In the Gita the Lord says that four kinds of people worship Him, and then calls one of them the best. That raises a worry. Are the other three second-class devotees? And if I turn to God only when I am in trouble, is my devotion worth less?
It is not. The Lord calls all four good people (Gita 7.16) and all four noble (Gita 7.18). The wise devotee stands nearest because he wants nothing from the Lord except the Lord, and the Lord's love for him is as deep as his for the Lord (Gita 7.17).
Here we read four verses of chapter 7 in order: who comes, who is nearest, how the Lord regards them, and where it all leads. Along the way we see how other chapters of the Gita hold the same teaching.
Why these verses come here
Just before this the Lord said that illusion is hard to cross, and that only those who take refuge in Him cross it. He then spoke of those who do not turn to Him (Gita 7.14–15).
The next question follows at once: who are the ones who do turn, and what turns them? The four verses that follow answer it. The door is open, and those who come through it are not all alike.
7.16: four reasons that turn a person to the Lord
आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥ ७.१६ ॥
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī cha bharatarṣhabha || 7.16 ||
O Arjuna, four kinds of virtuous people worship Me: the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of worldly gain, and the wise.
The Lord says that four kinds of good people worship Him: the one in distress, the one who wants to know, the one who wants something, and the wise (Gita 7.16). We know each of them from life.
The one in distress. A parent falls ill, a job is lost, someone dear is gone. The hands are empty and the eyes go up. For this person the first turn towards the Lord comes from pain.
The one who wants to know. His mind is full of questions: who am I, what is all this, what is life for? He comes to the Lord for an answer.
The one who wants something. He needs health, success, peace at home. He puts that need before the Lord.
The wise one. He has recognised the Lord. He wants nothing from Him, only to be with Him.
"Good people" is said of all four. Even the one who asks for something is not left out. The Lord calls all four by one name, because all four have turned towards Him.
7.17: who is nearest
प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥ ७.१७ ॥
priyo hi jñānino 'tyartham ahaṁ sa cha mama priyaḥ || 7.17 ||
Among them, the wise one, ever steadfast and devoted to the One alone, is the best. I am exceedingly dear to the wise, and the wise one is dear to Me.
The Lord says that among these the wise devotee is the best: he is always joined to Me and his devotion is to the One alone. For I am exceedingly dear to the wise, and he is dear to Me (Gita 7.17).
The wise one has three marks. He knows. He is always joined, which means his mind goes back to the Lord again and again, not now and then. And his devotion does not scatter in other directions: this is undivided devotion.
"Wise" here does not mean a great scholar. The marks are being joined and being undivided, not learning. And see what follows the word "best": the Lord gives a reason, and the reason is love. He does not say this devotee scored higher. He says, I am dear to him, and he is dear to Me. The rank is nearness built from both sides.
7.18: why the Lord calls the wise one His own Self
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥ ७.१८ ॥
āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā mām evānuttamāṁ gatim || 7.18 ||
All these devotees are noble, but I regard the wise one as My very Self. With a mind steadfastly united with Me, he is established in Me alone, the supreme goal.
This verse first protects the three whom the last verse seems to leave behind: all of these are noble. Then it carries on with the wise one: he is My very Self, this is My view. His mind is joined to Me, and he stands in Me as his highest goal (Gita 7.18).
Take the sense of it. The other three come to the Lord for something: a way out of trouble, an answer, a wish granted. For the wise one the Lord is not a means to anything further. He is the destination. That is why the Lord says that the wise one is His own Self. No stronger word for nearness could be found.
"This is My view" shows that the Lord is giving His own estimate. He is not ranking anyone above or below. He is telling us how such a devotee appears to Him.
7.19: where this leads
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ ७.१९ ॥
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ || 7.19 ||
At the end of many births, the person of wisdom surrenders to Me, realizing that Vasudeva is everything. Such a great soul is very rare.
The Lord says that at the end of many births the person of wisdom takes refuge in Me, knowing that Vasudeva is everything. Such a great soul is very rare (Gita 7.19).
The wise one's last step is the one named earlier as the way across illusion: refuge. The difference is that he now also knows that everything is the Lord. Whoever sees this finds nothing apart from Him. In chapter 6 the same thing is said of the one who sees the Lord everywhere and everything in the Lord: the Lord is never lost to him (Gita 6.30).
"Rare" does not mean the door is shut. It means that seeing so completely happens to very few. We come back to this in the questions below.
The four devotees at a glance
| Who | What brings him | What he asks of the Lord | What the Gita says |
|---|---|---|---|
| The one in distress | Pain, helplessness | Support, relief | A good person who worships the Lord |
| The seeker of knowledge | A question, a search | An answer, understanding | A good person, noble |
| The seeker of gain | A need or a wish | That thing | A good person, noble |
| The wise | Recognition and love | Nothing but the Lord | Best; the Lord's own Self |
Why the Gita teaches it this way
Here are other places where the Gita holds the same thought.
