Bhakti Shastri (117) Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Text 13 to 20

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Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.
Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastri course. Now we are in the last part of the twelfth chapter. The twelfth chapter had three sections.
First was how the impersonal conception is subordinate to the personal conception. Or rather worship of the personal absolute truth is higher, is preferable to worship of the impersonal aspect of the absolute truth. Then the second section was, within the multiple, once we have understood bhakti is the best way, then the various levels at which bhakti can be practised.
And now from thirteenth to twentieth. So one to six of the first section. One to seven actually.
And then eight to twelve of the second section. Now thirteenth to twentieth section, that which are the qualities that endear one to Krishna. So the first is, generally whenever we do any activity, whenever there is any path, there are three aspects to it.
First is one’s mentality, one’s conceptions. Then there is the activity. And then there is the quality.
So as far as mentality or conception is concerned, Krishna tells very clearly that once you consider the personal conception to be the highest, recognise that. Then in terms of activities, various levels at which one can practise spiritual life has been discussed. When verses eight to twelve, especially not just spiritual life in general, but devotional service, bhakti yoga at the various levels at which it can be practised.
And then now from thirteenth onwards, the various qualities that endear one to Krishna will be discussed. So twelve point thirteen fourteen are given as a single verse. अध्विष्टा सर्वभूताना। मैत्रा करुण एवचा, निर्ममो निरहंकार, समदुख्ष सुखख्षमी, सन्तुष्ट सततं योगी, यतात्मा द्रणिष्चयह, मैयि अर्पितमनो बुद्धिरि, योमद भक्तः समेप्रियः। Several of these verses will end with a chorus like योमद भक्तः समेप्रियः। समेप्रियः will be our प्रियमान.
So the word प्रिय will be common in most of the verses that will follow in this section. And a devotee who renders devotional service while cultivating or while possessing qualities like this is dear to me. Now, Krishna has earlier said that He continues to care for and protect, value even the sinful.
In 9th chapter, in 30th and 31st verses, Krishna has explained how He values everyone. But then in the next verse, explaining in 30th verse how He values everyone, He says that अपिचेत सुदुराचारो, who are terribly sinful, Krishna considers even them to be साधुर एवसमन्तविय, to be saintly. Then He says that, I will protect them and Arjuna, you declare it.
कौन्तय प्रतिजानिहि नमे भक्तः प्रणशति So He says, I declare that they will be protected. So we could say that this is also an expression of Krishna’s love. Yes, definitely.
But love also has many levels. A mother will love her baby, but mother may not trust the baby. The mother loves the baby and that’s why if the baby gets a knife in her hands, then the mother will want to take the knife away from the baby girl.
Why? Because that baby girl doesn’t right now have the understanding of how to use the knife properly. So love can be of multiple levels. But suppose the same baby girl grows up to become a responsible and intelligent daughter, then she can take the knife and she can do excellent cooking in the kitchen.
So what that means is that time the mother has got not only love but trust. So love can be of multiple levels. So now when Krishna speaks that even those who are sinful, I protect them and they will be protected.
Arjuna, you declare that they will be protected. My devotees will never perish. So that is the expression of his love.
Now he certainly loves all living beings and he loves even the sinful. But then there are, as we have discussed earlier, Krishna is not partial, but he is reciprocal. So naturally those devotees who reciprocate with him more and more, attract his attention more and more.
They love him. They carve a greater and greater place in Krishna’s heart for themselves because of their devotion. But now in this section Krishna will describe how when devotees, so anybody who is practising devotional service, that person is dear to Krishna.
At the same time, if devotees also have virtuous qualities, then that endears them to Krishna all the more. So in this section Krishna is telling us that it is not that we should just assume that we cannot whitewash ourselves just because we are devotees. The idea of whitewashing is making somebody completely blame-free.
Oh, this person is very good. There’s no fault on the side of this person. This person is perfectly, a perfect virtuous person.
That’s called whitewashing. Now we cannot whitewash. We should not let devotional service become our whitewash.
No, actually devotional service has the potential to truly whitewash us. Now whitewash not in the sense of giving us an external appearance of whiteness. Now generally the colour white often signifies purity.
So the whitewash that bhakti can give us is not just external. It is also internal. It’s not just external that a devotee should look clean and pure.
But internally also a devotee should have clean and pure desires. And bhakti will truly internally whitewash us. But that is a process and we have to let the process act on us.
Now all of us are works in progress. Now without the connection of Krishna then our progress may take many many lifetimes. And in between there might also be regress.
So we might be works in regress also. A work in progress refers to something that is right now going on. Something is being cooked in the kitchen.
At that time, before it is being cooked, say delicious puris are going to be made. But when they are in the stage of atta, or even if the atta is made into dough and it is being rolled, at that time it doesn’t generally water the mouth of anyone. Why? Because at that stage it’s a process, it’s a work in progress.
So like that all of us are right now our works in progress. Now how do we progress? It is Krishna who is working on us and to the extent we cooperate with Krishna, to that extent we progress further and further towards perfection, faster and faster towards perfection. But at the same time it is we who are works in progress and it is we who have to actually take the responsibility of progressing.
Nobody else can take that responsibility for us. And that means that we should actually let Krishna purify us and elevate us and ultimately liberate us. This does not mean that a devotee has to necessarily strive for qualities independently of bhakti.
There is a famous verse, So this is the verse which Prabhupada would often quote to show how actually a devotee has all the good qualities that even the devatas have got. And on the other hand what good qualities can non-devotees have because they are always on the mental platform and they will be driven away, dragged away by their uncontrolled mind. So now here we see that it is said that a devotee has all the good qualities of the devatas.
Now do devatas really have good qualities? We see Indira tries to seduce the wife of Gautama Rishi Ahalya or even Brahmaji runs after his daughter. So do the devatas really have good qualities? Actually speaking those are only very very rare misdeeds in the part of these devatas and because they are so rare, so that’s why they are talked about in the Vedic literature. So the idea of talking about them is that the primary purpose is that these are such great personalities that improper behaviour from them is so extraordinary, so unlike extraordinary not in the positive sense but in the negative sense, so unlikely, so improbable, so uncharacteristic that when it happens it becomes noteworthy.
If a three-month-old baby cries, all three-month-old babies cry, so that is normal and you know that will not come in the news. If a three-month-old baby cries nobody is going to make that in the newspaper headline but if a 30-year-old man because he has lost a bet or something like that starts crying, then that becomes unusual. So when we say the devatas, if they do some wrong deed, we shouldn’t think that they are only always doing wrong deeds.
They normally are virtues in their behaviour, they are dharmic and the point of talking about the misdeeds of the devatas is to illustrate how the power of illusion is so great that even such great personalities can be overcome by its power. But in general devatas have good qualities. Now if you look at the section in the Bhagavatam where this verse comes, श्यास्ति भक्तिर् भगवत्य किञ्चन, the section is primarily glorifying the process of bhakti.
So the verse emphasises that actually bhakti will engender good qualities whereas abhaktas, non-devotees may temporarily have some positive qualities but those qualities will not stay because they do not have any sustainable foundation for those qualities. See a house may look very magnificent but if it has no foundation, it will just crumble whenever there is a storm. Similarly, the good qualities that people have, if they don’t have a devotional foundation, then their cultivation and dedication to those qualities is based on some worldly conception.
This is good for me. This is good for others. This is how I should behave.
And those are noteworthy in one sense, but they are not sustainable. If circumstances change, then their ideas of morality may also change. That’s why the emphasis of this verse is not that automatically a devotee has good qualities.
The verse is that bhakti is the means for sustainable development of good qualities because bhakti will change our self-conception and bhakti will help us understand how good qualities are in their innate nature as being parts and parcels of Krishna. And behaving according to those good qualities is the best way for us to make steady spiritual advancement and to actually do good for ourselves as well as for others. Because when we act with virtues, then we allow Krishna to act through us.
When we are not acting virtuously, then we block Krishna from acting for us. And we don’t allow Krishna to act through us, then the result is that we suffer and others suffer. So we act according to our own ideas and we make a mess of our lives.
So now let’s look at this background. So the point of this verse is not that bhakti can help us to develop qualities automatically, but that doesn’t mean that we should imagine that bhakti has already whitewashed us. No, we should also strive to develop the good qualities.
But how do we strive? Within the realm of devotional service, while practising devotional service, we try to exhibit these good qualities as much as possible. So, अध्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानाम् So, सर्वभूतानाम् All living beings, अध्वेष्टा This person is non-envious. Non-envious friend of all living beings.
अध्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानाम् So, this person is non-envious, and then not only non-envious, मैत्र करुण हेवच मैत्र करुण means a compassionate friend. So, that means there are two things. Generally in this world, when we find that somebody is very successful, prosperous, often envy comes in our heart.
