The Supremacy of Saguna Worship; Description of Kshetra, Knowledge, and the Knowable
1-2. King Varenya said - [O Lord!] Those who worship you with devotion as having form, and those who worship you as the imperishable, supreme unmanifest, who among them is superior? O Omniscient One! You are the witness of all, the sustainer of beings, O Lord, thus I ask you, please tell me out of kindness.
3. Shri Ganesha spoke - The devotee who with a focused mind worships my manifested form with devotion, such a devoted one with exclusive faith is particularly dear to me.
4-5.He who, controlling all senses, does good to all creatures, meditates on the imperishable, unmanifest, all-pervading, and unchangeable Brahman, which is difficult to know, and worships me, he too attains me, and I also rescue him from the ocean of worldly existence.
6-7. Those who worship the unmanifest Brahman suffer more hardships. What is attained by devotion to the manifest form is also attained through the worship of the unmanifest. Even one with little knowledge, if full of devotion, is superior among all scholars. Here, devotion is the main reason.
8-9. One who worships without devotion is like an outcaste, and one who, even born as an outcaste, worships me with devotion, is superior to that Brahmin. Sages like Shuka, Sanaka, and others have been liberated through devotion, and through devotion, Narada and the ever-living Markandeya and others have attained me.
10-11. Therefore, O King! You should fix your mind and intellect in me with devotion. If you worship me with devotion, you will attain me. O King! If you cannot fix your mind on me, then strive to attain me through the yoga of practice.
12-14. And if that too is not possible, then perform actions and dedicate them to me; by my grace, you will attain supreme peace. And if even this you cannot do, then with effort, renounce the fruits of all three types of actions. Firstly, fixing the intellect on me is superior, better than that is meditation, better than meditation is the renunciation of all actions, and from this renunciation comes the most excellent peace.
15. He who is devoid of ego, free from possessiveness, does not harbor hate, is compassionate to all, and views gain and loss, happiness and distress, honor and dishonor with equanimity, he is dear to me.
16. He from whose sight none feels fear and who does not feel fear from anyone; who is free from agitation, fear, anger, and excessive joy, he is my beloved.
17-19. One whose mind remains the same towards friend and foe, in slander and praise, in joy and sorrow, who is silent, of steady mind, full of devotion, and unattached, he is dear to me. He who follows this teaching of mine is worthy of reverence in the three worlds and that liberated soul is always dear to me. He who does not rejoice in gaining what is desirable nor grieves in obtaining what is undesirable, and knows the field (Kshetra) and the knower of the field (Kshetrajna), he is most dear to me.
20. Varenya said - O Elephant-Faced One! What is the field, and who is its knower, and what is that knowledge? O Ocean of Mercy! Tell me, who is asking, all this.
21-22. Shri Ganesha spoke - Earth, water, and the other five great elements, their corresponding subtle elements like smell, taste, etc., the five organs of action, ego, mind, intellect, the five sense organs, the unmanifest (original nature), desire, resolution, hate, joy and sorrow, along with consciousness - this entire group is called the field.
23. O King! Know me as the knower of that field, the inner controller, and all-pervading. Both I and this aggregate are subjects of knowledge.
24-26. Simplicity, service to the guru, dispassion towards sense objects, purity, forbearance, renunciation of hypocrisy, seeing faults like birth and death, equanimity, firm devotion, solitude, and the knowledge that includes self-control and mental tranquility, understand that as true knowledge, O King. O King! I am going to tell you about the subject of this knowledge, listen, by knowing which you will be freed from the worldly ocean and become liberated.
27-28. That which is beginningless, without senses, the enjoyer of qualities like sattva, rajas, and tamas, yet devoid of qualities, unmanifest, beyond being and non-being, the illuminator of sense objects. That which supports the universe, is all-pervading, one yet appears in many forms, is complete inside and out, unattached, and beyond darkness.
29. It is not known due to its extreme subtlety, it illuminates even the lights, thus know the ancient Purusha, knowable through knowledge, as the knowable Brahman.
30-31. This is the Supreme Brahman, this is the soul, the highest, the imperishable, and known as the Purusha beyond nature. It enjoys the qualities that arise from nature. It is these three qualities of nature that bind this Purusha in the body. When there is an increase in peace and illumination in the body, then the predominance of the sattva quality is understood.
32. Greed, unrest, desire, and the undertaking of actions - these are the characteristics of the rajo quality. Delusion, laziness, ignorance, and negligence - know these as the qualities of tamas.
33. When sattva is predominant, there is attainment of happiness and knowledge, when rajas is predominant, there is action, and when tamas is predominant, there is sleep and laziness other than happiness.
34. By the increase of these three, humans attain liberation, worldly life, and degradation respectively, therefore, O King! Be endowed with the sattva quality.
35-36. O Sovereign of Men! Therefore, worship me, the Supreme Soul, present everywhere, with unwavering devotion in all forms. O King! Know the brilliance in fire, the sun, the moon, the stars, and in learned Brahmins as my brilliance.
37-39. I alone give birth to the entire universe, cause its destruction, and nourish the world with my brilliance. As the deities presiding over the senses, I govern the senses, and I, as the fire in the belly, digest the eaten and drunk, being free from virtue and vice. I am Vishnu, Rudra, Brahma, Gauri, and Ganesha, and deities like Indra and the guardians of the worlds have originated from my parts.
40-41. In whichever form beings worship me with devotion, I show them that form according to their devotion. O King! Thus, I have described to you the field, the knower, the knowledge, and the knowable, as you inquired.
Thus, in the Kridakhanda of the Shri Ganesha Purana, the chapter named "The Discernment of the Field, the Knower, and the Knowable" is completed.