ज्ञानयज्ञेन चाप्यन्यॆ यजन्तो मामुपासते ।
एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम् ।। ९.१५ ।।

jñāna-yajñena cāpy-anye yajanto mām-upāsate |
ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvato-mukham || 9.15 ||

Krishna is giving more and more prominence to devotion, devotional attitude and devotional worship in his exposition. In fact, as mentioned already, from the 7th chapter onwards the whole discussion has tilted in favour of such a wholesome devotional note. Everything necessary to install, encourage and deepen its sublimity is what Krishna analyses and expounds.

The visible world must naturally evoke in the curious mind ample imagination and enquiry about the Prime Source – the Presiding Power and Presence – to which all existences and expressions owe themselves. This Presence, Krishna emphasizes, must become the sole focus of all devotional attitudes and practices. When you come to think thus of the endless universe and its pivotal Presence, the whole devotional pursuit becomes one of pure contemplation and introspection.

Worship through contemplation

Such introspectional pursuit or involvement is called jnanayajna. In this, the seeker has to repeatedly engage his mind and intelligence. He thinks and wonders, he enquires and investigates, more and more every time, about the wondrous work of creation – how the whole phenomena subsist on a changeless Substratum, how that Substratum holds the full power and potential to evolve, sustain and also to dissolve all expressions in a cyclic order.

In that higher level of introspection, there is ample scope for divergence. The contemplation need not always be a singular one. It can imply a broad variety. The question is not what one worships and thinks about, but where he intends to reach by such adoring thoughts and contemplations.

Whatever that may be, one gets to think of the Supreme only after first perceiving the creation around. From the visible alone can one go to the invisible. The visible has no standing without such a supreme Presence. Likewise, the Invisible has no relevance except when it beckons to be considered in and through the perceivables.

So, whether the visible or the Invisible is thought of, the objective as well as subjective effect becomes verily the same, provided the seeker is able to have the right relevance and association. This is done by his mind and intelligence alone. Thus worship of any kind, when deeply thought of, becomes purely personal. It rests upon one’s own mind and intelligence alone. One has to leave all external focuses, and be fixed on his own inner faculties.

Others worship the Supreme through contemplation on its Universal aspect in its singular as well as plural forms.

Krishna calls such contemplative devotion as jnana yajna. Why so? It is a process in which the seeker tries to think about the invisible Supreme, the Source of the whole creation. The more and more he does so, his mind expands, deepens and becomes lofty. Rising above all the limited, changeful, things around, the mind soars high and becomes vast, like space, to distinctly reflect the Presence and Power, which comprehends and enfolds all else.

The effect of any such contemplation is instantaneous. As the mind grows with object-knowledge while analyzing the properties and constituents etc. of the objects in the universe of Creation, it likewise grows with the higher understanding while dwelling upon the Supreme and its infinite dimensions.

The importance consists in making the contemplation rise to such great heights.