Love Is Your Very Life
In love, life comes to its ultimate peak. It is only in love that we find God. Krsna declares the experience of completion and the expression of enriching of His devotee, who is very dear to Him, and reaches Him without a doubt. ...
arjuna uvāca evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktāstvāṁ paryupāsate I ye cā'py akṣaram avyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāh II 12.1
12.1 Arjuna asked: Who are considered perfect, those who are always engaged sincerely in Your worship in form, or those who worship the imperishable, the unmanifest formless You?
śrī Bhagavānuvāca mayyāveśya mano ye māṁ nityayuktā upāsate I śraddhayā parayo'petās te me yuktatamā matāḥ II 12.2
12.2 Lord Kṛṣṇa says: Those, who by fixing their mind on Me eternally, and those who are steadfast in worshipping Me with supreme faith, I consider them to be perfect in Yoga, ready to be united with Me.
ye tv akṣaram anirdeśyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate I sarvatragam acintyaṁ ca kūṭa-stham acalaṁ dhruvam II 12.3
sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra samabuddhayaḥ I te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarvabhūta-hite ratāḥ II 12.4
12.3,4 But those who worship with awareness the imperishable, the unmanifest, that which lies beyond the perception of senses, the all pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, the non-moving and permanent, those who worship by restraining their senses, and are working with even mind for the benefit of mankind, they too attain Me.
kleśo'dhikatarasteṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām I avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate II 12.5
12.5 For those whose minds are set on the unmanifest, the formless, it is more difficult to advance; attaining the formless unmanifest is difficult for the embodied.
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya matparāḥ I ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate II 12.6
teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt I bhavāmi na cirātpārtha mayy āveśita cetasām II 12.7
12.6,7 But those who worship me with single minded devotion, renouncing all activities unto Me, regarding Me as their supreme goal, whose minds are set in Me, I shall deliver them soon from their ocean of the birth and death cycle.
mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya I nivasiṣyasi mayyeva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ II 12.8
12.8 You fix your mind on Me alone, establish your mind in Me. You will live in Me always. There is no doubt in it.
atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram I abhyāsayogena tato mām icchāptuṁ dhanañjaya II 12.9
12.9 If you are not able to fix your mind upon Me then Arjuna, with the constant practice of Yoga, you try to attain Me.
abhyāse'pyasamartho'si matkarmaparamo bhava I madarthamapi karmāṇi kurvan-siddhim avāpsyasi II 12.10
12.10 If you are not able to practice even this yoga then performing your duties and surrendering all your actions to Me, you will attain perfection.
athaitad apy aśakto'si kartuṁ madyogamāśritaḥ I sarva-karma-phalatyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān II 12.11
12.11 If you are not able to work even this way, surrendering unto Me, give up all the results of your actions to Me without ego.
'Renounce unto Me,' says Kṛṣṇa, 'surrender yourself to Me, and I shall liberate you.'
Bhakti Yogaḥ Ch 12 verses
śreyo hi jñānamabhyāsāj jñānāddhyānaṁ viśiṣyate I dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram II 12.12
12.12 Knowledge is better than mere practice. Meditation is superior to knowledge. Renunciating the fruit of actions is better than meditation. After renouncing of fruits of actions, one immediately attains peace.
adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca I nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ samaduḥkhasukhaḥ kṣamī II 12.13
santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛḍhaniścayaḥ I mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ II 12.14
12.13,14 One who has no dislike or envy for any being, who is friendly and compassionate to everyone, free from the sense of I and mine, the ego, maintains equanimity of mind both in joy and sorrow, forgiving, ever satisfied, united with Yoga, has a strong commitment to Me and has fixed his mind and intellect upon Me, such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.
yasmānnodvijate loko lokānnodvijate ca yaḥ I harṣāmarṣabha-yodvegair mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ II 12.15
12.15 He, by whom the world is not affected adversely, and who in turn does not affect the world adversely, and he, who is free from joy, anger, and anxiety, he is dear to Me.
anapekṣaḥ śucirdakṣaḥ udāsīno gatavyathaḥ I sarvārambhaparityāgī yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ II 12.16
12.16 He, who is free from wants, who is pure and skilled, unconcerned, untroubled, who is selfless in whatever he does, he who is devoted to Me, he is dear to Me.
