Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand 441

Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand Ji

CHAPTER 7 Immaculate Knowledge And ultimately, with gradual progress, there is the attaintment of perception and supreme peace. In this context “gods” represent forces of piety by which the divinity of God is secured. These godly impulses that have to be fostered are the means for salvation and their twenty-four attributes are enumerated in Chapter-16. The righteousness which garners the sanctity of God within the worshippers heart is named “god”. It was at the outset something internal, but with the passage of time people began to visualize these qualities in palpable forms. So idols were made, the karmkand was devised, and truth was lost sight of. Krishn has attempted to refute the misconception about gods and goddesses in verses 20-23 of the present chapter. Naming other gods for the first time here in the Geeta, he has emphatically said that they do not exist. Whenever faith declines or grows feeble, it is he who supports it and makes it firm, and it is also he who provides rewards for this faith. But these rewards are finite and perishable. Fruits are destroyed, gods are destroyed, and worshippers of these god are also destroyed. So only the ignorant who are lacking in discrimination worship other gods. Later Krishn will even go to the extent of affirmating that such worship is an impiety. (9.23).