Sārathi

Chapter 12 of 18

भक्तियोग Bhakti Yoga

The Yoga of Devotion. 20 verses.

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About this chapter

The twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Bhakti Yoga". In this chapter, Krishna emphasizes the superiority of Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion) over all other types of spiritual disciplines and reveals various aspects of devotion. He further explains that the devotees who perform pure devotional service to Him, with their consciousness, merged in Him and all their actions dedicated to Him, are quickly liberated from the cycle of life and death. He also describes the various qualities of the devotees who are very dear to Him.

  1. 12.1अर्जुन उवाचएवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते।arjuna uvāchaArjuna said, "Which of them are better versed in Yoga—those who steadfastly worship You, or those who worship the imperishable and the unmanifested?"
  2. 12.2श्री भगवानुवाचमय्यावेश्य मनो ये मां नित्ययुक्ता उपासते।śhrī-bhagavān uvāchaThe Blessed Lord said, "In My opinion, those who fix their minds on Me, worship Me ever steadfastly, and are endowed with supreme faith, are the best in Yoga."
  3. 12.3ये त्वक्षरमनिर्देश्यमव्यक्तं पर्युपासते।ye tv akṣharam anirdeśhyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsateThose who worship the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifest, the omnipresent, the unthinkable, the immovable, and the eternal.
  4. 12.4संनियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं सर्वत्र समबुद्धयः।sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥHaving restrained all the senses, being even-minded everywhere, and intent on the welfare of all beings, they verily come unto Me.
  5. 12.5क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम्।kleśho ’dhikataras teṣhām avyaktāsakta-chetasāmGreater is their trouble whose minds are set on the unmanifested, for the goal of the unmanifested is very hard for the embodied to reach.
  6. 12.6ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्पराः।ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-paraḥBut to those who worship Me, renouncing all actions in Me, regarding Me as the supreme goal, meditating on Me with single-minded yoga.
  7. 12.7तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात्।teṣhām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛityu-saṁsāra-sāgarātTo those whose minds are set on Me, O Arjuna, verily I soon become the savior out of the ocean of Samsara.
  8. 12.8मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय।mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhayaFix your mind on Me, and your intellect in Me. Then you will certainly live in Me alone hereafter.
  9. 12.9अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम्।atha chittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śhaknoṣhi mayi sthiramIf you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, then seek to reach Me through the yoga of constant practice, O Arjuna.
  10. 12.10अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव।abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhavaIf you are unable to practice even this Abhyasa Yoga, be intent on doing actions for My sake; even by doing actions for My sake, you will attain perfection.
  11. 12.11अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रितः।athaitad apy aśhakto ’si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśhritaḥIf you are unable to do even this, then, resort to union with Me and renounce the fruits of all actions with self-control.
  12. 12.12श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते।śhreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśhiṣhyateBetter indeed is knowledge than practice; better than knowledge is meditation; better than meditation is the renunciation of the fruits of actions: peace immediately…
  13. 12.13अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च।adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva chaHe who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, is free from attachment and egoism, is balanced in pleasure and pain, and is forgiving.
  14. 12.14सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः।santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥEver content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessing firm conviction, with the mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
  15. 12.15यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः।yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate cha yaḥHe whom the world does not agitate, and who cannot be agitated by the world, and who is freed from joy, anger, fear, and anxiety—he is dear to Me.
  16. 12.16अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथः।anapekṣhaḥ śhuchir dakṣha udāsīno gata-vyathaḥHe who is free from wants, pure, expert, unconcerned, and free from pain, renouncing all undertakings and commencements, he who is devoted to Me is dear to Me.
  17. 12.17यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति।yo na hṛiṣhyati na dveṣhṭi na śhochati na kāṅkṣhatiHe who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves nor desires, renouncing both good and evil, and who is full of devotion, is dear to Me.
  18. 12.18समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः।samaḥ śhatrau cha mitre cha tathā mānāpamānayoḥHe who is the same to foe and friend, and also in honor and dishonor, who is the same in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, and who is free from attachment.
  19. 12.19तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येनकेनचित्।tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣhṭo yena kenachitHe to whom censure and praise are equal, who is silent, content with anything, homeless, of a steady mind, and full of devotion; that man is dear to me.
  20. 12.20ये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते।ye tu dharmyāmṛitam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsateThey who follow this immortal Dharma, endowed with faith and regarding Me as their supreme goal, are exceedingly dear to Me.