Chapter 12: Bhaktiyoga or The Yoga of Devotion (20 verses)
This completes the second set of six chapters, which are considered to be related to devotion, giving a clear summary of the sometimes complex relations between action, devotion, knowledge and meditation as explained in the first six chapters and ends with an inspiring section on virtue ethics.
1- The Worshippers of Isvara and Akshara (1-5)
The Worshippers of Isvara (1-2)
1. Who are superior—the worshippers of Isvara, or the worshippers of Akshara ?
2 . Those who, fixing their thought on Me, contemplate Me, always vendued with supreme faith, these are in my opinion the best Yogins.
Shri Krishna replied, "The devotees whose faith, pushed by the strength of the past achievement, steadily increases with devotion like a river rising during the rainy season, in whose heart love upsurges, who concentrate their attention on me day and night and offer themselves completely to me are the ones I consider as superior yogis''. (Dnyaneshwari; 12:36-39, transl. M.R. Yardi)
The worshippers of Akshara (3-5)
3—4. Those who ever contemplate the Imperishable, the Indefinable, the Unmanifest, the Omnipresent and the Unthinkable, the Unchangeable, the Immutable, the Eternal,—having restrained all the senses, always equanimous, intent on the welfare of all beings,—they reach Myself.
5. Greater is their trouble whose thoughts are set on the Unmanifest ; for, the Goal, the Unmanifest, is very hard for the embodied to reach.
Great indeed is the trouble of those who are engaged in doing works for My sake, and so on ; but greater still is the trouble of those who identify themselves with the Imperishable and contemplate the Supreme Reality,—the trouble arising from the necessity of having to abandon their attachment for the body. The Goal, the Imperishable, is very, hard for the embodied to reach, for those who are attached to their bodies. Therefore" their trouble is greater. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
8- Fix thy mind (manas)—thy purposes and thoughts—in Me, the Lord in the Universal Form.
Fix in Me thy reason (buddhi) also which resolves and determines.—What will be the result ?—Listen : Thou shalt without fail abide in Me as Myself
Abhyasa-Yoga (9)
9. If thou art unable to fix thy thought steadily on Me, then by yoga of constant practice do thou seek to reach Me, O Dhananjaya.
If you cannot fix your thought on Me steadily in the manner I have mentioned, then seek thou to reach Me in the Universal Form, by yoga of constant practice (abhyasayoga). Practice (abhyasa) consists in withdrawing thought from all quarters and fixing it again and again on one particular object. ' AbhyAsa-yoga ' means samadhana or steadfastness of mind acquired by such practice. Abhyasayoga: And if you are not able to give your undivided attention along with your mind and intellect to me then do thus. During the entire day, turn your mind to me once at least for a moment. At the very instant your mind enjoys the bliss of the experience of my contact at that moment a dislike for the sense pleasures will be created in your mind and it will slowly come out of the worldly matters.
Then slowly and steadily it will enter in me until it becomes one with me. This is what is called Abhyasayoga or Yoga of practice. There is nothing that cannot be obtained by it. Nothing is difficult if one adopts this yoga of practice. Therefore be one with me by adopting this yoga. (Dnyaneshwari; 12:104-113, transl. M.R. Yardi)
Service of the Lord (10)
10. (If) thou art not equal to practice either, then be thou intent on (doing) actions for My sake. Even doing actions for My sake, thou shalt attain perfection.
Even if thou doest mere actions for My sake without practising yoga, thou shalt attain perfection ;—thou shalt first attain purity of mind, then yoga or steadfastness, then knowledge, and then perfection (moksha). Offering actions to God If you do not have the strength to adopt this Yoga of practice then remain as you are. Do not control your sense organs, do not leave your pleasures and do not give up your pride also. Obey the family traditions and the rules of law. You are thus free to behave in this manner but see that whatever you may do or decide to do or say do not claim "I did it".
