Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 7 - Shloka (Verse) 21

व्याख्या--'यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः ৷৷. तामेव विदधाम्यहम्'--जो-जो मनुष्य जिस-जिस देवताका भक्त होकर श्रद्धापूर्वक यजन-पूजन करना चाहता है ,उस-उस मनुष्यकी श्रद्धा उस-उस देवताके प्रति मैं अचल (दृढ़) कर देता हूँ। वे दूसरोंमें न लगकर मेरेमें ही लग जायँ--ऐसा मैं नहीं करता। यद्यपि उन-उन देवताओंमें लगनेसे कामनाके कारण उनका कल्याण नहीं होता, फिर भी मैं उनको उनमें लगा देता हूँ, तो जो मेरेमें श्रद्धा-प्रेम रखते हैं, अपना कल्याण करना चाहते हैं, उनकी श्रद्धाको मैं अपने प्रति दृढ़ कैसे नहीं करूँगा अर्थात् अवश्य करूँगा। कारण कि मैं प्राणिमात्रका सुहृद् हूँ--'सुहृदं सर्वभूतानाम्' (गीता 5। 29)।इसपर यह शङ्का होती है कि आप सबकी श्रद्धा अपनेमें ही दृढ़ क्यों नहीं करते? इसपर भगवान् मानो यह कहते हैं कि अगर मैं सबकी श्रद्धाको अपने प्रति दृढ़ करूँ तो मनुष्यजन्मकी स्वतन्त्रता, सार्थकता ही कहाँ रही तथा मेरी स्वार्थपरताका त्याग कहाँ हुआ? अगर लोगोंको अपनेमें ही लगानेका मेरा आग्रह रहे, तो यह कोई बड़ी बात नहीं है क्योंकि ऐसा बर्ताव तो दुनियाके सभी स्वार्थी जीवोंका स्वाभाविक होता है। अतः मैं इस स्वार्थपरताको मिटाकर ऐसा स्वभाव सिखाना चाहता हूँ कि कोई भी मनुष्य पक्षपात करके दूसरोंसे केवल अपनी पूजा-प्रतिष्ठा करवानेमें ही न लगा रहे और किसीको पराधीन न बनाये।अब दूसरी शङ्का यह होती है कि आप उनकी श्रद्धाको उन देवताओंके प्रति दृढ़ कर देते हैं, इससे आपकी साधुता तो सिद्ध हो गयी, पर उन जीवोंका तो आपसे विमुख होनेसे अहित ही हुआ? इसका समाधान यह है कि अगर मैं उनकी श्रद्धाको दूसरोंसे हटाकर अपनेमें लगानेका भाव रखूँगा तो उनकी मेरेमें अश्रद्धा हो जायगी। परन्तु अगर मैं अपनेमें लगानेका भाव नहीं रखूँगा और उनको स्वतन्त्रता दूँगा, तो उस स्वतन्त्रताको पानेवालोंमें जो बुद्धिमान् होंगे, वे मेरे इस बर्तावको देखकर मेरी तरफ ही आकृष्ट होंगे। अतः उनके उद्धारका यही तरीका बढ़िया है।
अब तीसरी शङ्का यह होती है कि जब आप स्वयं उनकी श्रद्धाको दूसरोंमें दृढ़ कर देते हैं, तो फिर उस श्रद्धाको कोई मिटा ही नहीं सकता। फिर तो उसका पतन ही होता चला जायगा? इसका समाधान यह है कि मैं उनकी श्रद्धाको देवताओंके प्रति ही दृढ़ करता हूँ, दूसरोंके प्रति नहीं--ऐसी बात नहीं है। मैं तो उनकी इच्छाके अनुसार ही उनकी श्रद्धाको दृढ़ करता हूँ और अपनी इच्छाको बदलनेमें मनुष्य स्वतन्त्र है, योग्य है। इच्छाको बदलनेमें वे परवश, निर्बल और अयोग्य नहीं हैं। अगर इच्छाको बदलनेमें वे परवश होते तो फिर मनुष्यजन्मकी महिमा ही कहाँ रही? और इच्छा (कामना-) का त्याग करनेकी आज्ञा भी मैं कैसे दे सकता था--'जहि शत्रुं महाबाहो कामरूपं दुरासदम्' (गीता 3। 43)?

उन कामी पुरुषोंमेंसे जोजो सकाम भक्त जिसजिस देवताके स्वरूपका श्रद्धा और भक्तियुक्त होकर अर्चनपूजन करना चाहता है उसउस भक्तकी देवताविषयक उस श्रद्धाको मैं अचल स्थिर कर देता हूँ। अभिप्राय यह कि जो पुरुष पहले स्वभावसे ही प्रवृत्त हुआ जिस श्रद्धाद्वारा जिस देवताके स्वरूपका पूजन करना चाहता है (उस पुरुषकी उसी श्रद्धाको मैं स्थिर कर देता हूँ )।

Anticipating the doubt that "Through the grace of those respective deities, devotion towards Vāsudeva—the Lord of all and the Self of all—will gradually arise even for the desirous," He says "And of them" (teṣāṃ ca).

