Gita : Ch-9. Slo-13.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :


Chapter-9. ( Raja-vidya-raja-guhya-yogam )


Slokam-13.  ( O Arjuna, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible. )


mahatmanastu   mam   partha   daivim   prakrtimasritah,



bhajantyananyamanasah   jnatva   bhutadimavyayam.


prakrtim   eva   sritah   =   ( they )   were   dependent   of  nature  only;

tu   partha   =   but  Arjuna;

mahatmanah   =   ( they )  mahatma-s;

daivim   prkrtim   asritah  =  are  dependent  of  Divine  nature;

mam  avyayam  =  imperishable/in exhustible   Me;

bhutadim   jnatva  =  knowing  Me  is  the  cause  of  creation;

ananyamanasah   bhajanti  =  ( they )  without   deviation  of  the  mind   devote/pray/render  service.


In this slokam the description of mahatma is clearly given.

The first sign of the mahatma is that he is already situated in the divine nature.

He is not under the control of material nature.

And how is this effected?



That is explained in the Seventh Chapter : -

one who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, at once becomes freed from the control of material nature.

That is the qualification. One can become free from the control of material nature as soon as he surrenders his soul to the Supreme Personality of

That is the preliminary formula.

Being marginal potency, as soon as the living entity is freed from the control of material nature, he is put under the guidance of the spiritual nature.

The guidance of the spiritual nature is called daivim prakrtim, divine nature.

So, when one is promoted in that way-by surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead-one attains to the stage of great soul, mahatma.



The mahatma does not divert his attention to anything outside Krishna because he knows perfectly well that Krishnaa is the cause,

Supreme Person, the cause of all causes.

There is no doubt about it.

Such a mahatma, or great soul, develops through association with other mahatmas, pure devotees.

Pure devotees are not even attracted by Krishna's other features, such as the four-armed Maha-Vishnu.

They are simply attracted by the two-armed form of Krishna.

Since they are not attracted to other features of Krishna (what to speak of the demigods), they are not concerned with any form of a demigod or of a human being.

They only meditate upon Krishna.



The question who is it then that worships Lord Krishna is being answered here.

It is the mahatmanas or the great souls who follow the divine nature and are not subdued by lust and desire and therefore their minds are not devoted to anything other than the immutable and eternal Supreme Lord Krishna, understanding that He alone is the cause of all beings and all creation.

The qualities of such great souls is given later in chapter 16 slokam one.



Who then are those who are blessed and praiseworthy?

Lord Krishna declares the mahatmanas or great souls whose hearts are not full of trivial, mundane desires.

This is because all their sins have been eradicated by the multitudes of meritorious deeds performed in thousands of previous lifetimes and thus their hearts have been cleansed of all dross and impurities and they possess the divine nature which will be specifically explained later in verse one of chapter 16.

These mahatmanas have naturally qualified themselves for contemplation and meditation on the ultimate absolute truth associated with the Supreme Lord.

Thus knowing Lord Krishna as the original source of all beings and primal cause of all creation and understanding that He descends and incarnates in His eternal spiritual form to bless, please and protect His devotees; such great beings devoutly worship Him exclusively with heartfelt love in single focused attention.



But those whose self acquired merits have led them to approach the Supreme Lord as their sole sanctuary whose chains of sins have been dissolved and destroyed and who are born of the divine nature are the mahatmanas or of noble souls.

The mahatmanas know Lord Krishna as the infinite source of all beings and cause of all creation whose lilas or divine pastimes are transcendental material existence and beyond the scope of mundane comprehension.

The Supreme Lord Krishna incarnates His avatars or immortal incarnations out of His causeless compassion for all creation to protect the righteous.

Knowing the Supreme Lord as such the great souls with minds exclusively devoted worship and adore Him inceesantly.

Exclusive devotion of the mind denotes that exultant state of consciousness where one is imbued with ecstatic waves of love for the Supreme Lord where if without such a mood and feeling of worshipful devotion not only in the mind and by the external senses but from the atma as well then life would become without support and untenable.

Such great souls worship the Supreme Lord with such intense one pointed focus that this worship alone constitutes their sole aim and complete goal.

To be continued   .....