This summary is about verses 7.20 to 7.23 of the seventh chapter and verses 9.20, 9.21 and 9.23 to 9.25 of the ninth chapter of the Gita. It is the fourth stop on The Path of Devotion. Before it is Four Kinds of Devotees, where even the one who wants something is called a good soul. After it comes The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care, about those who stay turned only to the Lord and whom the Lord looks after.

The answer in one line

The answer is not a scolding. The Lord steadies, in that very form, the faith of one who wants to worship some form with faith, and the arranging of the fruit that comes is also His (Gita 7.21–22).

But such fruit is perishable. Even heaven ends with merit (Gita 7.23, Gita 9.21). Worship of the gods also reaches the Lord, but without right understanding (Gita 9.23). And the rule is that you reach whatever you turn to (Gita 9.25).

What problem this answers

In the temple we ask for something: marks, peace, a job, health. In homes the worship of the family deity or chosen deity has gone on for generations. Is it wrong to ask a deity for something? Does the Gita say that worship of anyone but the Lord is not right?

The setting

In the seventh chapter there are four kinds of devotees, and the man of knowledge who knows that "all is Vasudeva" is rare. So where do the rest, who do not know this, go? Verses 7.20 to 7.23 answer.

In the ninth chapter the talk returns to sacrifice and the Vedic rites: those who want heaven get it, and then return.

In the previous subject even the one with desire was a good soul. Here the next question is: where does wanting go, and what happens to it?

The verses in order

Verse 7.20: why people go to other gods

Those whose discernment is covered by various desires take up some rule, driven by their own nature, and take refuge in other gods (Gita 7.20).

First comes the wish, then the god. Children, freedom from illness, a job: the mind goes to the one it has heard gives. And every person has his own nature. One attaches to a single god, another keeps fasts, another recites a mantra.

"Other" means other than the Lord. The verse does not call the gods false, and does not look down on the worshipper. It only gives the reason: before desire, discernment is covered.

Verse 7.21: the Lord does not break faith, He steadies it

Whatever form a devotee wishes to worship with faith, the Lord makes his faith steady in that very form (Gita 7.21).

This is the heart of the whole passage. The Lord does not shake it, and does not taunt "you are going to the wrong place". On whichever form the mind wants to rest, He makes it firm there. It is a deep respect for faith: it is real enough that He strengthens it.

The worship in your home, your attachment to your deity, your faith, all are accepted here without blame.

Verse 7.22: the fruit is given, the giver is the Lord

With that faith he worships the god and gains the desired enjoyments, which are in truth arranged by the Lord Himself (Gita 7.22).

There are two things. One, the fruit really does come. Worship is not in vain. Two, behind the fruit the giver is the Lord. The gods are the means, and the arrangement is the Lord's.

Companion verses are these. Verse 3.12 says that the gods, pleased by sacrifice, give desired enjoyments (Gita 3.12). Verse 4.12 says that those who wish for success in action worship the gods, because the success born of action comes quickly (Gita 4.12). There it says "the gods give". Verse 7.22 goes one step further: behind them the giver is the Lord.

Verse 7.23: but the fruit is perishable

The fruit that comes to the small-minded is perishable. Worshippers of the gods go to the gods, and My devotees come to Me alone (Gita 7.23).

"Small-minded" is no insult. These same people are later called good souls (Gita 7.16). It means the understanding is still small, and one asks only as much as one sees.

The more useful point is that you reach whatever you turn to. Before looking at the fruit, see whether what will be received lasts.

Verses 9.20 and 9.21: heaven is reached, then there is a return

Those of the ritual of the three Vedas, who drink the soma, purified of sin, ask for heaven through sacrifice. They reach the world of Indra and enjoy divine pleasures (Gita 9.20). When their merit is spent they come back from the vast heaven to the world of mortals. Those who desire enjoyments only come and go (Gita 9.21).

There are three things here. First, heaven is not called small. It is vast, with divine pleasures. Second, the return is no punishment. Merit is saved capital, and when it is spent the enjoyment stops. Third, at the higher level too, verse 8.16 says there is a return even from the world of Brahma, but for one who reaches the Lord there is no rebirth (Gita 8.16).

Verses 2.42 to 2.44 say that for those whose minds are carried off by flowery words of enjoyment and power, the resolute intellect does not become steady (Gita 2.42–44).

Verse 9.23: such worship also reaches the Lord

Even those devotees who worship other gods with faith worship Me alone, but not in the right way, meaning without rightly knowing the Supreme (Gita 9.23).

This is the most generous sentence in the whole passage. The worship is not in vain, it reaches the Lord. The lack is not in the worship but in understanding. The worshipper does not know who stands behind the one he is worshipping.

Verse 9.24: the Lord is the enjoyer of all sacrifices

He alone is the enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Those who do not know Him in truth fall from the supreme goal and return (Gita 9.24).

This is the reason for the previous verse. The worship reaches Him because He is the enjoyer of every sacrifice. For one who does not know this, the fruit of his worship stays within the limit of his understanding.

"Returning" is like returning from heaven (Gita 9.21): the end of what was wanted. It is not the name of a punishment.