Because only the almighty God knows whether something may be done or not. Without bringing into the mind the thought that the action is complete or incomplete be one with the Self. Giving up the pride of being the doer, avoid loading your mind with thoughts of worldly actions or spiritual actions. Always steady your concentration on me and whatever happens make an offering of it to me. And if your attitude becomes like this then you will be liberated after your death. (Dnyaneshwari; 12:114-124, transl. M.R. Yardi)
Abandonment of the fruits of actions (11-12)
Arjuna, you must become desireless regarding all your actions. This sacrifice of the actions may appear to be easy but it is the greatest among all the Yogas. The actions which are nullified by surrender do not accumulate and one does not have to take rebirth after death. By practice one can get knowledge, by knowledge one gains success in meditation, and once one is engrossed in meditation, actions (karmas) go away. Once actions go away then the fruits are automatically surrendered and one gets uninterrupted peace.
Thus this step by step method of practice is the method to achieve peace. Arjuna, Knowledge is superior to practice and meditation is superior to knowledge and renouncing the fruits of actions is superior to meditation and the peace is superior to renunciation of fruits of actions. These are the successive steps in this path which lead to peace or bliss of the Brahman. (Dnyaneshwari; 12:125-136, transl. M.R. Yardi)
It has been said that the Source of all beings is One; that the goal is One; but that the Path varies with each pilgrim. Hence each pilgrim is at a point of evolution or development where one or other of the steps presented is within reach. Each of these steps is shown to be leading in the direction of the goal, but the aspirant must see them as only steps, the condition of his success being that he must ever keep the goal—union with the Higher Self—in view. (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 185)
13-14. He who hates no single being, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egoism, to whom pain and pleasure are equal, who is enduring, ever content and balanced in mind, self-controlled, and possessed of firm conviction, whose thought and reason are directed to Me, he who is (thus) devoted to Me is dear to Me.
Just as consciousness does not differentiate between "mine" and "yours" my true devotee does not possess the feeling of hatred for any creature. He is equally friendly to all and like a loving nursemaid he takes care of them. Egotistic or possessive feelings do not occur in his mind and he is not even conscious of the feelings of pleasure or sorrow. He possesses forgiveness like mother earth and bliss is always apparent in him. Just as ocean is always full whether it rains or not, he is happy without external aids. He restrains his mind with staunch and true determination. In his heart he and the supreme Soul have become one. He who is thus enriched by the wealth of yoga surrenders his mind and intellect in me and having been purified internally and externally by it, is devoted to me with love, is THE devotee, THE liberated one, THE yogi and I like him as a husband likes his wife. (Dnyaneshwari; 12:144-150, transl. M.R. Yardi)
15. He by whom the world is not afflicted and who is not afflicted by the world, who is free from joy, envy, fear and sorrow, he is dear to Me.
16. He who is free from wants, who is pure, clever, unconcerned, untroubled, renouncing all undertakings, he who is (thus) devoted to Me is dear to Me.
He is indifferent to the body, the senses, the sense objects and their mutual connections. He is possessed of purity both internal and external. He is able to decide rightly on the spot in matters demanding prompt attention. He does not take the side of a friend and the like. He habitually renounces all actions calculated to secure objects of desire, whether of this world or of the next. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
17. He who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncing good and evil, he who is full of devotion is dear to Me.
He does not rejoice on attaining what is desirable. He does not fret on attaining what is undesirable. He does not grieve on having to part with a beloved object, he does not desire the unattained. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)
18- He who is the same to foe and friend, and also in honor and dishonour; who is the same in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain: who is free from attachment: to whom censure and praise are equal; who is silent, content with anything, homeless, steady-minded, full of devotion : that man is dear to Me.
He has no attachment for objects of any kind. He is content with the bare means of bodily sustenance. It is said (in in the Mahhharata), 'Who is clad with anything, who is fed on any food, who lies down anywhere, him the Gods call a brahmana (Santi-parva, Moksha-Dharma,243-12).
He has no fixed abode, he is 'houseless' as has been said in another smriti. His thought is fixed steadily on the Supreme Reality. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901
No comments:
Post a Comment