The Lord answers each person as he comes. In chapter 4 the Lord says that however people approach Him, so He responds to them (Gita 4.11). That is why even the one in distress is not turned away. He comes in the form of his need, and he is answered in that form.
Arjuna is two of the four. In chapter 2, weighed down by weakness, Arjuna says that he is the Lord's pupil, he has come for refuge, and he asks what is certainly good for him (Gita 2.7). In that one verse there is distress and a wish to know. So the four can meet in one person.
The Lord is equal to all. In chapter 9 the Lord says that He is equal to all beings and takes no side; yet those who worship with devotion are in Him and He is in them (Gita 9.29). Nearness is made by turning, not by favour.
The Lord gives understanding to those who love Him. In chapter 10 He says that to those who are ever joined and worship with love, He gives the understanding by which they come to Him (Gita 10.10).
Devotion completes knowing. In chapter 18 the Lord says that through devotion one knows Him in truth and, knowing Him, enters Him (Gita 18.55). It is enough here to see that the wise devotee's knowing is not apart from devotion. The verse is discussed in its own place.
The dear devotee. In chapter 12 the Lord describes the devotee who does not rejoice, hate, grieve or crave, and calls him dear (Gita 12.17). "Dear" is the same word the Lord used of the wise one here. That portrait is discussed in its own place.
Four common misreadings
"Only the wise devotee counts." No. All four are called good (Gita 7.16) and noble (Gita 7.18).
"Asking for things is not devotion." The verse counts the one who wants something among those who worship the Lord. Having a want is not treated as a reason to keep away from Him.
"The wise one means a great scholar." The verse gives its marks: always joined, and devoted to the One alone (Gita 7.17). Learning is not mentioned.
"The Lord loves some less." The Lord is equal to all (Gita 9.29). With the wise one the love runs both ways (Gita 7.17), and nearness grows as a person turns.
An example
Take Neena, and look at one year of her life. When her father fell ill, she went to the temple every evening, afraid, and simply called out. Months later, when things were calm, she began to read the Gita and ask questions: what am I, what is all this? Then the day of an interview came and she prayed for the job. And on some mornings she sat for a while asking nothing at all, and found those mornings the best.
All four came to Neena, one after another and sometimes together. She did not drop any of them, and she was not ashamed of any. But the mornings without a request made her feel most joined. That is what the verses point to.
A practice from these verses
- Look honestly at what turns you to the Lord today: pain, a question, a wish, or only remembrance.
- Put it before Him as it is. He answers each person in the way he comes (Gita 4.11).
- Once a day, spend one minute facing Him with no request. No complaint and no petition.
- After that minute, notice what has changed in the mind.
- What brought the Lord to my mind today?
- Have I been ashamed of some request of mine? Does the Gita shut that request out?
- What would a minute without any request feel like for me?
Questions readers ask
Why is the one who wants something called a good person?
Because he has turned to the Lord with his want, and in this verse turning is the mark of merit (Gita 7.16). The Lord answers each person in the way he comes (Gita 4.11).
Doesn't "best" in 7.17 clash with "all are noble" in 7.18?
They are two halves of one thought. All are noble, which means all are welcome (Gita 7.18). The wise one is best, which means nearest: he wants nothing but the Lord, and the love runs both ways (Gita 7.17).
What does "My very Self" mean?
It is the Lord's own word for the closest nearness. The verse says that the wise one stands in the Lord as his highest goal (Gita 7.18). Some commentators take the words as non-difference, others as the closest love. The deeper reading takes up both.
Must one pass through the first three to reach the fourth?
The verses give no such order. Arjuna holds distress and the wish to know in a single verse (Gita 2.7), and in someone like Neena all four come in turn. Devotion is itself a way of knowing (Gita 18.55), so no one is told to study first and become a devotee later.
Does "after many births" mean nothing will happen in this life?
No. The verse tells how rare complete seeing is, not that nothing comes in this life (Gita 7.19). Effort already made is not lost (Gita 6.40), and refuge can be taken on any day (Gita 7.14).
Conclusion
The question was who the best devotee is, and whether the rest are second-class. All four are welcome. The one who came in trouble, the one who came with a question and the one who came with a wish are all good and noble. Nearest is the one who wants nothing from the Lord except the Lord, and that love runs both ways. So turn for whatever reason you have, and let yourself move, step by step, towards the minute where nothing is asked. That love is in this verse:
प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥ ७.१७ ॥
priyo hi jñānino 'tyartham ahaṁ sa cha mama priyaḥ || 7.17 ||
Among them, the wise one, ever steadfast and devoted to the One alone, is the best. I am exceedingly dear to the wise, and the wise one is dear to Me.
Go further: the same teaching, simply · deeper reading · the whole topic · The Path of Devotion