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati I śubhāśubhaparityāgi bhaktimānyaḥ sa me priyaḥ II 12.17
12.17 He who does not rejoice or hate or grieve or desire, renounces both good and evil and who is full of devotion, he is dear to Me.
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ I śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅgavivarjitaḥ II 12.18
tulyanindāstutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit I aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimānme priyo naraḥ II 12.19
12.18,19 One who treats friends and enemies the same, who faces in the same manner honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and sorrow, fame and infamy, one who is always free from attachment, always silent and satisfied with anything, without a fixed home, who is fixed in mind and who is devoted to Me, such a person is very dear to Me.
Bhakti Yogaḥ Ch 12 verses
ye tu dharmyāmṛtam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate I śraddadhānā matparamā bhaktās te 'tīva me priyāḥ II 12.20
12.20 Those who truly follow this imperishable path of righteousness, dharma with great faith, making Me the Supreme goal, are very dear to Me.
iti śrīmad bhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu brahmavidyāyām yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjuna saṁvāde bhaktiyogo nāma dvādaśo'dhyāyaḥ II
In the Upaniṣad of Śrimad Bhagavad Gītā, the scripture of yoga dealing with Brahmavidyā Yogaśāstra, the science of Brahman, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṁvād, dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Arjuna, this is twelfth chapter named, Bhakti Yogaḥ, 'Union Through Devotional Love.'
Usually people think a spiritual experience happens only after bhakti, devotional love. However, bhakti happens only after a spiritual experience. Only when a person experiences every being as part of the Cosmic Consciousness, can he radiate love. Only such a person knows what love is. Others think that they love, or act as if they love.
Love must flow from our being. Love happens when we experience Cosmic Consciousness, when we have a spiritual experience, when our ego disappears. Kṛṣṇa lays out the whole science for us, step-by-step.
Charity can never be organized. It just has to flow, not an external expression. Understand, in Vedic tradition, the concept of dāna is not charity. Charity is an ugly word. Our concept of dāna is totally different. Dhana, wealth becomes dāna, enriching with wealth. When we are filled with dhana, which means the wealth of completion, the overflowing dhana becomes dāna, the overflowing enriching expression of Love.
Listen. Dhana overflows as dāna when completion overflows as love. The greatest wealth is Completion and the greatest Enriching is love!
Our inner transformation, our completion must happen before we enrich others to transform. Unless we feel that we are part of the Whole, that every person is linked to us, it is impossible to enrich with true love. We will only be hypocrites.
Kṛṣṇa's Bhakti Yogaḥ starts after Viśvarūpa Darśan Yogaḥ. After the experience of completion, He reveals the expression of enriching, Bhakti Yogaḥ, devotional love.
Experience Or Expression? Completion Or Enriching? (12.1)
Arjuna's thought trend is totally different now. He asks, 'Which of these two types of people are better: those who are always engaged in your bhakti, devotional love or those who merge in the Brahman, the unmanifest, formless, Cosmic Consciousness?'
Arjuna is not asking for himself. His love for humanity, an expression of his Divine experience, prompts him to record the answers from God Himself.
Arjuna asks, 'Is it good to be just established in the experience of the Divine consciousness, and enjoy the eternal bliss? Or is it better to express that love and gratitude towards the whole, every living being? Which one is preferred?'
See, when we have a spiritual experience, some people stay in that experience with closed eyes, that's all. They do not seek to use their senses, since the bliss within is so great and beautiful that absolutely no sensory input remotely matches that bliss. There are others who are impelled by the Existence to open their eyes, to transmit that blissful experience through their expression to enrich others.
Arjuna is choiceless now. Kṛṣṇa decides what he should do. Yet, he asks because he wants all to understand. Arjuna asks, 'What type of a person is greater? One who closes his eyes and sees God within himself or a person who opens his eyes and sees God in every being?'
Understand, he is not asking whether worshiping the form or worshiping the formless is greater. Expressing the gratitude that happens because of the experience is Devotion, bhakti. Having that experience and rejoicing, staying in that experience is knowledge, jñāna; that's all.**
Kṛṣṇa's answer is that both paths are the same, each one leads to the other. Bliss leading to devotion and gratitude, devotion and gratitude leading to bliss: these two form the virtuous circle that lead us to higher consciousness.