Why is this person so good? Somebody may have a better car than us, a better house than us, a better job than us. And then we start feeling envious of such a person. A devotee understands that actually no asset in this world can bring true happiness.
And that’s why whatever materialistic people have, that is not only the source of their happiness. See, our happiness doesn’t depend on what we have. Our happiness depends on what we do with what we have.
Our happiness depends on, not on what we have, but on what we do with what we have. So, a person may have a lot of wealth, but if that person uses that for drinking, and that person is actually poisoning one’s own body, and then ruining one’s own future. If that person uses that wealth for some constructive activity, then that wealth can be a source of happiness.
So, bhakti helps us to understand what is the best way to use our wealth. And that’s how bhakti can become the source of, bhakti can enable us to engage wealth in Krishna’s service, and thereby experience a richer, deeper connection with Krishna, which is the ultimate basis of all lasting happiness, the best happiness in life. So, again, the point here is that a devotee doesn’t have the illusion that anything material can make me happy.
Okay, that person may have a better car than me, but the car is just a tool for going from one place to another. The car is not going to make me happy. So, that way, a devotee is not disturbed, because others have something better than the devotee.
So, that’s why there’s adveshta sarva-bhutana. So, at the material level, there is envy. A devotee has no envy towards others.
But that’s not alone. So, non-negative in and of itself is not positive. That would just mean a devotee is not envious, but a devotee’s vision towards others is also beyond that, it’s positive.
maitra-karuna eva ca How maitra-karuna eva ca? Because a devotee understands that everyone is a part of the same one family of the Supreme Lord. We are all children, and we are all related in Krishna’s family, and that’s why maitra-karuna, and it’s a well-wishing friend of all living beings. And then, nirmamon nirahankarah samadukha-sukha-kshami So, Krishna has talked about nirmama and nirahankarah several times.
The first time he talked about it was in 2.71. 2.70 was apuryamanam, and 2.71 was apuryamanam acala-pratishtham samudra-mapa-pravishanti advat-advat-kamayam pravishanti sarvesha-shantima tina-kamakami-vihaya-kamanya-sarvan-pumams-charati-nispruha-nirmamon-nirahankarah sa-shantimati-gacchati So, in 2.70 and 2.71, Krishna is talking about giving up material desires. And there he says in 2.71 nirmamon nirahankarah To give up the conception of mama, this is mine, and ahankara, this body and whatever conditions are connected with the body, I am that. To let those bodily designations become our self-definition is illusion.
And to give that up is the process of liberation from illusion. So, nirmamon nirahankarah A devotee also has the tendency to possess. But a devotee understands that the ultimate possession is Krishna.
As Bhaktivinoda Thakur says in the song, which is on Atma Nivedan Tu Aapade He says, It’s my dear Lord, I am yours, you are mine. What other wealth do I want? So, this is how a devotee becomes free from a possessive mentality because devotee understands that I have got the supreme possession of Krishna. So, nirmamon nirahankarah Samadukha Sukhakshami So, we have discussed earlier how a devotee becomes equipoised.
Let’s suppose I have 5 crore rupees in one hand. And then I have 5 rupees in another hand. Or my 50 paise in another hand.
So now, if that 5 rupee coin is all that I have, if I don’t have the 5 crore rupees, I have only 5 rupees. And then if I see that coin falling away, then I will become agitated. No, no, that coin, I want to get it.
And if somebody comes and steals it also, I will get agitated. I will get worked up with that. I have to preserve this coin.
And also, if somebody gives me 5 rupees more, I will become excited. Oh, I got 5 rupees more. So, generally, the 5 rupees is all that we have.
Then we will get very worked up if somebody takes it away. And we will get excited if somebody gives it more also. But if I have 5 crore rupees in one hand and I have 5 rupees in another hand, then that 5 rupees, even if I lose it, it won’t make much difference to me.
In fact, if that 5 rupees, if I’m going along and I see some beggar, I might just toss the 5 rupees. And when the 5 rupee coin spills away and the beggar pounces and takes it, we’ll say, keep it. Why? Because when we compare that we have something of greater value, if I have 5 crore, then that 5 rupees is insignificant.
But if I don’t have the 5 crore, then 5 rupees is all that I have. And that becomes super significant for me. So, like that, the 5 rupees is the material pleasures, the material possessions, material positions that we have.
