Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
9.23 ये who? अपि even? अन्यदेवताः other gods? भक्ताः devotees? यजन्ते worship? श्रद्धया with faith? अन्विताः endowed? ते they? अपि also? माम् Me? एव alone? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya? यजन्ति worship? अविधिपूर्वकम् by the wrong method.Commentary They worship Me in ignorance. Their mode of worship is contrary to the ancient,rule. Hence they return to this world.People worship Agni? Indra? Surya? Varuna? the Vasus? etc. Even they attain Me? because I am everywhere. But their devotion is not pure. It is vicarious. Water should be given to the root and not to the branches. If the root is satisfied? the whole tree must be and is satisfied. Even so? if I (the root of this world and all the gods) am satisfied? all the gods must be and are satisfied. Though the messages from the five organs of knowledge reach the one consciousness? will it be right and useful to place a sweetmeat in the ear and a flower in the eyes The function of eating must be done by the mouth alone and the function of smelling by the nose alone. Therefore I should be worshipped in My own nature. They should know Me as the Self in all beings. They should recognise Me in other worship. I am the root. I am the source of all the gods and of this whole world. (Cf.IV.11VII.20)
Swami Chinmayananda
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.
# BG 9.23
Not all people in the world worship at the same altar. This is not merely impossible from a physical standpoint, but it is also not rational from a psychological perspective, for the inclinations and tastes of all people differ greatly. When devotees worship at different sacred places, they are in truth worshipping the one conscious reality that underlies this ever-changing creation. When they offer prayers to various deities, they are still invoking that one eternal truth, which manifests through their chosen form of the divine. When we acknowledge that infinite truth is singular and unique—remaining constant through past, present, and future—it becomes clear that the self-luminous consciousness expressed through the titles of all sages, saints, prophets, and incarnations is one and the same.
Tolerance is the very breath of Hindu dharma. We have already reflected upon how those who embrace non-duality and recognize ultimate truth as infinite cannot be anything other than tolerant. Intolerance is found in those religions that recognize only one particular messenger as God. Among Hindus too, followers of various schools and sects are often found to be rigid to the point of cruelty. There exist examples of such uncivilized conduct wherein a devotee believes that reviling the deities of others constitutes praise and devotion to their own chosen deity. Yet such views are distorted, abhorrent, and uncultured—they find no sanction in Hindu sacred texts, nor do they hold any place in the cultural tradition established by the ancient sages.
The Lord Sri Krishna, whose heart is generous, an ocean of compassion, and the very embodiment of love, declares: These devotees too truly worship Me alone, though their worship is not performed according to proper method.
From the perspective of practical life in the external world, this verse means that those who, forsaking the attainment of the supreme bliss of the self, strive only for worldly pleasures, also invoke the grace of the self—yet without proper method.
Even the most indulgent person, when planning the acquisition, protection, and expenditure of wealth so that he may continually obtain new objects of pleasure and enjoy them, is invoking the latent capacities inherent within himself. Without the self, no one can perform either sinful or virtuous deeds. Even in an act such as suicide, the vital force is required; yet in wielding the weapon, that person misuses self-consciousness.
In this context, "without proper method" means "in ignorance," and its ultimate result is suffering and despair, leaving the seeker deprived of the supreme joy of the self.
Why is the worship of these devotees called improper? To this question, the answer is given thus—