"By nature" (svabhāvataḥ) means under the influence of impressions from past births; this is the meaning.

He states that even for one worshipping a specific deity with steady faith ordained by the Lord—which is dependent on [past] impressions—the attainment of the fruit is solely through the grace of the Lord; [this He says with] "Whosoever... whichever" (yo yo yāṃ yām).

(Objection): "Even for those whose knowledge has been stolen by various desires, upon gaining discrimination gradually through the grace of those respective deities, devotion to You, Vāsudeva, will arise?" If this is suggested, He answers with "Whosoever" (yaḥ).

Whichever desirous person wishes to worship—to honor—whichever form of a deity (devatā-tanu), being endowed with faith—being a devotee; for that respective desirous person, that very faith—with which, being a devotee, he wishes to worship—I make "unswerving" (acalām), i.e., steady.

Regarding "Whichever form" (yāṃ yāṃ tanum), the syntactic connection of the relative pronoun (yat) has been shown by the Acharya (Shankara), while saying "who wishes to worship whichever deity-form," by connecting it with "of that" (tasyāḥ) located in the subsequent verse.

By this, the statement—"Towards (prati) whichever deity-form [he wishes to have] faith, I make that very faith [steady]"—where the connection of the relative pronoun is clear in such an interpretation, the claim that "it is explained by supplying the word 'towards' (prati)" is refuted. In the commentator's (Shankara's) explanation "that very faith," the connection of the relative pronoun is clear in the stated manner even without supplying the word 'towards'; thus, the ignorance of those who speak otherwise is extremely evident.

"Whichever" (yāṃ yām) "form" (tanum)—possessing the forms of Brahma and others. And it is stated in the Nāradīya [Purana]: "There is an end for the devotees of Brahma and others, but endlessness for My devotees."

Also, from the context of the answers to questions like "To what goal does the liberated one go, and of what nature is liberation?" (Mahabharata 12.334.3) in the Mokṣadharma section.

And also from [questions] like "In the incarnation of Mahavishnu, where is the devotee liberated?" in the Brahma Vaivarta [Purana].

Moreover, whichever devotee—whether Sattvic, Rajasic, or Tamasic—wishes to worship with faith whichever "form" (tanu)—corresponding to their nature, such as forms of gods etc., forms of Yakshas and Rakshasas, or forms of ghosts and spirits—with that very [corresponding] faith; for that respective devotee, I, the Lord of all, make "that very faith"—whether Sattvic, Rajasic, or Tamasic—unswerving.

Even those deities are My bodies—established by Śruti texts like "He who dwelling in the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.7.9) as being My bodies.

Even though not knowing this, whichever devotee wishes to worship with faith whichever body of Mine, such as Indra etc.; considering that "this faith of his, even though he is unaware, is directed towards My body," I Myself make that very [faith] unswerving and free from obstacles.

"Whosoever... whichever" (yo yo yāṃ yām), etc. Among them, whichever devotee wishes to worship with faith whichever "form" (tanu)—which is a deity-form and indeed My own embodiment—and engages in it;

for that respective devotee, I, the Inner Controller, make "that very faith"—which is directed towards that specific form—unswerving, i.e., firm.

Due to the force of what will be said later (in 7.22), here too he shows that Prapatti (Surrender) is a limb of Archana (Worship)—with "Ta evashritya" (Taking shelter of them alone) "Archayanta" (Worshipping). Preceded by the 'choice of the fruit-giver' pregnant with faith, they propitiate by those respective actions; this is the meaning. Due to the power of the nature of Prapatti, the restriction (Avadharana - 'alone') is established. "Accepting Him as the sole means and Prayer"—this indeed is its definition. ||7.21||

Thus, even those attached to other deities and other fruits, when those respective worships and fruits become slack (fail); by the logic "In the non-attainment of a beautiful woman, lust is seen towards animals" (Mahabharata), lest they plunge into forbidden means which are causes of disaster—out of this fear, I, the Supremely Compassionate, Myself grant the 'Faith' which is the cause of that worship, the peace of obstacles, and that fruit—He says this by two verses (7.21, 22)—"Yo yah".

