Bg. 9.25 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

यान्ति देवव्रता देवान्पितॄन्यान्ति पितृव्रता: । भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम् ॥ २५ ॥

Verse text

yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām

Synonyms

yānti — go ; deva-vratāḥ — worshipers of demigods ; devān — to the demigods ; pitṝn — to the ancestors ; yānti — go ; pitṛ-vratāḥ — worshipers of ancestors ; bhūtāni — to the ghosts and spirits ; yānti — go ; bhūta-ijyāḥ — worshipers of ghosts and spirits ; yānti — go ; mat — My ; yājinaḥ — devotees ; api — but ; mām — unto Me.

Translation

Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

25. The worshippers of the devas go to the devas, and the worshippers of the Pitṛs go to the Pitṛs. The worshippers of ghosts go to the ghosts, and worshippers of Me go to Me.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

25. The worshippers of the devas go to the devas, and the worshippers of the pitṛas go to the pitṛas. The worshippers of ghosts go to the ghosts, and worshippers of Me go to Me and do not return to this world.

Purport

If one has any desire to go to the moon, the sun or any other planet, one can attain the desired destination by following specific Vedic principles recommended for that purpose, such as the process technically known as Darśa-paurṇamāsa. These are vividly described in the fruitive activities portion of the Vedas, which recommends a specific worship of demigods situated on different heavenly planets. Similarly, one can attain the Pitā planets by performing a specific yajṣa. Similarly, one can go to many ghostly planets and become a Yakṣa, Rakṣa or Piśāca. Piśāca worship is called “black arts” or “black magic.” There are many men who practice this black art, and they think that it is spiritualism, but such activities are completely materialistic. Similarly, a pure devotee, who worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead only, achieves the planets of Vaikuṇṭha and Kṛṣṇaloka without a doubt. It is very easy to understand through this important verse that if by simply worshiping the demigods one can achieve the heavenly planets, or by worshiping the Pitās achieve the Pitā planets, or by practicing the black arts achieve the ghostly planets, why can the pure devotee not achieve the planet of Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu? Unfortunately many people have no information of these sublime planets where Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu live, and because they do not know of them they fall down. Even the impersonalists fall down from the brahma-jyotir. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore distributing sublime information to the entire human society to the effect that by simply chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one can become perfect in this life and go back home, back to Godhead.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

“But they are just worshipping those particular devatās according to the rules established in the books describing the method of worshipping those devatās. The Vaiṣṇavas worship Viṣṇu according what is stated in the books dedicated to Viṣṇu worship. What is wrong if those worshippers follow the instructions of those books?” “That is true, but the rule is this: the devotees of those particular devatās will attain only those particular devatās. And because the devatās are destructible, how can the worshippers of those devatās become indestructible? But it is understood that My devotees are eternal. They are imperishable, just as I am eternal and imperishable.” Both śruti and smṛti confirm the eternal nature of both the Lord and the devotee: bhavān ekaḥ śiṣyate śeṣa-saṁjṣaḥ At that time, You alone remain, and You are known as Ananta. SB 10.3.25 eko nārāyaṇa evāsīn na brahmā na ca śaṅkaraḥ Nārāyaṇa alone existed, not Brahmā or Śiva. Mahā Upaniṣad 1 parārdhānte so ’budhyata gopa-rūpo me purastād āvirbabhūva At the end of Brahmā’s night, He arose from yoga nidrā and appeared before me as before in the form of a cowherd boy. Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.27 na cyavante ca mad-bhaktā mahati pralaye ’pi My devotees are not destroyed even at the time of pralaya. Skanda Purāṇa

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

Though I actually am in the forms of the devatās, because they do not know that, they do not attain Me. That is what is stated in this verse. Because of the use of the word ijyā (worship) later in the verse, the word vrata at the beginning should also mean “worship” in order to give a conformity to the meaning. (Thus deva vratā means deva ijyā and pitṛ vratāḥ means pitṛ ījyā.) Those who worship devas (deva vratāḥ), those who worship Indra and others by ceremonies on the new and full moons in the sāttvika mode, go to those devas. Those in the mode of passion who worship pitṛs (pitṛ vratāḥ) by śrāddha and other rituals go only to the pitṛs. The worshippers of demons (bhūta ijyā), [Note: The word bhūta includes ghosts and demons in the mode of ignorance.] in the mode of ignorance, who worship yakṣas, rakṣasas and vināyaka demons by offerings to them [Note: The bali implies also animal victims.], go to those demons. But only (api) those who worship Me, those who are beyond the modes of nature, who offer Me easily obtainable items, go to Me. The word api is used to restrict going to Kṛṣṇa to those who worship Him. The meaning is this. The worshippers of beings other than Me think as follows. “We are worshippers of Indra and other devas. They are our lords. Being pleased by our worship they should give the results we desire.” My devotees think as follows. “The son of Vasudeva, the Lord of all, endowed with all powers, who is situated in the forms of the devatās, who is our master, being worshipped by easily obtained items and actions, will give all our desired results.” Though they perform exactly the same actions, those who serve the devatās, attain their desired goals alone, because their distaste for thinking of Me. They, with short life span, attain meager fortune, and after enjoying those limited items, they are also destroyed along with those items of enjoyment. But those who serve Me, attain Me, the Lord of all beings, the beginningless shelter, who fulfills all desires, who has infinite powers, who is composed of pure knowledge and bliss, and who is affectionate to the devotees. They never again take birth. They experience infinite happiness close to Me and play in My divine abode.

Surrender Unto Me

In the last section Krsna pleaded for worshiping Him directly not for His own benefit but for the benefit of the worshiper. Krsna in this next section shows the glories of the direct worship of Him, in three ways: 1. The worship is simple, but gives superexcellent results; 2. Krsna is not neutral to His devotee, He shows favoritism; 3. Anyone can be purified by devotional service. Whereas the demigods's worship is very elaborated, very com plicated, requiring much opulence and expertise in chanting the mantras, the worship of Krsna is very easy. [E. THE GLORIES OF DIRECTLY WORSHIPING KRSNA (9. 26‑34) 1. Krsna requests that one worship Him with devotion, even using a leaf, a fruit, a flower, or some water. Or one can offer Krsna the austerities and charities he performs. Such offerings will freed one from all reaction to work. With one's mind thus fixed on Krsna, the worshiper will come to Krsna. (26‑28) ]