| 18. Noble indeed
are all these ; but the wise man, I deem, is the very Self ; for, steadfast
in mind, he resorts to Me alone as the unsurpassed goal.These are all noble
indeed ; i.e those three also are dear to Me. There is no devotee of Mine
but is dear to Me, Vasudeva. There is, however, this difference: the wise
man is excessively dear to Me.Why so ?It is my conviction that the wise
man is the very Self, not different from Me The wise man strives to reach
Me, firm in the faith that he himself is the Lord Vasudeva and is no other
than He. He seeks Me only, the Supreme Brahman, as the highest goal to be
reached. The wise man is again extolled:At the end of many births, the man
of wisdom comes to me, (realizing) that Vasudeva is the all: he is the noblesouled
(Mahatman), very hard to find. At the end of many births occupied in spiritual
regeneration as preparatory to the attainment of wisdom, the man of mature
wisdom resorts to Me, Vasudeva, the innermost Self (Pratyagatman).How ?Realizing
that Vasudeva is the All. He who thus comes to Me, Narayana, the Self of
All, is a Mahatman, a man of high soul ; there is no other either equal
to him or superior to him. Therefore such a man is very hard to find ; it
has indeed been said that among thousands of men, one perchance strives
for perfection The ignorant worship inferior Gods.Now will be shown the
cause of (the people) not seeing that the oneself or Vasudeva alone is the
All: |