"One Lord alone possesses bodies like Aditya etc. just like incarnations of Rama, Krishna etc., there is no other sentient being (as deity)"—to refute this view of bad vision (incorrect view), he says "Ta api" (They also). This is the intention: In the previous verse, the indication "They surrender to other deities" (7.20) cannot be regarding the specific extraordinary bodies of the Lord, nor regarding the Lord qualified by them; because the designation of "Other Deity" would be inappropriate there, just like for Rama, Krishna etc. And therefore, it must necessarily be accepted as referring to other sentient beings. And "Worshippers of gods go to gods, My devotees come to Me also" (7.23) will be stated separately. Therefore, the word "Tanu" (Body) here, due to the consideration of preceding and succeeding context, refers to specific sentient beings—thus to show the nature of all deities who are specific sentient beings as being the Body of the Lord, he cites the Shruti "Ya aditye" (Who in the Sun...). Here, worship as a Body is not intended. If so, there would be the contingency of it being worship of the Supreme Self like in Pratardana-Vidya etc. And because "But they do not know Me in reality" (9.24) will be said later—with this intention he says "Madiyas tanavah" (My bodies).

"Ajanannapi" (Even not knowing). "Then the designation here as 'Body' is inappropriate and meaningless; 'Whichever Deity' (Yam yam devatam) alone should have been said?"—to this he says "Tasya tasya" (Of that respective). Just as for one doing decoration etc. of the King's body (servant/representative) even without knowing the King's own nature, ultimately the fruit is from the King-self alone—by indicating this logic, the word "Tanu" is appropriate here; this is the purport.

The "Immovability" of the generated faith means its being continuous without obstacles until the attainment of fruit—with this intention "Nirvighnam" (Without obstacle) is said.

इस अध्याय के प्रारम्भिक भाग में ही आत्मानात्म विवेक (जड़चेतन का विभाजन) करके भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण ने वर्णन किया है कि किस प्रकार उनमें समस्त नामरूप पिरोये हुए हैं। उसके पश्चात् उन्होंने यह भी बताया कि किस प्रकार त्रिगुणात्मिका मायाजनित विकारों से मोहित होकर मनुष्य अपने शुद्ध आत्मस्वरूप को नहीं पहचान पाता। आत्मचैतन्य के बिना शरीर मन और बुद्धि की जड़ उपाधियाँ स्वयं कार्य नहीं कर सकती हैं।जगत् में देखा जाता है कि सभी भक्तजन एक ही रूप में ईश्वर की आराधना नहीं करते। प्रत्येक भक्त अपने इष्ट देवता की पूजा के द्वारा सत्य तक पहुँचने का प्रयत्न करता है। भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण स्पष्ट घोषणा करते हैं कि कोई भी भक्त किसी भी स्थान पर मन्दिर मस्जिद गुरुद्वारा या गिरजाघर में एकान्त में या सार्वजनिक स्थान में किसी भी रूप में ईश्वर की पूजा श्रद्धा के साथ करता है उसकी उस श्रद्धा को उसके इष्ट देवता में मैं स्थिर करता हूँ। गीता के मर्म को जानने वाला सच्चा विद्यार्थी कदापि कट्टरपंथी पृथकतावादी या असहिष्णु नहीं हो सकता। ईश्वर के सभी सगुण रूपों का अधिष्ठान एक परम सत्य ही है जहाँ से भक्त के हृदय में भक्तिरूपी पौधा पल्लवित पुष्पित और फलित होने के लिए श्रद्धारूपी जल प्राप्त करता है क्योंकि भगवान् स्वयं कहते हैं मैं उस श्रद्धा को स्थिर करता हूँ।आध्यात्मदृष्टि से विचार करने पर इस श्लोक का और अधिक गम्भीर अर्थ भी स्पष्ट हो जाता है।मनुष्य जिस विषय का निरन्तर चिन्तन करता रहता है उसमें वह दृढ़ता से आसक्त और स्थित हो जाता है। अखण्ड चिन्तन से मन में उस विषय के संस्कार दृढ़ हो जाते हैं और फिर उसके अनुसार ही उस मनुष्य की इच्छायें और कर्म होते हैं। इसी नियम के अनुसार सतत आत्मचिन्तन करने से भी मनुष्य अपने शुद्ध स्वरूप का साक्षात् अनुभव कर सकता है।सारांशत भगवान् का कथन हैं कि जैसा हम विचार करते हैं वैसा ही हम बनते हैं। अत यदि कोई व्यक्ति दुर्गुणों का शिकार हो गया हो अथवा अन्य व्यक्ति दैवी गुणों से संपन्न हो तो यह दोनों के भिन्नभिन्न विचारों का ही परिणाम समझना चाहिए। विचार प्रकृति का अंग है विचारों के अनुरूप जगत् होता है जिसका एक अधिष्ठान है सर्वव्यापी आत्मतत्त्व।सतत समृद्ध हो रही श्रद्धा के द्वारा मनुष्य किस प्रकार इष्ट फल को प्राप्त करता है

[Commentary covering verses] from "By desires" (kāmaiḥ) up to "Me also" (māmapi).

