Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 19

English Translation

O scion of the Bharata dynasty, he who, being free from delusion, knows Me the supreme Person thus, he is all-knowing and adores Me with his whole being.

Detailed Commentary

**15.19** Explanation: He who, undeluded, knows Me thus — The Jīvātmā is an eternal fragment of Paramātmā. Therefore, to experience its true relationship with its Whole, the Paramātmā, is to be 'asammūḍha' (undeluded). Delusion (moha) is the impediment to understanding the world or the Paramātmā. The reality of any object can be known only when there is no attachment (rāga) or aversion (dveṣa) towards it. To assume a relationship of rāga or dveṣa with perishable objects is indeed moha. As soon as one understands the world, one experiences one's non-difference from the Paramātmā; and as soon as one understands the Paramātmā, one experiences one's distinctness from the world. Understanding the world leads to the severance of the perceived relationship with the world, and understanding the Paramātmā leads to the experience of one's true relationship with the Paramātmā. To consider oneself related to the world is a flaw in Bhakti. One should become free from this and understand the aforementioned sentiment. He knows the Puruṣottama — Only one whose delusion (mūḍhatā) is destroyed knows the Lord as Puruṣottama. To truly know the Lord as Puruṣottama means to consider Puruṣottama, who is beyond Kṣara (the perishable), as supreme, and to accept Him as one's own. Whatever influence or manifestation is seen or heard in the world, all of it belongs to the Lord. Accepting this eliminates the attraction to the world. If attraction to the world persists, one should understand that the Lord has not been firmly accepted. He, the knower of all, worships Me with all his being, O Bhārata — He who knows the Lord as Puruṣottama, and whose inner being (antaḥkaraṇa) is free from any illusion or doubt, for him no knowable truth (tattva) remains. The Lord calls him Sarvavit (knower of all). A person who knows the Lord, no matter how uneducated, is a knower of everything, because he has known the truth to be known. Nothing more remains for him to know. The characteristic of a person who knows the Lord as Puruṣottama is that he worships the Lord in all ways. When a person knows the Lord as beyond Kṣara, his mind withdraws from the world and becomes absorbed in the Lord. When he knows the Lord as superior to Akṣara, his intellect becomes absorbed in the Lord. Then, through his every tendency (vṛtti) and action (kriyā), the worship of the Lord takes place. To worship the Lord in this manner is indeed Bhakti. As long as a person considers himself bound by attachment (rāga) to worldly objects, he cannot worship the Lord. When there is rāga, the mind's tendency goes there. By firmly accepting the reality, "I belong to the Lord, and the Lord belongs to me," the worship of the Lord occurs. Then all actions of the devotee are for the pleasure of the Lord, not for himself. In the path of Jñāna, 'knowing' is primary, while in the path of Bhakti, 'firm acceptance' is primary. To firmly accept that which is free from all doubt is 'knowing' in the path of Bhakti. After accepting the Lord as supreme, the devotee worships only the Lord. By accepting the Lord as Puruṣottama, a person becomes Sarvavit; then, knowing the Lord as Puruṣottama while worshiping Him is indeed the supreme. Connection: According to the Arundhatī Darśana Nyāya, the Lord first discussed Kṣara and Akṣara, and finally described Puruṣottama, thereby establishing His own Puruṣottamatva. The import and purpose of such a description will be explained in the next verse.