Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 The Yoga of Devotion

Shloka 1 Personal Devotion or the Imperishable Unmanifest: Who Is the Better Yogi? arjuna uvācha | evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate | ye chāpy akṣharam avyaktaṁ teṣhāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ || 12.1 || Arjuna said: There are devotees who are constantly steadfast and worship You in Your personal, manifest form. There are others who meditate on the imperishable and unmanifest Reality. Of these two kinds of seekers, who, in Your view, is better established in yoga and more perfect in spiritual union? → Shloka 2 Fix the Mind on Me with Faith: The Most Perfect Yogis śhrī-bhagavān uvācha | mayy āveśhya mano ye māṁ nitya-yuktā upāsate | śhraddhayā parayopetās te me yuktatamā matāḥ || 12.2 || The Blessed Lord said: Those who fix their mind on Me, who are ever steadfast, and who worship Me with supreme faith, are considered by Me to be the most perfect in yoga. → Shloka 3 Worshipping the Imperishable, Indefinable, and Unmanifest Reality ye tv akṣharam anirdeśhyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate | sarvatra-gam achintyaṁ cha kūṭa-stham achalaṁ dhruvam || 12.3 || But those who worship the imperishable, the indefinable, and the unmanifest, which is all-pervading, beyond thought, changeless, unmoving, and eternal, also attain the Supreme. (The sentence is completed in the next verse, where Krishna says such seekers, who master their senses and look upon all with equal vision, also reach Him.) → Shloka 4 Mastering the Senses, Seeing Equally, and Serving All Lead to Me saniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ | te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ || 12.4 || Those seekers who have fully restrained all their senses, who look upon everyone and every situation with equal vision, and who take delight in the welfare of all beings also attain Me alone. This completes the thought begun in the previous verse: worshippers of the imperishable and unmanifest Reality also reach the Supreme, provided they are disciplined, even-minded, and compassionate. → Shloka 5 The Path of the Unmanifest Is Harder for Embodied Beings kleśo 'dhikataras teṣhām avyaktāsakta-chetasām | avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate || 12.5 || For those whose minds are fixed on the unmanifest, the struggle is much greater, because the path of the unmanifest is reached with great difficulty by embodied beings. Having said that the formless path also leads to Him, Krishna now honestly points out how demanding it is for those who still live with body-consciousness. → Shloka 6 Offering All Actions to Me with Undivided Devotion ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ | ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate || 12.6 || But those who offer all their actions to Me, who regard Me as their supreme goal, and who worship Me while meditating on Me with undivided devotion... (the sentence is completed in the next verse). Krishna now describes the devotee's path: not abandoning work, but dedicating every action to the Lord and keeping the Lord as the one aim of life. → Shloka 7 I Swiftly Deliver My Devotees from the Ocean of Birth and Death teṣhām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛityu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt | bhavāmi na chirāt pārtha mayy āveśhita-chetasām || 12.7 || O Arjuna, for those whose minds are completely absorbed in Me, I become, before long, the saviour who lifts them out of the ocean of death and repeated worldly existence. This verse completes the sentence from the previous verse and gives a heartening assurance: the devotee does not have to cross the ocean alone, for the Lord Himself becomes the deliverer. → Shloka 8 Fix Your Mind and Intellect in Me Alone mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhaya | nivasiṣhyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśhayaḥ || 12.8 || Fix your mind on Me alone, and let your intellect rest in Me. Thereafter you will live in Me alone; there is no doubt about this. Krishna now gives Arjuna the direct instruction: let both the feeling mind and the deciding intellect be centred on the Lord, and the result will be a life lived in constant union with Him. → Shloka 9 If the Mind Will Not Stay Steady, Practise Repeatedly atha chittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śhaknoṣhi mayi sthiram | abhyāsa-yogena tato mām ichchhāptuṁ dhanañjaya || 12.9 || O Arjuna, if you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, then seek to reach Me through the discipline of repeated practice. Krishna is realistic about the restless mind. If immediate, steady absorption is not possible, then the way forward is to practise again and again, patiently drawing the mind back to the Lord. → Shloka 10 If Practice Is Difficult, Make Every Action an Offering to Me abhyāse 'py asamartho 'si mat-karma-paramo bhava | mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi || 12.10 || If you are unable even to practise repeatedly, then be devoted to working for Me. By performing all your actions for My sake, you will also attain perfection. Krishna now offers an even more accessible path: if disciplined practice is hard, let your ordinary actions, carried out as service to the Lord, become your spiritual path. → Shloka 11 If Even That Is Hard, Renounce the Fruits of All Actions athaitad apy aśhakto 'si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśhritaḥ | sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān || 12.11 || If you are unable even to do this, then, taking refuge in union with Me, and with a disciplined mind, give up the fruits of all your actions. Krishna now offers the most basic step: even if one cannot work consciously for the Lord, one can still act and release attachment to the results. → Shloka 12 From Knowledge to Meditation to Renunciation of Fruits: The Path to Peace śhreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśhiṣhyate | dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāch chhāntir anantaram || 12.12 || Knowledge is better than mere mechanical practice, meditation is better than knowledge, renunciation of the fruits of actions is better than meditation, and from such renunciation peace follows immediately. The verse presents a progression in which each step deepens the one before it, culminating in the immediate peace that comes from releasing attachment to the results of action. → Shloka 13 Free from Hatred, Friendly, and Compassionate: Qualities of the True Devotee adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha | nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī || 12.13 || One who bears hatred toward no being, who is friendly and compassionate toward all, who is free from possessiveness and ego, who remains balanced in pain and pleasure, and who is forgiving... (the sentence is completed in the next verse, where Krishna says such a devotee is dear to Him). Here Krishna begins his portrait of the ideal devotee, starting with the qualities that shape one's attitude toward others and toward oneself. → Shloka 14 The Ever-Contented, Self-Controlled Devotee Who Offers Mind and Intellect to Me santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ | mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ || 12.14 || One who is always content, ever united with the Divine, self-controlled, firm in conviction, and who has offered both mind and intellect to Me, such a devotee of Mine is dear to Me. This verse completes the sentence begun in the previous one and gives the central idea: inner contentment, discipline, firm resolve, and total offering of one's thoughts and decisions are the marks of one who is dear to the Lord. → Shloka 15 One Who Neither Disturbs the World Nor Is Disturbed by It yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate cha yaḥ | harṣhāmarṣha-bhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa cha me priyaḥ || 12.15 || One by whom no one is agitated, who is not agitated by anyone, and who is free from elation, resentment, fear, and anxiety, is dear to Me. The devotee lives in such harmony with the world that neither causes disturbance to others nor is thrown off balance by them. → Shloka 16 Free from Expectation, Pure, Skilful, and Untroubled: The Dear Devotee anapekṣhaḥ śhuchir dakṣha udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ | sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ || 12.16 || One who is free from dependence on worldly gain, who is pure, skilful, impartial, and untroubled, and who has given up all self-centred undertakings, such a devotee of Mine is dear to Me. These qualities describe a person who works efficiently and cleanly but is not driven by personal ambition or anxiety. → Shloka 17 Beyond Elation, Hatred, Grief, and Craving: The Devotee Dear to Me yo na hṛiṣhyati na dveṣhṭi na śhochati na kāṅkṣhati | śhubhāśhubha-parityāgī bhaktimān yaḥ sa me priyaḥ || 12.17 || One who neither becomes elated nor feels aversion, who neither grieves nor craves, who has renounced attachment to both good and bad outcomes, and who is full of devotion, is dear to Me. Krishna describes a heart that is no longer driven by attraction and aversion, loss and gain, because it rests in devotion. → Shloka 18 Equal Toward Foe and Friend, Honour and Dishonour, Free from Attachment samaḥ śhatrau cha mitre cha tathā mānāpamānayoḥ | śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ || 12.18 || One who is equal toward enemy and friend, balanced in honour and dishonour, even-minded in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, and free from attachment... (the sentence is completed in the next verse, where such a person is declared dear to the Lord). The devotee's evenness is rooted not in coldness but in freedom from attachment. → Shloka 19 Balanced in Praise and Blame, Content, Quiet, and Steady-Minded tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣhṭo yena kenachit | aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ || 12.19 || One who is alike in censure and praise, who is restrained in speech and contemplative, who is content with whatever comes, who feels no attachment to any dwelling, who is steady in mind and full of devotion, is a person dear to Me. This completes the sentence of the previous verse, and the qualities shown here are open to any person, not to any particular class or station. → Shloka 20 Those Who Follow This Immortal Dharma with Faith Are Exceedingly Dear to Me ye tu dharmyāmṛitam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate | śhraddadhānā mat-paramā bhaktās te 'tīva me priyāḥ || 12.20 || Those who follow this immortal teaching of righteousness, exactly as it has been declared, with faith and with Me as their supreme goal, such devotees are exceedingly dear to Me. This concluding verse of the chapter turns the whole portrait of the ideal devotee into a call to action: the teaching must be lived, not merely admired. →