Those, however, who possess minds limited by their own respective natures of desires—whether high or low—which are diverse; they, whose consciousness has been stolen by desires, worship a specific deity who is merely an "intermediate manifestation" (avāntara-tanu) of My very self, appropriate to that [desire].

Therefore, they receive the fruit of their desire from Me alone. However, that [fruit] has an end, because it has been rendered limited by their own latent tendency (vāsanā).

For this very reason, those performing sacrifices etc., with the intention of conceptualizing Indra and others, receive a fruit of that very [limited] kind. But those intent on attaining Me, [attain] Me alone.

To refute the perception that "the Lord's body is the form of Rama, Krishna, etc." [in the context of 'worshipping other bodies'], he says "Yam yam" (Whichever).

Why this? Because of the statement of 'finite fruit' for their devotees in "But finite is the fruit of theirs" (7.23). And that (finite fruit) is possible in grasping Brahma etc., but impossible in grasping the Lord; with this intent he says "Uktam cha" (And it is said). "Of the fruit"—is the remainder.

Also from the context of sentences resolving questions like "Gati is that which is gone to" etc. Due to multiplicity, examples are not given; this is the purport.

(Objection) "Let there be infinite fruit for devotees of the Original Form; but what is the contradiction in accepting finite fruit for devotees of Incarnation-bodies?" To this he says "Avatara" (Incarnation). And in which incarnation (would it be so)?

"Through the grace of those respective deities, devotion towards Lord Vāsudeva, the Controller of all, will arise even for them"—this should not be doubted.

Because—among them, whichever desirous person wishes to worship—engages in worshipping—whichever "form" (tanu) or deity-image, being endowed with faith—meaning devotion that has appeared through the power of latent tendencies of past births. (The form arcitum here is based on the view where the causal affix ṇic is absent for the root arc belonging to the Curādi class).

For that respective desirous person, I, the Inner Controller, make the faith "towards that very deity-form"—the devotion obtained by the force of past tendencies—unswerving, i.e., steady; the meaning is that I do not make his faith directed towards Me.

In the explanation "that very faith" (tām eva śraddhām) [without adding extra words], the lack of syntactic connection of the relative pronoun (yat) is evident; therefore, it has been explained by supplying the word "towards" (prati).

Therefore, I also, [considering] them unfit for the gift of the Svarūpa-rasa (the bliss of My own essential nature), make them firm in the worship of those deities; this He states with "Whosoever" (yo yaḥ), etc.

Whichever devotee wishes to worship whichever "form"—meaning whichever deity-image—with faith, for the sake of fulfilling his own desires, with a pure mind; for that devotee, I alone establish, make, and nourish that very faith to be "unswerving"—meaning incapable of being shaken even by scriptural knowledge, etc.

Whichever desirous person, being endowed with faith and being a devotee, wishes to worship—to honor—whichever deity-form; for that respective desirous person, I make "that very" faith "unswerving"—steady; [meaning] I make it firm.

By which [faith] indeed he was previously engaged by nature, whoever wishes to worship whichever deity-form with faith...

Those deities too are Mine, being My bodies; because it is thus propounded by Śruti texts like "He who dwelling in the Sun is within the Sun, whom the Sun does not know, whose body is the Sun" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.7.9).

Without knowing that indeed, "whosoever... whichever" [wishes to worship]...; for him, even though he is ignorant, considering that "this faith is regarding that which is My body," I [alone] make that very faith unswerving.

यः who? यः who? याम् which? याम् which? तनुम् form? भक्तः devotee? श्रद्धया with faith? अर्चितुम् to worship? इच्छति desires? तस्य तस्य of him? अचलाम् unflinching? श्रद्धाम् faith? ताम् that? एव surely? विदधामि make? अहम् I.Commentary Tanu or body is used here in the sense of a Devata (god).The Lord? the indweller of all beings? makes the faith of that devotee who worships the lesser divinities? which is born of the Samskaras of his previous birth? steady and unswerving. (Cf.IV.11IX.22and23)

Yam yam, whichever; tanum, form of a deity; yah, any covetous person- among these people with desires; who, being endowed sraddhaya, with faith; and being a bhaktah, devotee; icchati, wants; arcitum, to worship; tam eva, that very; acalam, firm, steady; sraddham, faith; tasya, of his, of that particular covetous person-that very faith with which he desires to worship whatever form of a deity, in which (worship) he was earlier engaged under the impulsion of his own nature-; [Ast. takes the portion 'svabhavatah yo yam devata-tanum sraddhaya arcitum icchati' with the next verse.-Tr.] vidadhami, I strengthen.

These divinities too constitute My body as taught in the Sruti text like: 'He who, dwelling in the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun' (Br. U., 3.7.9). Whichever devotee seeks to worship with faith whatever form of Mine, such as the Indra, although not knowing these divinities to be My forms, I consider his faith as being directed to My bodies or manifestations, and make his faith steadfast, i.e., make it free from obstacles.