Verses 18.67–18.72
इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन | न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति
idaṁ te nā ‘tapaskāya nā ‘bhaktāya kadācana / na cā ‘śuśrūṣave vācyaṁ na ca māṁ yo ‘bhyasūyati / / 18.67
This knowledge should never be spoken by you to one who is devoid of austerity, who is without devotion, who does not desire to listen, or who speaks ill of Me.
य इदं परमं गुह्यं मद्भक्तेष्वभिधास्यति | भक्तिं मयि परां कृत्वा मामेवैष्यत्यसंशय:
ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati / bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā māmevaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ / / 18.68
One who communicates the supreme secret to the devotees performs the highest devotional service to Me, and at the end he will without doubt, come back to Me.
न च तस्मान्मनुष्येषु कश्चिन्मे प्रियकृत्तम: | भविता न च मे तस्मादन्य: प्रियतरो भुवि
na ca tasmānmanuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya kṛttamaḥ / bhavitā na ca me tasmād anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi / / 18.69
No other person shall do a more pleasing service to Me, and no one on the earth shall be more dear to Me.
अध्येष्यते च य इमं धर्म्यं संवादमावयो: | ज्ञानयज्ञेन तेनाहमिष्ट: स्यामिति मे मति:
adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṁvādamāvayoḥ / jñānayajñena tenāham iṣṭaḥ syāmiti me matiḥ / / 18.70
I declare that One who studies this sacred dialogue worships Me by sacrifice of his intelligence.
श्रद्धावाननसूयश्च शृणुयादपि यो नर: | सोऽपि मुक्त: शुभाँल्लोकान्प्राप्नुयात्पुण्यकर्मणाम्
śraddhāvānanasūyaś ca śṛṇuyādapi yo naraḥ / so ‘pi muktaḥ śubhāṁl lokān prāpnuyāt puṇyakarmaṇām / / 18.71
One who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the planets where those of merit dwell.
कच्चिदेतच्छ्रुतं पार्थ त्वयैकाग्रेण चेतसा | कच्चिदज्ञानसम्मोह: प्रनष्टस्ते धनञ्जय
kaccid etac chrutaṁ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā / kaccid ajñāna-saṁmohaḥ pranaṣṭaste dhanañjaya / / 18.72
O Pārtha, did you listen to this with single-minded attention? Has your delusion born of ignorance been completely destroyed, Dhanañjaya?
These words are meant not merely for Arjuna, but for all of humanity. Kṛṣṇa says here that we should read, listen and understand this dialogue between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa, between Nara and Nārāyaṇa. Nothing more needs to be read or listened to. Everything we need is here. ya idam paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhateṣv abhidhāsyati I bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā mām ev’aiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ II 18.68 Only one who is in deep devotion to Me should read this. I have conveyed here that which is most beneficial, the secret of how to live and how to reach Me. One who understands this and drops his mind with his focus entirely upon Me, shall reach Me without a doubt.
This is Kṛṣṇa’s promise. He blesses the whole Universe with His grace and compassion. He showered His blessing on Arjuna and made him merge with Him. The same consciousness is being showered on the whole Universe. Hedeclaresthatwhoeverstudiesthissacredconversationwillachieve His eternal consciousness. He blesses us with His grace and assures us that we can achieve Him through this jñāna yajña, sacrifice of intellect. That is, by offering ourselves into that knowledge, by completely purifying ourselves in that knowledge, we can achieve Him. We can disappear into Him. When we put anything into the fire, it disappears. In the same way, when we immerse ourselves in the study of Gītā, we will not remain as we are.
We will disappear into Him. Only He remains, only He exists. adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṁvādam āvayoḥ I jñāna-yajñena ten’āham iṣtaḥ syām iti me matiḥ II 18.70 The whole experience of the Truth has descended on Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa’s blessings are upon us also. Let us pray to the ultimate consciousness to put us into that same energy. Relax into that energy. May the grace and compassion of Kṛṣṇa that was showered on Arjuna, be showered on us. Earlier Kṛṣṇa said that He would appear again and again whenever He is needed to restore equilibrium between good and bad. He is the only great Master who has the courage to say, ‘I am not the last Master, it is not that there will be no one after Me.’
Instead He says, ‘I shall appear again and again, sambhavāmi yuge yuge.’ Kṛṣṇa will not reappear in His Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa form with peacock feathers and a flute! That is the mistake we make in our assumption. His energy will reappear. He will reappear in the form of enlightened Masters and Incarnations, time and again. He will come again and again to restore Mokṣa Sannyāsa Yogaḥ Drop Everything And Surrender 1317 the balance, liberate the good and destroy the evil. This is the last time Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaks in the Bhagavad Gītā. He asks, ‘Arjuna, have you listened to Me with attention? Has your delusion disappeared?’ kaccid etac chrutaṁ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa cetasā I kaccid ajñāna-sammohaḥ praṇaṣtas te dhanañjaya II 18.72 Until the end He is the teacher.
He is full of compassion. His concern is only for Arjuna and the rest of humanity. ‘Have you understood?’ He asks. ‘Have your doubts disappeared? Do you need anything more?’ This is the greatness of Masters. Nothing concerns them except the deliverance of their disciples. That is why they have come here. Otherwise why should they waste their time on planet Earth? They can be immersed in the blissful energy that they are part of without disturbance. My disciples understand when I tell them that the only time I feel anything like sadness is when a disciple leaves me. It saddens me because he is losing a great opportunity. His spirit brought him to me for completion.
If the body-mind does not cooperate, the spirit must live again and again until it gets the opportunity to be liberated. Each cycle of birth that the spirit undertakes, it suffers and regrets not having taken that final step. No one who has crossed my ashram gates can ever leave me. Even if they leave, I shall not leave them. I shall be with them. That one moment of intelligence that brought them in is enough for me to care for them. Those who have understood the formless form that resides in Me know that I am part of them. Wherever they are, I am part of them. This is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s promise: Listen to Me, understand Me and come to Me; then you are a part of Me. Krsna Is Present