And the 5 crore is our spiritual wealth, our devotional connection with Krishna. So, to the extent we don’t have a strong devotional connection, to that extent, material ups and downs shake us. Success will make us jubilant and failure will make us despondent.
So, these sort of dualities will not affect us to the extent our vision is fixed on Krishna and we have a strong relationship with Krishna and regular experience, the fulfilment that comes with a strong connection with Krishna. So, that’s how samadukha, sukha, kshami of devotee, understand that everything material is temporary. And from the point of view of the soul’s eternal happiness, the pleasures and pains of this world are temporary.
Therefore, samadukha, sukha. One can equipoise happiness and distress. Kshami, as Prabhupada translates, Kshami has forgiven.
The word Kshami is related with the word shama. So, even if somebody offends a devotee, devotee has no big deal about it. I don’t have to get worked up over it.
We’ll discuss this a little bit more later. Then, sattushta, sattatam, yogi. Because a devotee delights in one’s internal connection with Krishna, that’s why a devotee doesn’t mutter too much about worldly things.
Santushta, sattatam, yogi. Devotee is a yogi. Why? A yogi is one who strives for a connection through yoga.
So, a devotee is striving for a connection with Krishna through bhakti yoga. And then, Santushta, sattatam. A devotee is always satisfied because a devotee understands that ultimately, the relationship with Krishna, the service to Krishna is all that I need.
I don’t need anything else. And this brings life’s supreme satisfaction. Therefore, now that I have this, I don’t have to worry about anything else.
Yataatma, drudhanischa yaha, yataatma. Yataatma, self-control. Strongly determined.
Drudhanischa yaha. Now, we shouldn’t imagine when we reach the exalted qualities of a devotee that all this comes easily and naturally. Sometimes people have the idea that we see some very advanced saintly devotees, they are very humble, very tolerant, very gentle mannered.
And we may wonder when we see such exalted devotees with advanced qualities that they are at such a high level. I can never attain that level. Therefore, let me stay where I am.
So, we sometimes think that the qualities of advanced devotees are just something. Are they a bob? Are they congenital assets? Or something that they have got from birth? Actually, even most material skills are not congenital assets. Somebody is a phenomenal tennis player, a phenomenal cricket player.
Even they often have to practise. Then they develop their virtues. Somebody may be an excellent spin bowler.
But it’s not that the person was born with fingers. That is not the person came out of the mother’s womb with a ball and the person started swinging it and throwing leg spin balls. Even if the person may have a little bit talents, actually, even to express material talents requires work.
The same way, a devotee should understand that even if some other devotees seem to be very tolerant, very advanced, we think, oh, I don’t have these qualities. This devotee must have done a lot of advancement in their previous life. Well, it may be, but that doesn’t mean it was struggle-free.
See, when they went through it, they had to struggle. So, similarly, we had to struggle for it. Now, if we think, oh, I cannot behave like those advanced devotees because they have done so much bhakti from previous life.
So, what do I do then? Then I just keep on my lackadaisical practise. And what will happen is, who knows? Maybe in my previous life also, I said the same thing. In the previous life, when I saw some advanced devotees, I thought, oh, they must have practised bhakti in their previous life.
I cannot be like them. But that’s what I thought and I lost that chance at that time. And I did not do serious advancement.
In this life, I’m saying the same thing. Oh, these devotees are so advanced. So, what may happen in the next life also, I may say the same thing.
And where will we get inspiration from? We have to understand that if anybody has become an advanced devotee, that person has become advanced by the practise of spirituality, by the practise of devotion, and by the struggle against the anarthas. Of course, there may be a few exceptional Itti Siddha devotees who are eternally connected, who descend from the spiritual world. But we shouldn’t assume that everybody is Itti Siddha.
Actually, the advanced devotees, we should assume that they also have gone through the struggle. This we don’t say in terms of seeing them materially, but in terms of recognising that we shouldn’t escape, expect that anytime there will be no struggle for us. Developing good qualities requires hard work.
And a devotee should be ready to do that hard work. And then Krishna says, that those who work like this, and offer their mind and intelligence to me, they are the topmost of all devotees. So, let’s look at the purport of Srila Prabhupada.
So, Prabhupada explains, how is a devotee… Because a devotee understands that ultimately it’s my own karma that is coming through me. This person is acting as my enemy due to my own past misdeeds. So, it is better to suffer than to protest.
So, this was a famous verb. As Prabhupada would often quote, this is a famous one. That it is Brahmaji’s prayer.
