Bhagavad Gita · 7.28 · Self-Knowledge and Enlightenment·28 of 30
येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम्।ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ॥
yeṣhāṁ tvanta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛiḍha-vratāḥ
Sanskrit recitation
What you worship shapes you · 7.20–7.30 · Teaching
Translation
But those men of virtuous deeds, whose sins have come to an end and who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me steadfastly, with their vows.
Meaning
By the performance of good deeds the heart is slowly purified Sattva increases Rajas and Tamas are gradually thinned out. The mind becomes serene and calm. The little selfarrogating personality slowly dies. You grow in spirituality. The divine flame becomes brighter and brighter. You become impersonal.Sin To forget ones identity with the Supreme Soul is the greatest sin. To see difference is sin. To take the body as the Self, to believe that this world is real is sin. Selfishness is sin. Egoism is sin. Ignorance is sin.Steadfast in vows The man steadfast in vows entertains a firm resolve I must realise the Self now I will not budge an inch from my seat till I attain Selfrealisation. He has the firm conviction that Brahman is the only Reality. This world is unreal. It is like a mirage. I can attain immortality and eternal bliss if I realise the Self only. There is not an iota of happiness in the sensual objects. Therefore the Lord says, Those persons of pure deeds worship Me steadfast in vows.
After Swami Sivananda
What you worship shapes you· 7.20–7.30→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 7.20Those whose wisdom has been taken away by this or that desire, go to other gods, following this or that rite, led by their own nature.
- 7.21Whatever form any devotee desires to worship with faith, I make that same faith of his firm and unflinching.
- 7.22Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that form and obtains his desired outcome, which is ordained by Me alone.
- 7.23Verily, the reward (fruit) that accrues to those men of small intelligence is finite. The worshippers of the gods go to them, whereas My devotees come to Me.
- 7.24The foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as having manifestation, not knowing My higher, immutable, and most excellent nature.
- 7.25I am not manifest to all, veiled as I am by the Yoga-Maya. This deluded world does not know Me, who am unborn and imperishable.
- 7.26I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present, and the future; however, no one knows Me.
- 7.27O Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth due to the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, O Parantapa.
7.28But those men of virtuous deeds, whose sins have come to an end and who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me steadfastly, with their vows.
- 7.29Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realize in full that Brahman, the whole knowledge of the Self, and all action.
- 7.30Those who know Me with the Adhibhuta (pertaining to the elements), Adhidaiva (pertaining to the gods), and the Adhiyajna (pertaining to the sacrifice) know Me even at the time of death, remaining steadfast in mind.
Word-by-word→
- te
- they
- tu
- but
- moha
- illusion
- pāpam
- sins
- dvandva
- of dualities
- puṇya
- pious
- bhajante
- worship
- janānām
- of persons
- yeṣhām
- whose
- anta-gatam
- completely destroyed
- karmaṇām
- activities
- nirmuktāḥ
- free from
- dṛiḍha-vratāḥ
- with determination
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