9:1: Sri Krishna [the Blessed One] said: Because you are not envious, to you I will declare the most discreet knowledge, along with its realization, knowing which, you will be liberated from all inauspiciousness.
9:2: This highest and most discreet knowledge is purifying and supreme. It is only perceived by direct experience. Therefore, it is the fulfillment of all religious and moral duties. It is joyful to perform as well as imperishable.
9:3: Those who are faithless in their sacred duties, Arjuna [O slayer of enemies], and who do not attain Me, return by the path of re-birth to this material world of death.
9:4,5: All the material universes are pervaded by My unmanifested form [as Brahman]. In Me, all beings exist, although I am not in them and the beings do not dwell in Me, behold my divine yogic ability! Although I am the maintainer of all beings, I do not dwell in them. Yet I am the Source of all beings.
9:6: As the mighty wind always dwells in the Akasha, moving everywhere, know that all beings dwell in Me.
9:7: Arjuna [O son of Kunti], at the end of every age, all material beings return to My Nature. Then again, at the beginning of every age, I recreate them.
9:8: Supported by My material nature, I dispatch the multitude of beings again and again. They all act instinctively within material nature, as if by constraint.
9:9: O conqueror of riches, I am not bound by these activities; as if indifferent, I sit unattached to them all.
9:10: Because I preside over material nature, both the moving and the unmoving come forth, Arjuna [ O son of Kunti], and because of this, the world continues to revolve.
9:11, 12: Fools deride Me when I appear in human form. They do not realize My superior nature as the Great Lord of all beings. Their hopes, actions, and knowledge are all fruitless. They are senseless and demonic; they are unholy. Truly, they are stupefied by material nature.
9:13: But on the other hand, Arjuna [ O son of Partha], those who are wise, perceive My divine nature and worship Me with an undeviated mind, knowing Me to be the immutable source of all beings.
9:14: Always chanting My glories and pursuing Me, with discipline prostrating [themselves] before Me, always resolute in devotion, [the wise] worship Me.
9:15: Others sacrifice with the sacrifice of knowledge, worshiping Me in oneness, duality, diversity, or in My universal form.
9:16-19: I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice; I am the oblation to the ancestors; I am the medicinal herb; I am the sacred chant; I am the ghee; I am the fire, and I am the offering. I am the father of this universe, the mother, the preserver, the grandfather, the object of knowledge, the purifier, the sacred syllable Om, the Rig Ve-da, the Sama Veda, and the Yajur Veda. I am the goal, the sustainer, the lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the receptacle, and the imperishable seed.
I give heat; I send forth and withhold the rains; I am immortality and death; I am O Arjuna, both being and non-being.
9:20, 21: Those who know the three Vedas, who drink the soma [divine nectar], whose sins are purified by sacrificial worship of Me, and who pray for passage to the heavenly planets, such holy people attain the planet of lord Indra, and there enjoy the celestial pleasures of the devas in the spiritual realms. After enjoying the vast heavenly planets, their pious merits being well spent, they again enter this mortal world. Thus, following the laws of the three Vedas, they constantly go thence and return because of their desire to desire.
9:22: But those who worship Me with focused intent, who have no other object and who are always yoked in devotion, upon them I confer happiness and carry them through.
9:23, 24: Also, those who are devotees of other gods, and who worship them, endowed with faith, they too worship Me alone, Arjuna [O Son of Kunti], but by a lesser method. I indeed am the Sole Enjoyer and God of all sacrifices, but not knowing Me in truth, they fall.
9:25: Those who worship the gods go to the gods, those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship ghosts go to the ghosts, but those who worship Me go to Me.
9:26: If one offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or some water with devotion [bhakti] I will accept it. I accept whatever is offered by one with pure intention.
9:27: So, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer [in sacrifice], whatever you give away [in charity], whatever austerities you perform, Arjuna [O child of Kunti] do it all as an offering unto Me.
9:28: Freed in whichever way from auspicious and inauspicious fruitive reactions, you will be liberated from the bondage of karma [action and reaction]. With the mind firmly established in the yoga of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.
9:29: I am equitable towards all beings; none are hateful, and none are dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am in them.
9:30,31: Even if one’s actions are abominable, if one worships Me with exclusive devotion [bhakti], I will consider that person virtuous because of the integral determination. Such a person soon becomes a righteous soul and attains eternal peace. Arjuna [O son of Kunti]. Boldly declare that My devotee shall never perish!
9:32, 33: Arjuna [O son of Partha], all who take refuge in Me — even if from what is considered a lower birth, attains the supreme goal. How much more the holy Brahmanas, devotees, and royal saints who, having achieved this temporary world filled with sorrows, worship Me!
9:34: Always conscious of Me, become My devotee! Sacrifice and prostrate before Me. Having Me as the supreme goal, by thoroughly yoking yourself with Me, you will surely come to Me.
Here Ends Chapter Ten