Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 15 (BG 9.15) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

9.15 ज्ञानयज्ञेन with the wisdomsacrifice? च and? अपि also? अन्ये others? यजन्तः sacrificing? माम् Me?,उपासते worhsip? एकत्वेन as one? पृथक्त्वेन as different? बहुधा in various ways? विश्वतोमुखम् the Allfaced.Commentary Others too sacrificing by the wisdomsacrifice? i.e.? seeing the Self in all? adore Me the One and the manifold? present everywhere. They regard all the forms they see as the forms of God? all sounds they hear as the names of God. They give all objects they eat as offerings unto the Lord in vaious ways.Some adore Him with the knowledge that there is only one Reality? the Supreme Being Who is ExistenceKnowledgeBliss. They identify themselves with the Truth or Brahman. This is the Monistic view of the Vedantins. Some worship Him making a distinction between the Lord and themselves with the attitude of master and servant. This is the view of the Dualistic School of philosophy. Some worship Him with the knowledge that He exists as the various divinities? Brahma? Vishnu? Rudra? Siva? etc.Visvatomukham Others worship Him who has assumed all the manifold forms in the world? Who exists in all the forms as the Allfaced (the one Lord exists in all the different forms with His face on all sides? as it were). (Cf.IV.33)

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

# BG 9.15 — The Sacrifice of Knowledge In the sacrifice of knowledge, there are no ritualistic ceremonies. In this sacrifice, the seeker's continuous endeavor is to perceive and experience the manifestation of the one consciousness—the atman—expressing itself through the infinite diversity of names and forms visible to the eye. Only those seekers who have understood the Vedantic teaching can undertake this practice: that the imperishable atman pervades everywhere and, in its true nature, sustains this visible multiplicity and all the varied interactions within it. Though chocolates made by different manufacturers differ in shape, color, taste, and price, they are all chocolate; and therefore, their essential nature—sweetness—remains uniform in all. A child who desires that sweetness eats all kinds of chocolates with joy. Similarly, the seeker of self-knowledge observes, examines, and recognizes the expression of the one atman in all names and forms, in all circumstances and conditions. Just as a diamond merchant, seeing diamonds set in any ornament, perceives them merely as points of light and brilliance and evaluates them by their radiance rather than by the craftsmanship or beauty of the ornament itself—so too, the self-realized person moves through the world, seeing their own atman expressed in all actions, words, and thoughts. As countless reflections of a single lamp appear everywhere among a thousand mirrors, so the wise person established in the atman, moving through the world, sees their own self dancing everywhere, gazing upon them from all sides, forever filling them with the bliss of wholeness. In the brightness of the eyes, in a friend's gentle smile and an enemy's artificial laughter, in the harsh words of envy and the tender tones of love, in cold and heat, in victory and defeat, in all human beings, animals, trees, creeping vines, and inanimate objects—everywhere the wise one beholds the auspicious vision of Brahman, the eternal consciousness and bliss. This is the meaning of the vision of God or the vision of the atman, which all the scriptures of the world have celebrated with reverence. To perceive and recognize the gentle smile of God in countless names and forms is to dwell and live in the continuous spirit of the sacrifice of knowledge. To worship the Divine in all forms, to remember the Divine in all circumstances, to experience the Divine with all the movements of the mind—this is to live in the unbroken remembrance of the atman. Such a person worships me through the sacrifice of knowledge. In the initial stages, because the practice of perceiving the atman everywhere requires effort, the seeker experiences strain and tension. But as the seeker's spiritual vision develops, this practice becomes easier, and they behold the one atman scattered and shining forth in countless luminous forms. This is the cosmic form of God with faces turned in all directions. The wise person not only knows that the atman remains forever untouched and unattached to the various limiting conditions, but also experiences that the one atman plays within all the conditions of the universe. Once the sun in the sky is recognized as separate from the world, even if we see its countless reflections in mirrors or water, our knowledge that there is only one sun does not vanish. Everywhere we see and recognize that one sun alone. If a person can maintain the peace and equanimity of their mind only in a solitary and quiet place, then according Vedanta, their self-realization can never be called complete. If self-realization comes only in rare moments of meditative absorption, such a person is not a seer of truth as praised by the sages of the Upanishads. This is the path of the hatha yogis. The truly wise person is one who recognizes the one atman-principle everywhere, both within and without. One principle pervades all, yet nothing can contain it. For such an experienced person, the extremely busy and stressful atmosphere of a commercial center is as suitable for the vision of the atman as the profoundly peaceful and solitary caves of the Himalayan valleys. They do not see with physical eyes, but with the inner eye of knowledge—everywhere perceiving the one, unique atman alone. In my hands and feet, I remain equally pervading always. I know that I am in all of them. Does this knowledge cause my hands and feet to disappear, like mist at sunrise? If someone says such a thing, it is mere foolishness and mockery, not a scientific statement. Just as I, simultaneously present in every part of my body, experience the world in the waking state, so too the self-realized person knows that their atman pervades the entire universe in their infinite kingdom—in one form, in separate forms, and in diverse forms. The recognition of the divinity taught by Vedanta and the experience of the infinite is in life both inner and outer. It is not a fleeting experience gained by chance. It is not an occasion that, after celebration with festivities, is forever abandoned. Just as the knowledge acquired by a person through schooling remains with them in all times and circumstances, even in dreams—far more powerful, far more intimate, and far more firm than that is the self-realization of the wise person. The knower of atman becomes the atman itself. There is not the slightest doubt in this. This truth proclaimed by Vedanta is confirmed in the second line: those who worship me, the cosmic form, do so with the sense of unity, with the sense of separation, and in many other ways. All that we have discussed so far is proven here. There is no doubt that when the mind becomes tranquil through meditation, the one unique atman is experienced in its pure form. One who knows clay easily perceives the one clay in the various pots made of clay; the forms, colors, and shapes of the pots cannot destroy their knowledge of clay. Similarly, the illusory and deluding names and forms superimposed upon the ultimate reality can neither obscure the truth from the vision of the wise nor do they do so. The seer of truth recognizes the atman not only separately in each individual, but—as the Lord Sri Krishna, the advocate of Vedanta, proclaims here—the wise recognize truth in every form, in that which has faces turned in all directions. It is entirely inconsistent to say that one who knows clay recognizes the clay pot only in its southern or northern part; clay pervades the entire pot, and where there is no clay, there is no pot. If the atman were absent, the perception or vision of the diversity of creation could never be possible. If diverse forms are worshipped and adored in different ways, how can they all be the worship of the one God?