This summary is about verses of the Gita that are used here as questions: (Gita 9.26–27), (Gita 11.55) and (Gita 12.13–20). There is no new meaning in it. The old verses simply become questions worth asking in daily life.
On The Path of Devotion this is the thirteenth and last stop. Before it comes By Devotion Alone, which told whom the Lord meets and what the five marks of a devotee are.
The question is this: to understand devotion is one thing. But how do we live it on a busy Monday morning, when there is neither time for a long worship nor the mind for it?
The answer in one sentence
Give the day four moments. A small offering in the morning, one task for the Lord during the day, a pause in a hard meeting, and a short review at night. In each moment you say one line and ask one question. Each question comes from a verse, and each moment takes a minute or two.
Devotion is not only a matter of worship time. Making tea, talking to a neighbour and spending the evening can all come within it (Gita 9.27).
The four moments
Morning: a small offering
The first moment rests on verse 9.26 (Gita 9.26). The offering can be anything small: a glass of water, a flower, a fruit, or a few words.
The line for this moment is: "Please accept this; today is Yours."
And its question is: am I giving this with love, or out of habit? If it began as habit, pause and repeat it once with love.
The worth of the offering is not in the thing but in the feeling of giving.
During the day: one task for the Lord
The second moment rests on verses 9.27 and 11.55 (Gita 9.27, Gita 11.55). On the first day, offering all work at once is hard. So choose one task of the day: a phone call, a meal, a report, or the morning tea.
Before you begin, the line is: "This is for You."
The question is: whose task is this? This is the first mark of a devotee, that he works for the Lord (Gita 11.55).
The task stays the same. The way of seeing it changes.
In a hard meeting: recalling the qualities of the dear devotee
The third moment rests on verses 12.13, 12.15, 12.18 and 12.19. Before answering a difficult person, take one breath and recall the qualities of the devotee dear to the Lord.
The first quality is to have no hatred for any being, but to be a friend to all and full of compassion (Gita 12.13). The second is that he by whom no one is troubled, and who is not troubled by anyone (Gita 12.15). The third is to stay even towards friend and foe, in honour and dishonour, in blame and praise (Gita 12.18–19).
This moment has three questions. First: am I troubling this person further, or taking his trouble into myself? Second: am I seeing him as an enemy? Third: if he praised or blamed me right now, would I stay the same?
The line to say inwardly is: "May this person be well too." It does not mean that you call his words right. It means only that you are not keeping hatred or bitterness inside. Then say what you have to say.
At night: a two-minute review
The fourth moment rests on verse 12.20 (Gita 12.20). It has three questions. Where did I remember the Lord today? What did I offer today? And where did my evenness break, and what would a friendly thought for that person be?
This review is for looking, not for giving marks.
At the end, repeat the aim: to walk with faith, holding the Lord as the highest goal. In verse 12.20 such devotees are called exceedingly dear.
The four moments at a glance
The morning line is "Please accept this; today is Yours", the question is "with love or out of habit?", and the ground is verse 9.26.
The line for the day is "This is for You", the question is "whose task is this?", and the ground is verses 9.27 and 11.55.
The line for a hard moment is "May this person be well too", said after one breath. The questions are whether there is an enemy-view, whether there is trouble, and whether there is evenness. The ground is verses 12.13 to 12.19.
The night line is to repeat one's aim, and the questions are where I remembered, what I offered, and where my evenness broke. The ground is verse 12.20.
If there is very little time: the short form
If time is very short, three lines are enough: one offering in the morning (Gita 9.26), one task during the day "for You", and one breath in a hard moment (Gita 12.15). At night one line can be added: "Where did I remember You today?"
The shortest form is one line in the morning and one line at night.
For someone who lives alone there is one more thing. If an offering is placed, there is also one who receives it (Gita 9.26). This small talk three times a day takes the form of company in loneliness.
How to run the first week
Do not start everything on the first day. Add one moment at a time.
On the first and second days keep only the morning offering. On the third and fourth days add one task of the day "for You". On the fifth day add one breath and the friendly line in a hard meeting. On the sixth and seventh days add the three questions at night.
Practice means doing one small thing again and again. Work done in the spirit of offering slowly settles into habit.
On a busy day follow the short form. If a day is missed, return the next day with something just as small. Even one line in the morning is practice.
Where the practice goes astray
This practice can go astray in three places.
The first is to make the offering a counting task, as in "I put it down today, done". The offering is the moment in which you turn towards the Lord.
The second is to make the pause a way of pressing down anger. The purpose is not to press anger down. It is to put friendliness in its place, and that is for your own sake too.
The third is to wait for the feeling. The line comes first and the feeling later. It is not necessary to feel love first.
And this is not a list of rituals.
Explain it in thirty seconds
To understand devotion is not enough. It has to be lived on Monday morning. So give the day four moments. A small offering in the morning (Gita 9.26). One task during the day "for You" (Gita 9.27, Gita 11.55). One breath before a difficult person, and "may this one be well too" (Gita 12.13–19). And at night a review of three questions (Gita 12.20). Each moment has one line and one question, and takes a minute or two. If it slips, return with something just as small. The line comes first, the feeling later. And this is how devotion comes out of worship into the whole day.