Bhakti Yoga
The Yoga of Devotion

12:1: Arjuna asked: Who is the most knowledgeable in yoga, those who are thus always yoked to You through devotion, or those who are yoked to the transcendent Unmanifested?

12:2: The Blessed One replied: Those who fix their minds upon Me and are always yoked to My worship with faith, being so transcendentally endowed, they are the most knowledgeable in yoga in My opinion.

12:3, 4: But those who properly and steadfastly worship the Imperishable, Indefinable, Unmanifested, Omnipresent, Inconceivable, Unchanging, Immovable Transcendent Unmanifest, -
Restraining all the senses, being equal minded and always delighting in the welfare of others, they also attain Me.

12:5: However it is more troublesome for those whose minds are attached to the Unmanifested. The embodied being who has the Unmanifested as the goal, only attains after great suffering.

12:6-8: But those whose actions are renounced unto Me, who are single mindedly bent on Me through meditation, [they] truly worship Me.
Of them I quickly become the Deliverer from death and the ocean of rebirth and material existence, [even] of those whose minds are fixed on Me.
Establish your mind truly upon Me, apply your intelligence unto Me, and you will truly live in Me in the hereafter, [of this] there is no doubt.

12:9: If you are not able to fix your mind firmly upon Me, then, by constant devotion (abhyasa-yoga) desire to reach Me, O Dhananjaya.

12:10: If after practicing such devotion you are still unsuccessful, then perform your actions as My supreme activities, for My use, and you will achieve perfection.

12:11: If this also you are unable to perform, take refuge in Me, renounce the fruits of your activities and restrain yourself.

12:12: Knowledge is better than constant (formal) practice, meditation surpasses knowledge, and renunciation of fruitive activities transcends meditation, such renunciation results in peace.

2:13, 14: Free from malice towards all living beings, friendly, compassionate, without possessiveness, devoid of 'I' consciousness, dispassionate in suffering and pleasure, always forgiving, -
Always content, an adept is self-restrained, the mind is determined and the intellect is rooted in Me. Such a person is My devotee and is very dear to Me.

12:15: One by whom the world is not disturbed, and who is not disquieted by the world, who is liberated from joy, anger, fear and grief, is very dear to Me.

12:16: One who is My devotee, who desires nothing, is pure, skillful, disinterested, free from distress and who renounces all undertakings, is very dear to Me.

2:17: One who does not rejoice, who is not hostile, who does not lament, who is without desires, and who renounces auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, such a devotee is very dear unto Me.

12:18, 19: One who is equally disposed towards an enemy or friend, to honor and dishonor, in cold and heat, who is equipoised in pleasure and pain and who is free from all fruitive attachments, -
Who is equal in ridicule and praise, who is silent, being always contented, homeless, with steady convictions, such a devoted person is very dear to Me.

12:20: But, as I have explained, those who are endowed with faith and imperishable religious duty, and who properly worship, accepting Me as supreme, such devotees are exceedingly dear to Me.

Here Ends Chapter Twelve

Go to: Chapter Thirteen

Go to: Setting the Stage: My Introduction.

Go to: Notes and References.