Bliss means the experience of completion that leads us to the expression of gratitude and enriching. Again, the expression, the gratitude of enriching, leads us to bliss, and bliss leads us to deeper completion. One leads to the other and therefore it is a virtuous circle. Usually we are caught in the vicious circle. Fear leads to greed and greed leads to fear. Her, Kṛṣṇa introduces the virtuous circle, what He calls as dharma, righteousness, the path of truth.
Dharma means virtuous circle, that which leads us to live and express higher levels of Consciousness.** That in turn leads us to higher levels of blissful experience.
Real Completion Expresses as Enriching with Love (12.2-12.5)
Bhagavān says, 'Those who are established in their Consciousness that expresses devotional gratitude, bhakti, are always engaged in Me, nitya yuktā upāsate. Those who focus on the transcendental faith, meaning the experience at the time of Cosmic experience, they are engaged in Me, te me yuktatamā matāḥ (12.2). Both are ultimate and united in Me.
Those who express their experience as devotion, see the world, upāsate. When we see the Divine in everybody, when we express the truth of the spiritual experience, whatever we do is upāssana. If we don't see the Divine in living beings, we cannot see the Divine in a God or a Guru.
Being established in consciousness of completion or expressing it towards enriching the Universe is the same. When a person is merged, he automatically radiates. If the love, the expression is not happening, the person has not experienced. When the real experience of Completion happens, it automatically expresses as Enriching. Experience is not something we can possess. No! Experience will possess us and radiate as enriching through us. Any word that comes out will be a song. Our being will be so light. Our body language will radiate grace. All our expressions will be a great enriching service to humanity.
An Enlightened man never keeps quiet nor does he talk, he just sings. That is why the Gītā is given in the form of a song. The Gītā is not prose; it is poetry. Great truths can never be expressed in logic. They can only be expressed through poetry. It is love and it flows.
Kṛṣṇa says that a person established in the Consciousness of Completion is great; however, the person who expresses, who shares, who radiates the power of living by Enriching, is as great as the one established.
Formless or Form?
Kṛṣṇa is saguṅa brahman, the physical Cosmos, who showed Himself in this form to Arjuna, in His viśvarūpa, Cosmic form. Kṛṣṇa is nirguṇa brahman as well, the formless consciousness. In both the form and the formless, He is Kṛṣṇa, the Divine consciousness who has all the attributes. The Divine is imperishable, akṣaram, It remains forever. The Divine resides everywhere and is omnipresent.
The true devotee sees his Lord everywhere. Kṛṣṇa does not create two groups. Arjuna presents two groups as the reality that He sees: those who are established and those who are radiating, or those who are complete and those who enrich. Kṛṣṇa says both are the same; He does not divide them. When one has realized the formless nature of the Divine, its imperishability and its unmanifest nature with controlled senses, one works for the enrichment of mankind.
Once the experience of the formless Divine happens, it is no different from the experience of the form. The expression of this realization is one of deep compassion. It is manifested as deep gratitude and surrender. One flows with the energy of this Universe.
When we surrender, Kṛṣṇa takes care. He is the Super conscious energy, the Cosmic Energy, Parāśakti.
Liberation From Birth And Death (12.6-8)
Kṛṣṇa makes a promise here, , 'I shall deliver them from their material existence, the ocean of saṁsāra, cycle of life and death, mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt (12.7). All that the Lord asks is that the devotee be devoted to Him*.*
Kṛṣṇa declares, 'If you surrender to Me, surrender all your actions and the fruits to Me, mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ (12.6), do my enriching service, meditate upon Me, remain single-minded in My consciousness, māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate, I shall then liberate you.' It is the roar of a Lion. It is the roar of the King of this Universe.
'Surrender to Me and I shall liberate you. Serve Me and I shall liberate you.'
Listen. Surrendering to the Divine is not conditional; it must be total. There can be no 'ifs', or 'buts'. To reach Him, our senses must be surrendered to Him, totally. Our entire consciousness must only be of Him and nothing else. Nothing else needs to be done. 'Surrender and I shall save you,' says the Master. 'I shall save you without delay, immediately bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha mayy āveśita cetasām (12.7).' The Lord has made it so simple.
Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Divine, mayy eva mana ādhatsva (12.8) and engage all your mind, body, senses in Me and you will thus live in Me always, without a doubt, na samśayaḥ, assures Kṛṣṇa.
