Wisdom and Realization-Bhagavad Gita

Like the other Holy Books and Wisdom, the Bhagavad Gita is also a wonderful wisdom to read and I wanted to share this part with you....enjoy..

On Wisdom and Realization...

The Blessed Lord Said:

Listen, Arjuna.  I will tell you how you can know me beyond doubt by practicing
   non attachment and surrendering yourself to me.

I will teach you the essence of this wisdom and its realization; when you come to master
   this, there is nothing further that needs to be known.

Of ten thousand men, perhaps one man strives for perfection; of ten thousand who
   strive, perhaps one man knows me in truth.

Earth, fire, water, and wind, air, mind and understanding.  and the I-sense: these
   are the eight aspects of my physical nature.

This is my lower nature; but beyond this, I have another higher nature; the life
   that sustains all beings in the world.

Know that it is the womb from which all beings arise;  the universe is born
   within me, and within me will be destroyed.

There is nothing more fundamental than I, Arjuna; all words, all beings, are strung
   like pearls on a single thread.

I am the taste in water, the light in the moon and sun, the sacred syllable "Om" in
   the Vedas, the sound in air.

I am the fragrance in the earth the manliness in men, the brilliance in fire, the life in
   the living, and the abstinence in ascetics.

I am the primal seed within all beings, Arjuna;  the wisdom of those who know,
   the splendor of the high and mighty.

I am the strength of the strong man who is free of desire and attachment.  I am
   desire itself when desire is consistent with duty.

All states of being, whether marked by sattva or rajas or tamas, proceed from me;
   they are in me, not I in them.

Because most men are deluded by the states of being, they cannot recognize me,
   who am above these, supreme, eternal.

But those men who turn to me can penetrate beyond this wondrous power of mine,
   this magic created by the three gunas.

Others are deluded by my power; they do not attempt to find me and, in their ignorance,
   sink into demonic evil.

There are four kinds of virtuous men who worship me, Arjuna; the men in distress,
   the man who seeks power, the man who seeks wisdom and the sage.

Of these four, the sage is the most praiseworthy; unattached, steadfast, that man is
   supremely beloved by me, as I am by him.

All these are noble-minded but the sage is my very self; calm, untroubled, he dwells
   in the ultimate goal;  in me. 

At the end of his many lives, the sage unites with me, thinking " Krishna is all that is." 
   Great souls like this are rare.

Men whose wisdom is darkened by desires, men who are hemmed in by the limits
   of their own natures, take refuge in other gods.

But whatever the form of reverence, whatever god a sincere devotee chooses
   to worship, I grant him an unanswering faith.

Empowered by his faith, that man earnestly seeks the god's favor and obtains the
   things he desires, because I myself have ordained it.

But fleeting is the reward that men of small minds are given; they
   will go to the gods they worship, but my worshippers come to me. 

Though I am unmanifest, fools think that I have a form, unaware of my higher
   existence, which is permanent an supreme.

Veiled in my mystery and power, I am not perceived by most men; their deluded
   minds cannot see me, the Unborn, the Changeless, the Undying.

I know all beings who have passed, and all who live now, Arjuna, and all who
   are yet to be; but I am beyond all knowing.

All beings are born to ignorance, ruled by aversion and craving; this, Arjuna, is the
   primal duality that keeps them bound.

But when a man is released from dualities, he can act purely, without attachment,
   and can serve me with all his heart.

Those who take refuge in me, striving for release from old age and death, know
   absolute freedom, and the Self, and the nature of action.

Those who know me, and the nature of beings, of gods, and of worship, are
   always with me in spirit even at the hour of their death.