Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 24

English Translation

I indeed am the enjoyer as also the Lord of all sacrifices; but they do not know Me in reality. Therefore they fall.

Detailed Commentary

।।9.24।। Explanation— [In the second chapter, the Lord stated that those who are excessively attached to worldly enjoyments (bhoga) and prosperity (aishvarya) cannot firmly resolve, 'I must walk only towards the Supreme Being (Paramatma)' (2.44). Therefore, there are two main obstacles on the path to Paramatma: considering oneself the enjoyer (bhokta) of worldly pleasures and considering oneself the owner (malik) of possessions. Both of these invert human intelligence, causing one to turn away from Paramatma. For instance, a child in infancy cannot live without its mother, but when it grows up and marries, it forms a relationship with its wife, considering her 'my wife,' thereby becoming her enjoyer and owner. Then it no longer regards its mother as highly. Similarly, when a jiva (individual soul) becomes absorbed in bhoga and aishvarya, i.e., considers itself the bhokta of enjoyments and the malik of possessions, becoming their slave, and turns away from the Lord, it forgets that the Lord is the bhokta and malik of all. This is the cause of its downfall. But when this jiva becomes aware that in reality, the Lord alone is the bhokta of enjoyments and the malik of prosperity, then it engages in the Lord and comes onto the right path. Then its downfall does not occur.] 'Aham hi sarvayajnānām bhoktā cha prabhureva cha'—According to the injunctions of the scriptures, all the auspicious actions (shubha karma) that humans perform—such as Yajna (sacrifices), Dāna (charity), Tapa (austerities), Tīrtha (pilgrimages), Vrata (vows), etc.—as well as all practical and physical duties (kartavya-karma) performed according to their Varna and Ashrama, I am the Bhokta (enjoyer) of all those actions, meaning the recipient of their fruits. This is because all the prescriptions for auspicious actions laid down for living beings in the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas, and Smriti texts are created by Me alone and are for Me alone, so that these beings may remain unattached to all their duties and their fruits, never deviate from their true nature (svarupa), and remain engaged in Me alone with unswerving devotion (ananya bhava). Therefore, I alone am the Bhokta of all those auspicious actions and practical and physical duties. Just as I am the Bhokta of all Yajnas, so too am I the Mālik (master/owner) of the entire universe—meaning all events, circumstances, actions, and the bodies, minds, intellects, and senses of living beings in the world. Because I created this universe out of Myself for My own delight, therefore, as the creator, I am also the Mālik. Special Note: What does it mean for the Lord to be the Bhokta? The Lord has stated that in the eyes of great souls (Mahatmas), everything is Vasudeva (7.19), and in My view also, both existent (sat) and non-existent (asat)—everything is Me (9.19). When everything is Me, then if someone performs a Yajna for the nourishment of a particular deity, through that Yajna, it is My own nourishment in the form of that deity. If someone gives Dāna to another, it is My own deficiency that is removed in the form of the recipient. If someone performs Tapa, through that Tapa, it is I who receive joy and peace in the form of the ascetic. If someone feeds another, through that food, it is My own satisfaction in the form of the life-breath (prana). If someone performs purification and bathing (shaucha-snāna), it is I who experience delight in the form of that person. If someone gives fertilizer to trees and plants, and irrigates them with water, that fertilizer and water are received by Me in the form of those trees and plants, and My own nourishment is sustained by them. If someone serves the poor, the sorrowful, the disabled with body, mind, and wealth, it is My own service. If a doctor treats a patient, that treatment is My own. If someone feeds bread to dogs, grains to pigeons, serves cows, gives food to the hungry, water to the thirsty—in all these forms, it is My own service. I alone accept all those things. Just as if someone serves a person, serves any part of their body, or serves their family, all that service belongs to that person. Similarly, wherever a human serves, that service and help reach Me alone. Because there is no one else apart from Me. I alone have manifested in many forms—'Bahu syām prajāyeya' (May I be many, may I procreate). The import is that accepting everything in numerous forms is what it means for the Lord to be the Bhokta. What does it mean for the Lord to be the Mālik? In the view of devotees who know the divine truth (Bhagavattattva), the Lord alone is the Master (Malik) of the entire universe, which is merely a manifestation of His Apara and Para Prakriti (lower and higher nature). He alone has authority over the universe. Whether to create the universe or not, whether to sustain it or not, whether to dissolve it or not, to place beings wherever He wishes, to operate them as He pleases, to make changes as per His will—in making such alterations and augmentations, the Lord has complete freedom. Just as an enjoyer (bhogi purusha) is free to enjoy pleasures and possessions as they wish, so too is the Lord free to alter and augment the universe as He desires. That freedom of the Lord is real. This is what it means for the Lord to be the Mālik. 'Na tu māma-bhijānanti tattvenātaś-chyavanti te'—In reality, I alone am everything—existent (sat) and non-existent (asat), inert (jada) and conscious (chetan), etc. Therefore, whatever duties (kartavya-karma) are performed, I alone am the Bhokta of those actions and their fruits, and I am also the Mālik of all resources. But those humans who do not know this truth (tattva) understand that whatever they give, feed, or offer to anyone, it is received by those specific beings—for example, if we perform a Yajna, the deities become the Bhokta of the Yajna. If we give Dāna, the recipient becomes the Bhokta of the Dāna. If we give bread to a dog and grass to a cow, the dog and cow become the Bhokta of that bread and grass. If we eat food, we ourselves become the Bhokta of the food. Due to such beliefs, they experience downfall. Therefore, one should not consider anyone else as the Bhokta and Mālik, but should consider Me alone as the Bhokta and Mālik. The second perspective is that whatever enjoyments (bhoga) and prosperity (aishvarya) a person possesses, all of it belongs to Me and is meant for the service of My cosmic form (virat rupa) as the universe. However, humans attached to bhoga and aishvarya, not knowing this truth (tattva), consider bhoga and aishvarya as their own and for their own benefit, leading them to believe that these things are suitable for them, but they become enslaved by those things. The more they consider those things their own, the more subservient they become to them. Then they begin to equate their own well-being or ruin with the making or breaking of those things. This is why their downfall occurs. The import is that knowing Me as the Bhokta and Mālik of all Yajnas leads to liberation (mukti), and not knowing this leads to downfall. The word 'chyavanti' means that by not attaining the Lord, they suffer downfall. Even if they perform auspicious actions and ascend to higher realms (lokas), this too is their downfall, because they inevitably have to return from there (Bhagavad Gita 9.21). They continually experience transmigration (āvāgaman); they cannot become liberated (mukta). Connection: The next verse describes the destinies of those who worship deities, etc., with desires (sakāma bhāva), not considering the Lord as the Bhokta and Mālik of all Yajnas.