Fix Your Mind, Intelligence On Me
Now, Kṛṣṇa gives techniques to start living the dharma, virtuous circle. 'Fix your mind on Me, mayy eva mana ādhatsva. Fix your intelligence in Me, mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya. In this way, after acquiring the boundary-less consciousness, you will live in Me always, nivasiṣyasi mayy eva (12.8).'
How should we establish our intelligence in Him? Continuously try to enrich yourself and others with these enriching thoughts and ideas that Kṛṣṇa teaches. I tell you: dharmo rakśati rakśitāḥ When you protect dharma, it protects you. When you enrich dharma, it enriches you. When you take responsibility for it, it takes responsibility for you. Dharma is an independent intelligence.
Purify Your Senses, Without A Doubt Reach Me
Just take in this one truth that Kṛṣṇa speaks, 'Establishing your intelligence in Me.' Understand, whatever you take in as your inputs, you establish your mind only on that. So let your inputs be purified. Let purification of your sensory inputs, happen to you. Your Consciousness will automatically be established in the Divine.
Again and again, let these ideas penetrate you. I tell people that when the source of the words is Enlightened consciousness, the words simply penetrate you and automatically come into your mind whenever you need their help. Kṛṣṇa says, 'Immerse your mind completely in Me. Without a doubt you will reach the blissful state.'
Abhyāsa Yoga, Practice To Unite with Divine (12.9-10)
Now, Kṛṣṇa speaks on Abhyāsa Yoga. Abhyāsa Yoga is the practice of yoga of holding the mind constantly in a state of union with Divinity.
After the the glimpse of the Universal consciousness, Viśvarūpa darśan, Arjuna is unable to stay in that state permanently, because of root patterns of past desires, fears. He slips from that state of Consciousness. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa speaks on Abhyāsa Yoga, the practice to establish oneself in that Consciousness.
Kṛṣṇa instructs continuously over the next four verses, giving various enriching options, step-by-step. He says: If we can't do this, do that. If we can't do that, do this.
The first thing He says is, 'Fix your mind upon Me. With constant practice, try to attain Me, abhyāsa-yogena tato (12.9). If you are not able to practice, then perform actions for Me. In this way, develop the desire to attain Me. '
Kṛṣṇa refers to completing with the mind through constant practice of meditation, which is part of the yogic path. Meditation is incessant focus upon the Divine. Since He knows that we may not be able to lose ourselves in devotion to Him, He offers this alternative. 'If the mind cannot be focused on Me,' says the Lord, 'try this. Practice again and again uniting with Me through meditation.'
When neither seems possible, Kṛṣṇa offers one more way. 'Do whatever you must. But then, surrender what you do to Me. Do what you do for My sake, mat-karma-paramo bhava (12.10).' By performing whatever we do with total faith, with a deep surrender to Him, we reach Him.
Kṛṣṇa implies two things through His statement. First, the results of whatever is done with an attitude of surrender to Him, belong to Him. Our responsibility is to do, and do it well. We have the right to 'doer-ship' not 'owner-ship'. The Lord is the owner of the fruits of actions that we perform on His behalf. What happens is in His hands, not ours. We then start focusing on the path, not the goal.
Second, Kṛṣṇa wants us to work on and enrich His mission. He says, 'Engage yourself in activities on My behalf, and you will attain Me, mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi. (12.10)' Working on the mission of the Divine is a sure guarantee to reach Divinity.
Work For Me, I will Liberate You (12.11-12.12)
Kṛṣṇa's compassion for Arjuna's spiritual evolution knows no limits. He never gives up on Arjuna. 'If you cannot do that, at least do this.' In the last four verses, He continuously gives enriching options to Arjuna. Masters give possibilities for everybody.
Kṛṣṇa continues, 'If you cannot do abhyāsa, practice, then work for My mission. Whatever you do, do it for Me.'
Kṛṣṇa now says, 'If you are unable to do even this, which is work for My sake, then just abandon your ego and turn over the results of your actions to Me, sarva-karma-phala tyāgaṁ (12.11).' Kṛṣṇa relents that Arjuna should work only on those activities that are Kṛṣṇa's.
Kṛṣṇa brings the core concept of Gītā, 'renunciation, tyāga'. He says, 'Do what you must do, surrendering to Me and sacrifice the results of your actions to Me, with complete control over your self.'
