Verse 9.15

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 9.15:

ज्ञान-यज्ञेन चाप्य् अन्ये यजन्तो माम् उपासते ।
एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतो-मुखम् ॥ १५ ॥

jñāna-yajñena cāpy anye yajanto mām upāsate |
ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvato-mukham || 15 ||

jñāna-yajñena–through the culture of knowledge; ca–and; api–however; anye–others; yajantaḥ–worship; mām–Me; upāsate–worship; ekatvena–through the monistic conception; pṛthaktvena–with a conception of duality; bahudhā–with the conception of many gods; viśvataḥ-mukham–with the concept of the universal form.

There are others who engage in sacrifice (yajña) by cultivating knowledge. Some worship Me with a conception of oneness, some with a conception of duality, some through the forms of various demigods, and some worship Me as the universal form.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

In this chapter and in previous chapters, only exclusive devotees, those in whom there is no trace of karma, jñāna, yoga, worldly desire and so on, have been referred to as mahātmās. It has been shown that such devotees are superior to all other types of devotees, such as those seeking relief from distress. Now Śrī Bhagavān is speaking about the other three types of devotees who were not described earlier and who fall into a different category. They are ahaṅgraha-upāsakas, those who identify themselves with their object of worship. The pratīka-upāsakās worship the demigods, considering them to be Supreme, but in fact those demigods are simply potencies of the Lord. The viśvarūpa-upāsakas worship the universal, or cosmic, form of the Lord. None of them are mahātmās because they are unable to perform the sādhana described previously (Gītā 9.14).

The three meanings of jñāna-yajña are described in the Śrutis:

(1) “O Deva-puruṣa, Master of all opulences! Whatever You are, I am that, and whatever I am, You are also that.” This is ahaṅgraha-upāsanā, and some jñānīs engage in the worship of Parameśvara by this. Here, the word ca has been used to mean evam (also) and api has been used in the sense of ‘giving up all other processes’. The word ekatvena (oneness) means ‘thinking that the worshipper is one with the worshipable’. In the Tantra it is said, “nādevo devam arcayet–one who is not a demigod oneself cannot worship a demigod.” Ahaṅgraha-upāsanā means to worship Gopāla with the feeling “I am Gopāla.”

(2) Inferior to this type of worship is pṛthaktvena (worship in duality), wherein the worshippers engage in sacrifice in the form of pratīka-upāsanā. The Śrutis state, ‘The sun is brahma; this alone is the instruction.’ This is the explanation of Śrīpāda Madhusūdana Sarasvatī.

Some worshippers think that the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu is the sun, and that there is no sun other than Him; that He Himself is Indra, and there is no other Indra; and that He is Soma, and there is no other Soma. This type of worship, in which the vibhūtis (opulences) are seen as being Bhagavān in different forms, is called pratīka-upāsanā.

(3) To worship all the vibhūtis with the knowledge that Viṣṇu is everything is called viśvarūpa-upāsanā. “Those who have less intelligence worship My universal form in various ways, considering Me to be the soul of everything.”

In this way, jñāna-yajña has three divisions. Sometimes, the oneness of the worshipper with the object of worship (ekatvena) and the worship of Śrī Bhagavān’s vibhūtis as being different from Bhagavān (pṛthaktvena) are placed in one category, because they are almost the same. For example, in ahaṅgraha-upāsanā is the mentality “I am Gopāla” and also “I am the servant of Gopāla.” These two types of feelings are likened to a river that is approaching the ocean. The river is different from the ocean, yet it is also non-different. Therefore, jñāna-yajña is of two types when categorized in this way.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

The superior position of the exclusive, or one-pointed, devotees is apparent when they are compared to certain devotees, such as those who approach the Lord out of distress (ārta). An ananya-bhakta can be addressed as mahātmā, exalted soul. Having stated this, Śrī Bhagavān then explains three other types of worshippers who are inferior to them. These three types of worshippers are unable to perform the sādhana of the exclusive, one-pointed devotees, so they worship Śrī Bhagavān by the sacrifice of knowledge endowed with bhakti, which is predominated by karma and so forth (guṇī-bhūtā-bhakti), and they deliberate on the reality of ekatvena (oneness), pṛthaktvena (difference, duality) and bahudhā, or viśvatomukham (the universal form).

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “O Arjuna, superior to those devotees who approach Me out of distress are the exclusive devotees who are known as mahātmās. I have described the devotees who approach Me, in various ways, out of distress. Now I will explain the three other types of devotees who are inferior to them and whom I have not yet mentioned. Learned scholars call these three types of worshippers ahaṅgraha-upāsaka, pratīka-upāsaka and viśvarūpa-upāsaka.

“Ahaṅgraha-upāsakas are superior to the other two. They call themselves ‘Bhagavān’ and with this ego, they perform worship. This mentality, or egoism, is one type of yajña for worshipping Parameśvara. The ahaṅgraha-upāsakas worship brahma, the featureless aspect of the Absolute, while performing this yajña with a conception of oneness with brahma. Pratīka-upāsakas are inferior to them. They think of themselves as separate from Bhagavān and they worship the sun, Indra, etc., but without the understanding that the sun and Indra are only Śrī Bhagavān’s opulences, or vibhūtis. Those who are even less intelligent worship Śrī Bhagavān in the form of viśvarūpa (the universal form). Thus, jñāna-yajña is of three types.”