I create again and again this entire multitude of beings, who are helpless under the sway of prakṛti.

These actions do not bind Me, O Dhananjaya. I remain seated as if neutral, unattached to these activities of creation.

Under My supervision, material nature produces all moving and non-moving beings. By this cause, O son of Kunti, the world revolves.

Fools disregard Me when I descend in human form, not knowing My supreme nature as the great Lord of all beings.

Bewildered persons of vain hopes, vain actions, and vain knowledge take shelter of the deluding demoniac and atheistic nature.

But the great souls, O Partha, who take shelter of the divine nature, worship Me with undivided mind, knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings.

Always glorifying Me, striving with firm resolve, bowing down to Me with devotion, these ever-united souls worship Me.

Others worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge - seeing Me as one, as separate, and in many forms as the universal being facing everywhere.

I am the Vedic ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the offering to ancestors, I am the healing herb, I am the sacred chant, I am the clarified butter, I am the fire, and I am the act of offering.

I am the father of this universe, the mother, the sustainer, and the grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier, the sacred syllable Om, and the Rig, Sama, and Yajur Vedas.

I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the dearest friend. I am the creation, the dissolution, the foundation, the resting place, and the imperishable seed.

I give heat, I withhold and send forth rain. I am immortality and also death. I am being and non-being, O Arjuna.

Those who know the three Vedas, who drink the soma juice and are purified of sins, worship Me through sacrifices and pray for passage to heaven. They reach the holy realm of Indra and enjoy celestial pleasures.

Having enjoyed the vast heavenly world, when their merit is exhausted, they return to the mortal realm. Thus, following the Vedic rituals for desire-fulfillment, they attain only the cycle of coming and going.

To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to those ever-united devotees, I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.

Even those who are devotees of other gods and worship them with faith, they too worship Me alone, O son of Kunti, though in an improper manner.

For I alone am the enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifices. But they do not know Me in truth, and therefore they fall.

Worshippers of the gods go to the gods, worshippers of ancestors go to the ancestors, worshippers of spirits go to the spirits, but My worshippers come to Me.

Whoever offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water - that offering of love from the pure-hearted, I accept.

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give, whatever austerity you practice - do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.

Thus you shall be freed from the bondage of actions yielding good and evil results. With your mind fixed in the yoga of renunciation, you shall be liberated and come to Me.

I am equal to all beings; none is hateful or dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion - they are in Me, and I am in them.

Even if one of very bad conduct worships Me with exclusive devotion, that person is to be regarded as saintly, for they have rightly resolved.

Quickly that person becomes righteous and attains eternal peace. O son of Kunti, declare boldly that My devotee never perishes.

For those who take refuge in Me, O Partha - even those of sinful birth, women, vaishyas, and shudras - they too attain the supreme destination.

How much more then the pious brahmins and devoted royal sages! Having come to this temporary and joyless world, worship Me.

Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me, and bow down to Me. Thus uniting yourself with Me and making Me your supreme goal, you shall certainly come to Me.