We just need to let the Universe, Kṛṣṇa decide what is best for humanity and us. Let us surrender the results of all that we do to this sacred power. Whatever then happens to us is for the good. We are surrendering to the Cosmic power that surrounds us. Say, 'Do what you think is best for me' with a deep completion and see what happens. Not only will the end goal manifest, but an immense spiritual relief will overtake you.
Surrender, The Best Enriching Option
Kṛṣṇa finally says, 'If you can't follow these practices to enrich yourself, engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge.'
First, He mentions that the path of meditation, dhyāna is better than knowledge, jñana—jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate. Better than meditation is offering everything at the feet of God, dhyānāt karma phala tyāgaḥ (12.12). He says that by renunciation, tyāga of the fruits of action, one can immediately achieve peace, tyāgāc chāntir anantaram (12.12). As long as we think that 'everything is mine,' we suffer. The moment we surrender to the Divine, inner healing and peace descend on us. Staying in the space of completion is peace, bliss, liberation, or mokṣa.
He Is Very Dear to Me (12.13-12.15)
Now, Kṛṣṇa says, 'Those who do all these things are very dear to Me. If you don't do these, that too is okay. If you do them, you will be very dear to Me—yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ (12.14).' In other words, it is emotional black mail, not directly but indirectly, but all for the ultimate enriching cause!
Understand here, He says, 'Who is not envious and a kind friend to every living entity.' These are important enriching qualities. Kṛṣṇa doesn't say 'Do or don't do.' He does not want to make more rules.' He is in a relaxed mood.
'One who has fixed his mind, intellect upon me, mayy arpita mano buddhir (12.14),' says Kṛṣṇa. When the Master says drop 'I and mine,' you keep resisting Him. It is difficult for the disciple to have this space of surrender to the Master. Once the Master turns serious and takes up his responsibility of spiritual surgery on the disciple, he wants to run away.
Here, Kṛṣṇa says, 'Such a devotee of Mine is dear to Me,' that's all. He is talking about the commitment that the devotee makes to Him. He says, 'One who makes that commitment to Me and fixes his mind and intellect upon Me, he is dear to Me and will be liberated.'
Kṛṣṇa is saying that those who express or enrich from their core, unaffected by the happening, are dear to Him because they are centered on Him—mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ (12.15).
When Kṛṣṇa says, 'He who is without anxiety will reach Me,' He means the one in the present moment of completion; then we can see the truth of our Existence, and we are one with Him.
This Is Whom I Love (12.15-12.20)
Kṛṣṇa now moves into higher gear. Kṛṣṇa counsels Arjuna, 'Become free from wants, be selfless and you shall be untroubled, liberated and you will reach Me.'
Kṛṣṇa now refers to one who does not love or hate—yo na haṛṣyati na dveṣṭi (12.15). He is not talking about not loving anyone. Hatred and love are opposites. Love can flip into hatred in a moment, the moment we feel that our expectations are threatened.
The only relationship that will work with the Master is total love out of completion. It is absolute surrender. Surrender transcends love and hate. When one is in a mood of total surrender to the Master or the Divine, both being one, the concept of good and evil, sin and merit disappear.
Kṛṣṇa breaks the mold. He tells us, 'Go beyond good and evil, śubha-aśubha parītyāgī (12.17).' When we understand this truth we are in His realm. That's His promise.
Again Kṛṣṇa says, 'Such a person, full of devotion is dear to Me bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ (12.19).' He is not ready to put down any more rules, which means He is almost ending His instructions, 'This is the way, if somebody is like this then I love him, that's all.'
He says, 'One who is neutral towards friends and enemies, who is the same in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, joy and pain, free from attachment to the fruits of action, who remains the same in criticism and praise; who is content with whatever he gets, such a man, full of devotion, is very dear to Me.'
Kṛṣṇa concludes Bhakti Yogaḥ, Union through Devotional Love, saying that one who lives this path of dharma is devoted to Him and is very dear to Him, bhaktās te 'tīva me priyāḥ (12.20).
Let us pray to Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, to make us all experience Bhakti Yogaḥ, that love is our very life. Let us pray to Him to give us the conscious experience of bhakti, devotional love, and make us experience and radiate eternal bliss, Nityānanda.