Verse 9.25: the rule

Worshippers of the gods go to the gods, worshippers of the ancestors to the ancestors, worshippers of spirits to spirits, and My devotees come to Me alone (Gita 9.25). Different destinations are named. The Gita does not say that every worship ends in one place.

Worship, fruit, end

Going to a god with a wish brings the desired enjoyment, by the Lord's arrangement, but for a limited time. Faith is steadied and the fruit is perishable (Gita 7.21–23).

Going to heaven by sacrifice brings the divine pleasures of the vast heaven, as long as merit lasts. Then there is a return (Gita 9.20–21).

Going to a god without understanding brings fruit, but not the whole, only as much as the understanding. The worship reaches the Lord, but not in the right way (Gita 9.23–24).

And going to the Lord brings the Lord Himself, and there is no return. The devotees reach Me alone (Gita 7.23, Gita 9.25).

Why the Gita says it this way

Verse 4.11 says that as people take refuge in Me, so I respond to them (Gita 4.11). That is why the faith of one coming to a god is steadied, and the fruit comes too.

Verse 9.29 says He is even toward all. Nearness is made by the worshipper's turning (Gita 9.29).

Verses 17.3 and 17.4 say that a person is made of faith, and as his faith is, so is he. By what he worships, his nature is known. Worship is not only an action. It shapes the person (Gita 17.3–4).

And verses 16.23 and 16.24 say that one who sets aside the rule of the scripture and acts on his own wish gets neither perfection nor happiness nor the supreme goal. Worship needs a direction. Wanting alone is not enough (Gita 16.23–24).

Does the Gita say worship of other gods is useless

Why does the doubt come? Verse 7.23, where the fruit of the small-minded is perishable, and verse 9.24, where those who do not know in truth return, seem when read alone to make the gods small.

Read closely, three things show. First, faith is steadied (Gita 7.21), and nobody steadies faith in something false. Second, the fruit really does come, and the arrangement is the Lord's (Gita 7.22). Third, the worship reaches the Lord, but not in the right way (Gita 9.23).

Where is the limit? The Gita calls the fruit limited, not the worship. The fruit asked for is perishable (Gita 7.23), even heaven ends with merit (Gita 9.21), and as the worship is, so is the destination (Gita 9.25).

The right meaning is that the worship is neither false nor in vain. Faith is respected, the fruit comes by the Lord's arrangement, and the fruit is as great and lasting as the understanding with which it was asked. The Lord's invitation is that one turn also to the giver.

Four common misunderstandings

The first misunderstanding is that the Gita says other gods are false. That is not so. Faith is steadied, the fruit really comes (Gita 7.21–22), and the worship reaches the Lord too (Gita 9.23).

The second is that all worship reaches the same place. That is not so. Different destinations are named: gods, ancestors, spirits and the Lord (Gita 9.25).

The third is that asking for something is a sin. That is not so. The Lord Himself says the fruit asked for comes by His arrangement (Gita 7.22). Asking is no sin. Stopping there is the limit.

The fourth is that the Lord is angry with those who go elsewhere. It is the opposite. He steadies their faith (Gita 7.21).

A frame for practice

The next time before asking, pause a moment and see what I am asking for. Before asking, thank the giver, for the arrangement of what came earlier was also His. And once a week sit quietly for a while without asking. That is the first step towards the nearness that marks the devotee who knows.

Questions people ask

Can the worship of a family deity go along with the Gita's way? Yes. The Lord does not break faith, He steadies it (Gita 7.21), and worship done with faith reaches Him too (Gita 9.23). Only recognise also the Lord who stands behind the worship. He is the enjoyer of all sacrifices (Gita 9.24).

Is it wrong to pray for a job or an exam? No. The fruit asked for does come, and the arrangement is the Lord's (Gita 7.22). But it is perishable (Gita 7.23), so remember the giver along with the asking.

Is "small-minded" an insult? No. It means the understanding is still small and one asks only as much as one sees. These same people are good souls (Gita 7.16).

If the Lord is the giver, why not go straight to Him? Because the giver is greater than the gift. What is given is perishable (Gita 7.23), even heaven ends with merit (Gita 9.21), while on reaching the Lord there is no return (Gita 8.16).

Is every worship right? No. Worship reaches the Lord, but not in the right way (Gita 9.23), and the next verse names the lack of understanding as the real lack (Gita 9.24). The destinations also differ (Gita 9.25).

If you have to explain it in thirty seconds

Out of desire people go to other gods (Gita 7.20). The Lord does not break their faith. He steadies it in that very form (Gita 7.21), and the arrangement of the fruit that comes is also His (Gita 7.22). But that fruit is perishable, and even heaven ends with merit (Gita 7.23, Gita 9.21). Such worship also reaches the Lord, but without understanding (Gita 9.23–24). The rule is plain: you reach whatever you turn to (Gita 9.25). So the question is not "which worship is right" but "what am I asking for, and how long will it last". And one who turns to the Lord receives the Lord.

Related hubs: The Path of Devotion (path) · Four Kinds of Devotees (before) · The Steadfast Devotee and Divine Care (next)