Chapter 12 : Bhakti Yoga – अध्याय १२: भक्तियोग

Arjuna said: Those devotees who, constantly engaged, worship You in the manner described above, and those who worship the imperishable, the unmanifested—which of these are the better knowers of yoga? ॥ 1 ॥

Arjuna said - Those devotees who, with unwavering love, constantly engage in Your bhajan and meditation in the manner described above, worshiping You, the Supreme Lord with form, and those others who worship only the imperishable, blissful, formless Brahman with the highest devotion - which of these two types of worshippers are the best knowers of yoga? ॥ 1 ॥

The Blessed Lord said: Those who, fixing their minds on Me, worship Me, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, are considered by Me to be the best versed in yoga. ॥

The Blessed Lord said - Those devotees who, fixing their minds on Me and constantly engaged in My bhajan and meditation, worship Me, the Supreme Lord with form, endowed with supreme faith, are considered by Me to be the best yogis among yogis. ॥ 2 ॥

But those who worship the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifested, the all-pervading, the unthinkable, the unchanging, the immovable, the eternal,
restraining all the senses, even-minded in all circumstances, rejoicing in the welfare of all beings, they also come to Me. ॥

But those men who, having properly subdued the multitude of senses, constantly meditate with a sense of oneness on the eternal, immutable, formless, imperishable, blissful Brahman, which is beyond mind and intellect, all-pervading, indescribable, and always of one essence, those yogis, engaged in the welfare of all beings and with an equal mind towards all, also attain Me. ॥ 3-4 ॥

Greater is their trouble whose minds are set on the unmanifested; for the path to the unmanifested is hard for the embodied to reach. ॥

Greater is the effort in the practice of those men whose minds are attached to the blissful, formless Brahman; because the path relating to the unmanifested is attained with difficulty by the embodied. ॥ 5 ॥

But those who, renouncing all actions in Me, regarding Me as the supreme goal, worship Me, meditating on Me with single-minded devotion, ॥

But those devotees who, being devoted to Me, offer all actions to Me and constantly worship Me, the Supreme Lord with form, meditating on Me with unwavering devotion * ॥ 6 ॥

Of them I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of mortal existence, O Partha, their minds being fixed on Me. ।।

O Arjuna! I soon become the deliverer from the ocean of mortal existence for those loving devotees who fix their minds on Me. ॥ 7 ॥

 Fix your mind on Me alone, rest your intellect on Me; thereafter you shall dwell in Me alone; of this there is no doubt. ॥

Fix your mind on Me alone, and rest your intellect on Me; thereafter you shall dwell in Me alone; of this there is no doubt. ॥ 8 ॥

If you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, then seek to reach Me, O Dhananjaya, by the yoga of practice. ॥

If you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, then, O Arjuna! Desire to attain Me through the yoga of practice. ॥ 9 ॥

If you are unable to practice even this, then be intent on doing actions for My sake; even by doing actions for My sake, you shall attain perfection. ॥

If you are unable to practice even the above-mentioned practice, then be intent only on doing actions for My sake. By doing actions for My sake in this way, you will attain perfection, which is the attainment of Me. ॥ 10 ॥

If you are unable to do even this, then, taking refuge in union with Me, renounce the fruit of all actions, controlling your mind. ॥

If you are unable to perform even the above-mentioned practice, taking refuge in union with Me, then, having conquered the mind, intellect, etc., renounce the fruit of all actions. ॥ 11 ॥

Better indeed is knowledge than practice; meditation is better than knowledge; renunciation of the fruit of action is better than meditation; peace immediately follows renunciation. ॥

Knowledge is superior to practice performed without understanding the essence; meditation on the form of Me, the Supreme Lord, is superior to knowledge; and renunciation of the fruit of all actions is superior even to meditation; because supreme peace immediately follows renunciation. ॥ 12 ॥

He who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, free from egoism and self-conceit, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving,
ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessed of firm conviction, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me. ॥

That man who is free from malice towards all beings, selfless, loving to all, and compassionate without cause; and who is free from possessiveness, free from ego, balanced in the attainment of pleasure and pain, and forgiving, that is, who gives refuge even to the offender; and who, being a yogi, is ever content, has subdued the body along with the mind and senses, and has firm conviction in Me - that devotee of Mine, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, is dear to Me. ॥ 13-14 ॥

He from whom the world does not shrink and who does not shrink from the world, freed from joy, envy, fear, and anxiety, he is dear to Me. ॥

That person from whom no living being is agitated, and who is not agitated by any living being; and who is free from joy, envy, fear, and anxiety, that devotee is dear to Me. ॥ 15 ॥

He who is free from wants, pure, expert, unconcerned, and free from pain, renouncing all undertakings, he, My devotee, is dear to Me. ॥

That devotee of Mine who is free from desires, pure inside and out, clever, impartial, and free from sorrows, and who has renounced all undertakings, is dear to Me. ॥ 16 ॥

He who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, renouncing good and evil, full of devotion, is dear to Me. ॥

That devotee who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, and who has renounced all actions, good and evil, is dear to Me. ॥ 17 ॥

He 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 is free from attachment, ॥

He who is the same to foe and friend, and also in honor and dishonor, who is the same in cold, heat, and dualities such as pleasure and pain, and is free from attachment. ॥ 18 ॥ 

He who is indifferent to censure and praise, silent, content with anything whatever, homeless, of steady mind, full of devotion, that man is dear to Me. ॥

He who regards censure and praise as equal, is meditative, ever content with whatever means he has for maintaining the body, and is free from possessiveness and attachment to a place of residence - that man of steady intellect, full of devotion, is dear to Me. ॥ 19 ॥

They who follow this immortal dharma as described above, endowed with faith, regarding Me as the supreme goal, those devotees are exceedingly dear to Me. ॥

But those men who, endowed with faith * and devoted to Me, lovingly practice this nectar-like dharma described above, those devotees are exceedingly dear to Me. ॥ 20 ॥

Om Tat Sat, thus in the Upanishad of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the twelfth discourse entitled: "The Yoga of Devotion"