Bhagavad Gita 7.22स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते।लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान् हि तान् ॥
sa tayā śhraddhayā yuktas tasyārādhanam īhate
labhate cha tataḥ kāmān mayaiva vihitān hi tān
Sanskrit recitation
What you worship shapes you · 7.20–7.30 · Teaching
Translation
Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that form and obtains his desired outcome, which is ordained by Me alone.
Hindi translation
उस (मेरे द्वारा दृढ़ की हुई) श्रद्धासे युक्त होकर वह मनुष्य (सकामभावपूर्वक) उस देवताकी उपासना करता है और उसकी वह कामना पूरी भी होती है; परन्तु वह कामना-पूर्ति मेरे द्वारा विहित की हुई होती है।
Meaning
The last two words Hi and Tan are taken as one word, Hitan meaning benefits. This is another interpretation. The devotee who worships the lesser gods attains the objects of his desire (minor psychic powers, etc.). Those objects are ordained by the Lord only as He alone knows exactly the relation between the actions and their results or rewards and as He is the Inner Ruler of all beings. Unwise or undiscriminating people only take recourse to the means of getting these finite rewards which can hardly give entire satisfaction. Pitiable indeed is their lot They have,no power of enquiry (VicharaSakti) or right understanding. They get hold of pieces of glass instead of attaining the jewel of the Self, of incalculabe value.
After Swami Sivananda
What you worship shapes you· 7.20–7.30→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 7.20Those whose wisdom has been taken away by this or that desire, go to other gods, following…
- 7.21Whatever form any devotee desires to worship with faith, I make that same faith of his…
7.22Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that form and obtains his desired…
- 7.23Verily, the reward (fruit) that accrues to those men of small intelligence is finite. The…
- 7.24The foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as having manifestation, not knowing My higher,…
- 7.25I am not manifest to all, veiled as I am by the Yoga-Maya. This deluded world does not…
- 7.26I know, O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present, and the future; however, no one…
- 7.27O Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth due to the delusion of the pairs of…
- 7.28But those men of virtuous deeds, whose sins have come to an end and who are freed from the…
- 7.29Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realize in…
- 7.30Those who know Me with the Adhibhuta (pertaining to the elements), Adhidaiva (pertaining…
Word-by-word→
- hi
- certainly
- cha
- and
- eva
- alone
- tān
- those
- mayā
- by me
- saḥ
- he
- tasya
- of that
- tayā
- with that
- īhate
- tries to engange in
- kāmān
- desires
- labhate
- obtains
- tataḥ
- from that
- vihitān
- granted
- yuktaḥ
- endowed with
- ārādhanam
- worship
- śhraddhayā
- faith
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