As we approach the middle point of the eighteen yogas (and eighteen chapters) of the Gītā, we come to an explication of spiritual knowledge represented as both highest and hidden. Krishna assures Arjuna that this yoga practice brings direct experience of truth, which is truth grounded in righteousness; this yoga is joyfully practiced, and it is perpetually available for all human beings to practice (9.2). And, along with this list of attractive features of yoga comes a warning: Essential to success in yoga is to have a firm spirit of trust in the process; otherwise one is sure to continue to spin aimlessly in death’s cyclical pathway (9.3).

In Chapter 7, Krishna had likened the phenomenal world to so many pearls strung on the thread of himself. Now Krishna, bhagavān, adds a subtle point about his relationship to the world. On the one hand, everything of the phenomenal world rests upon him; and yet he himself is not present, for he is aloof from everything. To better appreciate the paradox, we are invited to consider how wind (likened to all the living beings) blows everywhere, yet it is situated within space (likened to bhagavān, the supreme spirit) (9.4-6). Further (and partially echoing verses in chapter 8), Krishna identifies himself as the “supervisor of nature” who nonetheless remains unaffected by his actions (9.7-10). And although ignorant, bewildered people are unable to acknowledge bhagavān’s supervisory position over nature’s functions, there are others, whom Krishna refers to as mahātmās—“great ones”—who do acknowledge his position and who therefore find refuge in his atemporal, non-material nature (9.11-13). Such mahātmās can be recognized by their constant and determined efforts to honor this supermundane being in one or another of several possible activities, such as meditative comprehension or Vedic ritual, and by identifying him in several of his functions (9.14-19).

Krishna now seems to reiterate the “spectrum of attitudes” encountered in Chapter 7, combining this with his distinction, in Chapter 8, between persons who achieve, and persons who do not achieve, permanent freedom from temporal existence. But now he puts further emphasis on his own involvement in the process of achieving permanent freedom. In particular, Krishna promises that for persons who fix their minds on nothing else but him (Krishna), he will deliver to them all their needs to maintain themselves while living in the temporal realm (9.22). He then provides specific tips for keeping connected (yoga) with the atemporal dimension: One may render simple offerings (we may recall the process of sacrifice—yajña—presented in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4) of items from nature to Krishna, such as leaves, a flower, some fruit, and water, and if these are offered “with devotion” (bhakti) Krishna assures that he will accept them. More generally, Krishna advises Arjuna to perform all his activities, formal rites, charity, and penances, in relation to the supreme person, for in this way he is sure to become completely free from the bondage of action (karma) (9.26-28).

This chapter concludes with a message of hope: The nature of bhagavān is such that everyone has the opportunity to approach him, and even if someone, due to bad habit, does something quite inappropriate and unseemly for a yogī, she or he will soon enough be corrected and protected. Indeed, even persons generally considered of lowly birth, and persons of either gender, can attain spiritual perfection. The key is to set one’s mind on spirit in its personal feature as bhagavān and to regard oneself as a bhakta—a devotee—of bhagavān. This is the king of knowledge and the king of secrets, and to mould one’s life in this way is to practice profoundly effective and joyful yoga (9.29-34).

The latter portion of this chapter (from verse 22 to the end, 34) highlight a core notion of yoga in the Gītā as a whole, namely, relationality. As living beings, we are irreducibly connected with other beings and to the source of all beings, brahman or bhagavān. And especially when the yogī comprehends spirit as bhagavān, he or she can experience the fullness and joy of relationality, reciprocation, and true community. In this chapter, the “royal and hidden knowledge” is knowing-how (vidyā) more than knowledge-that (jñāna); thus, it points to acting with skill, for which regular practice is important to become well-skilled.