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Bhagavad Geeta · Krishna

Chapter 12

भक्तियोग

The Yoga of Devotion

Verses

  1. Verse 1

    arjuna uvāca evaṃ satatayuktā ye bhaktās tvāṃ paryupāsate| ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṃ teṣāṃ ke yogavittamāḥ||12.1||

    Meaning

    Arjuna asked, "My Lord, which are the better devotees who worship You: those who try to know You as a Personal God, or those who worship You as Impersonal and Indestructible?"

  2. Verse 2

    śrī bhagavān uvāca mayy āveśya mano ye māṃ nityayuktā upāsate| śraddhayā parayopetās te me yuktatamā matāḥ||12.2||

    Meaning

    Lord Shri Krishna replied: Those who keep their minds fixed on Me, who worship Me always with unwavering faith and concentration, are the very best.

  3. Verse 3

    ye tv akṣaram anirdeśyam avyaktaṃ paryupāsate| sarvatragam acintyaṃ ca kūṭastham acalaṃ dhruvam||12.3||

    Meaning

    Those who worship Me as the Indestructible, the Undefinable, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Primal, the Immutable, and the Eternal;

  4. Verse 4

    saṃniyamyendriyagrāmaṃ sarvatra samabuddhayaḥ| te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ||12.4||

    Meaning

    Subduing their senses, viewing all conditions of life with an equal eye, and working for the welfare of all beings, they assuredly come to Me.

  5. Verse 5

    kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsaktacetasām| avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṃ dehavadbhir avāpyate||12.5||

    Meaning

    But they who fix their attention on the Absolute and Impersonal encounter greater hardships, for it is difficult for those who have a body to realize Me as without one.

  6. Verse 6

    ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi saṃnyasya matparāḥ| ananyenaiva yogena māṃ dhyāyanta upāsate||12.6||

    Meaning

    Verily, those who surrender their actions to Me, who contemplate Me, worship Me, and meditate on Me alone, with no thought other than Me.

  7. Verse 7

    teṣām ahaṃ samuddhartā mṛtyusaṃsārasāgarāt| bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha mayy āveśitacetasām||12.7||

    Meaning

    O Arjuna! I rescue them from the ocean of life and death, for their minds are fixed upon Me.

  8. Verse 8

    mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṃ niveśaya| nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṃ na saṃśayaḥ||12.8||

    Meaning

    Then let your mind cling only to Me, let your intellect abide in Me; and without doubt, you will live hereafter in Me alone.

  9. Verse 9

    atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram| abhyāsayogena tato mām icchāptuṃ dhanañjaya||12.9||

    Meaning

    But if you cannot fix your mind firmly on Me, then, my beloved friend, try to do so through constant practice.

  10. Verse 10

    abhyāse 'py asamartho 'si matkarmaparamo bhava| madartham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi||12.10||

    Meaning

    And if you are not strong enough to practise concentration, then devote yourself to My service, do all your acts for My sake, and you will still attain the goal.

  11. Verse 11

    athaitad apy aśakto 'si kartuṃ madyogam āśritaḥ| sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṃ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān||12.11||

    Meaning

    And if thou art too weak to do even this, then seek refuge in union with Me, and with perfect self-control renounce the fruits of thy actions.

  12. Verse 12

    śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṃ viśiṣyate| dhyānāt karmaphalatyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram||12.12||

    Meaning

    Knowledge is superior to blind action, meditation is superior to knowledge, renunciation of the fruit of action is superior to meditation, and peace follows from renunciation.

  13. Verse 13

    adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca| nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ samaduḥkhasukhaḥ kṣamī||12.13||

    Meaning

    He who is incapable of hatred towards any being, who is kind and compassionate, free from selfishness, without pride, equable in pleasure and pain, and forgiving—

  14. Verse 14

    santuṣṭaḥ satataṃ yogī yatātmā dṛḍhaniścayaḥ| mayy arpitamanobuddhir yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ||12.14||

    Meaning

    Always content, self-centred, self-controlled, resolute, with mind and reason dedicated to Me, such a devotee of Mine is beloved to Me.

  15. Verse 15

    yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ| harṣāmarṣabhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ||12.15||

    Meaning

    He who does not harm the world, and whom the world cannot harm, who is not carried away by any impulse of joy, anger, or fear; such a one is My beloved.

  16. Verse 16

    anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣa udāsīno gatavyathaḥ| sarvārambhaparityāgī yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ||12.16||

    Meaning

    He who expects nothing, is pure, watchful, indifferent, unruffled, and renounces all initiative—such a one is My beloved.

  17. Verse 17

    yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati| śubhāśubhaparityāgī bhaktimān yaḥ sa me priyaḥ||12.17||

    Meaning

    He who is beyond joy and hate, who neither laments nor desires, to whom good and evil fortunes are the same, such a one is beloved to Me.

  18. Verse 18

    samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ| śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅgavivarjitaḥ||12.18||

    Meaning

    He to whom friend and foe are alike, who welcomes equally honour and dishonour, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, and who is enamoured of nothing—

  19. Verse 19

    tulyanindāstutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit| aniketaḥ sthiramatir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ||12.19||

    Meaning

    Who is indifferent to praise and censure, enjoys silence, is content with every fate, has no fixed abode, is steadfast in mind, and filled with devotion—such a one is My beloved.

  20. Verse 20

    ye tu dharmyāmṛtam idaṃ yathoktaṃ paryupāsate| śraddadhānā matparamā bhaktās te 'tīva me priyāḥ||12.20||

    Meaning

    Verily, those who love the spiritual wisdom as I have taught, whose faith never wavers, and who focus their entire being on Me, they are indeed My most beloved.

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