Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
9.24 अहम् I? हि verily? सर्वयज्ञानाम् of all sacrifices? भोक्ता enjoyer? च and? प्रभुः Lord? एव alone? च and? न not? तु but? माम् Me? अभिजानन्ति know? तत्त्वेन in essence (or in reality)? अतः hence? च्यवन्ति fall? ते they.Commentary They do not know that I? the Supreme Self? am the enjoyer of all sacrifices enjoined in the Vedas and the Smritis (the codes of right conduct) and the Lord of all sacrifices. As I am the inner Ruler of this world I am the Lord of all sacrifices (Vide chapter VIII. 4 -- Adhiyajnohamevatra I am the presiding deity of the sacrifice). I am at the beginning and at the end of every sacrifice and yet these people worship other gods. Therefore they worship in ignorance. As they worhsip other gods without recognising Me? and as they have not consecrated their actions to Me? they return to this mortal world after their merits are exhausted from the plane to which they had attained as the result of their sacrifices.Those who are devoted to other gods and who worship Me in ignorance (Avidhipurvakam) also get the fruit of sacrifice. How (Cf.V.29XV.9)
Swami Chinmayananda
# BG 9.24
I alone am the enjoyer and the Lord of all sacrifices. The Self manifests through various deities dwelling in different forms, and it is through Me that they possess their respective powers. Those devotees who invoke these deities with faith in rituals and sacrifices—I am the eternal, imperishable essence underlying all of them. Yet because they worship only the limited powers of these deities, they do not know Me in My true, infinite nature as the Self. Consequently, they return again to the cycle of worldly sorrow, delusion, and countless bondages.
When this principle is applied to practical life, it becomes clear that in all fields of human endeavor where people labor, they do so only to attain some transient benefit or fruit. They do not strive for spiritual development through which they might recognize their own pure Self. Walking the slippery slope of desire, they descend to the level of brutal animality—a great stain upon human dignity and worth.
Complete happiness and contentment, supreme peace and fulfillment, dwell in the innermost sanctuary of the heart—not in external gains, success, fame, or glory. Ignoring this eternal treasure within, the unwise, stung by the scorpions of craving, rush hither and thither, creating disorder and suffering not only for themselves but for all who walk their path. When generations of such deluded people encourage unbridled indulgence and live only for consumption, never pausing to evaluate their actions, then surely that generation's history is written upon the face of a shattered world in the blood of the dead and maimed—blood mingled with the tears of mothers bereft of sons and widows bereft of husbands. Inevitably, they return to the sorrows of mortal existence.
How can we say that those devotees who worship improperly still attain any fruit? To this, the Lord responds—
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.