| 26. I know O
Arjuna, the past and the present and the future beings, but Me nobody knows.Nobody
knows Me, except that one man who worships Me and seeks refuge with Me.
Just for want of knowledge of My real nature, nobody worships Me.The root
of ignorance It may be asked, What is that obstacle to their knowledge of
My real nature, whereby deluded, all creatures that are born know Me not
?Listen:From the delusion of pairs caused by desire and aversion, O Bharata,
all beings are subject to illusion at birth, O harasser of thy foes, The
very desire and aversion which are opposed to each other like heat and cold,
and which, arising in connection with pleasure and gain and their causes,
occur to every being in its turn, are known as pairs (dvandva). Now, when
desire, and aversion arise on the occurrence of pleasure and pain or on
the causes thereof they cause delusion in all beings and create obstruction
to the rise of a knowledge of the Supreme Reality, the Self, by subjugation
to themselves the intelligence of those beings. To one whose mind is subject
to the passions of desire and aversion, there cannot indeed arise a knowledge
of things as they are, even of the external world and it needs no saying
that to a man whose intellect is over powered by passion there cannot arise
a knowledge of the Innermost Self, inasmuch as there are many obstacles
in its way. All creatures into existence are born subject to this delusion.
Wherefore every being has its intelligence obscured by the delusion of pairs
; and thus deluded it knows not that I am the Self, and therefore worships
Me not as the Self.Divine worship leads to realization.Who then are free
from the delusion of pairs and know Thee and worship Thee as their Self
according to the Teaching (Sastra) In answer to this, the Lord says |