Now, Prabhupada explains, all these qualifications enable him to fix his mind and intelligence, entirely on the Supreme Lord. So, Prabhupada talks about these qualities as having a causal link chain. And he says that to the extent one is adveshta, and sukha, dukha, kshami, and like that, etatma, dhrutanishya, to the extent one will be able to do mayy arpitamano buddhir.
So, and then, one who does like this person is very dear to Krishna. Now, let’s look at the next verse. By whom people are not disturbed.
lokanno dvijate ca yahan And, who is not disturbed by people. Harsha is happiness. Amarsha is distress.
Bhaya is fear. And udvega is anxiety. So, these are the forces that may, these are the emotions that may agitate the mind.
They are representative of the various emotions. There is excitement, there is dejection, there is fear, and then there is anxiety. So, all these are representative of the gamut of the emotions the mind can go through.
And a devotee does not allow your mind to come between himself and Krishna, between oneself and Krishna. So, mukto yaha sacchame priyaha Mukto, person who is mukta, who is free from person is very dear to Krishna. So, now we may wonder how is it that a devotee does not agitate anyone or is not agitated by anyone.
Actually, we may say that when we share Krishna consciousness with others, people get agitated. Because they are living lifestyles which are and they are having entertaining conceptions, which are contrary to the conceptions of Krishna. And when we present the principles and practises of Krishna consciousness, people get agitated.
So, is it that actually we are agitating people and if we are agitating people through our outreach, then is it that we are not actually doing outreach properly? Not exactly. The point here is to recognise that we have to have a proper intention and the proper execution. So, the proper knowledge is required so that we can evaluate whether our intention was correct or not.
And then even if our intention is correct, then we have to be able to execute properly. It’s like if there is a good doctor, a competent surgeon, so now if that competent surgeon knows how to do surgery and then does it competently, then superficially it may appear that the surgeon has cut up the stomach of a person. And that may even cause pain, sometimes more pain than what the person had been suffering for before the surgery.
But then, that is not ultimately the goal. The goal of the person, the goal of the surgeon using the surgical knife is not to kill, it is to heal. And as a part of healing, some cutting may have to be done.
So that way, the devotee has no intention of disturbing anyone. A devotee simply wants to practise devotional service himself and a devotee wants to encourage others to practise devotional service. But the way this can be done best is by allowing oneself to be purely and strongly connected with Krishna and making oneself as a puppet in the hands of Krishna.
As Prabhupada said in his Markina Bhagavad Dharma song, kashthera putali yata nachao se mate nachao nachao nachao Prabhupada is praying to the Lord that like a wooden puppet, make me dance, make me dance, make me dance. So, actually speaking, the important point is that the devotee because he is acting on behalf of the supreme doctor, a compounder may not know exactly the intricacies of every patient’s case history, the case background, detailed investigation of the parents and other such technical details. But if the patient comes to know, sorry, if the compounder, if the nurse or the person taking care in the hospital comes to know what are the precautions that have to be taken while treating a particular person and that the person learns from the doctor, chief doctor, then that person will be able to care for the other person quite well, much better than what they would be able to do otherwise.
Same way, because the devotee is working on behalf of Krishna who is the supreme doctor and in that sense the devotee is acting as an assistant doctor, so what the devotee is asking is that, my dear Lord, please use me as an instrument and in that sense the devotee is not considered to be an enemy. And then, So, we had a How can a devotee not be disturbed by others? That’s because a devotee understands that actually everything that I possess ultimately belongs to Krishna. Other people also belong to Krishna and even their assets belong to Krishna.
So, therefore, when people act according to the three modes, they are infatuated by their conceptions, their assets and such things, at that time a devotee recognising that these people are just puppets for calling the modes doesn’t allow oneself to get disturbed. That’s how, Actually, Prabhupada, sometimes with their construction delays or such things, Prabhupada would strongly send letters highlighting the problems. So, Prabhupada did not flinch from telling the specifics what is right and what is wrong, both.
And that is a part of the healthy feedback. So, how the process of bhakti works is that, when we try to serve Krishna, Krishna enables us, He guides us from within and He uses us as instruments. So, when we get a little experience of how Krishna can use us, then we feel more inspired to educate ourselves more and more.
When we educate ourselves more and more, then Krishna uses us more and more. And like that, our process of devotion can become more and more valuable through the process of devotional service So, devotional service can engender more and more qualities in our hearts and free us more and more from the agitations of this world. So, So, let’s look at the next verse.
अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्षः उदासी नोग तैवियतः सर्वारं परित्यागि योमद भक्तः समेप्रियः So, अनपेक्षः पक्षः is partiality or group अनपेक्षः is one who does not take any sides शुचिर्दक्षः शुचि is clean दक्षः is expert उदासी नोग तैवियतः A devotee is not attached to any material गतव्यतः A lamentation devotee is given up सर्वारं परित्यागि That one who gives up the endeavour for such gratification योमद भक्तः समेप्रियः Such a person is very dear to me अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्षः उदासी नोग तैवियतः अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्षः This is all describing the various qualities of a devotee The various qualities of a devotee are अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्षः Prabhupada would often tell that devotees should not, devotees don’t have to take part in theopolitics that often takes place in metropolitan countries Theopolitics refers to the complex network or nexus between religion and politics Theopolitics is something which leads to a lot of people taking off on their own projects and putting them on their own pursuit of power and position and then they claim that we are doing this in the name of God So devotee is अनपेक्षः Devotee doesn’t want political alignments with others Devotee simply wants to serve Krishna Some of the qualities we discussed earlier शुचिर्दक्षः शुचिर्दक्षः is external and internal is by breathing Internal is by cultivating pure thoughts दक्षः is what? A devotee tries to excel in the branch of service to Krishna that has been allocated to that particular devotee So that’s दक्षः There is such a vast variety of subjects In the early days of our movement it is said that the devotees felt that when Prabhupada started cooking he said, Swamiji’s knowledge of cooking recipes is as vast as the knowledge of Sanskrit verses. Prabhupada is a discovery that who is cooking for them Similarly, whatever a devotee does it is ultimately for the good of everyone The devotee is an expert Not that a devotee will necessarily be an expert but materially in all skills The ultimate expertise is that the devotee has a sincere desire to serve Krishna and Krishna reciprocates with that sincerity and gives an answer which may well help a devotee to find out what Krishna has wanted that person to do So now, सर्वारंभपरित्याज् A devotee gives a small selfish endeavour So ultimately, spiritual life, spiritual advancement is a journey from selfishness to supreme selflessness Supreme selflessness is absorption in pure service to Krishna So this is a journey which everyone has to take and सर्वारंभपरित्याज् contributes to that journey So now, Prabhupada explains in the Purport The devotee never takes the part of a particular party Therefore, he is carefree So Prabhupada translates आनेविक्षियाज् as carefree Why carefree? Because the devotee does not have unnecessary cares Let’s go to the next verse भक्तिमान्यः समेप्रियः यो नरिष्यति नद्वेश्टि One who doesn’t delight nor does one that person resent नरिष्यति नद्वेश्टि नचोचति नकांशति So one does not hanker or one does not lament शुभाशुबपरित्याज् And not only does a devotee not hanker or lament A devotee also gives up conceptions of auspicious and inauspicious Ultimately one understands that One understands that actually There is nothing auspicious in this world Because everything in this world is temporary And as everything in this world is temporary So the शुभा and अशुभा are ultimately both undesirable Their undesirability is just a matter of degree Something which we consider desirable But afterwards they will become undesirable also And some things which we don’t consider undesirable They are just higher up on the undesirability continuum But all of these are on the same All these activities are on the undesirability continuum And Krishna enables his devotee To stay transcendental To both these conceptions of good and bad शुभाशुबपरित्याज् So that this is good, this is bad Whatever has happened We can always find an opportunity to serve Krishna even in that situation And that is what we should focus on So Prabhupada explains further So nothing is as important in this charge of devotional service The most important thing for a devotee For that a devotee becomes very dear to Krishna And the devotee is ready to sacrifice everything for Krishna’s sake समहान्यत्रों चमित्रेच थामायावमानयो So now here Krishna is continuing the point of view of Equipoised attitude So now here We wonder that Krishna Is actually talking most qualities From the point of view of neutrality Not from the point of view of devotional passion Not from the point of view of a spiritual friend We are taking this off from a wrong perspective Because of the Inadequate understanding Of how Spiritual culture that is timeless is to be applied Practically in current times That is a challenge And a devotee recognising that spiritual happiness is eternal So whatever be the changes happening at the material level externally Let them not affect my spiritual practises My spiritual advancement Let me just focus on the study practise of devotional life थामानापमानयो So all these inequalities we just skip Understand that they are just part of qualities Just part of day to day conduct शितोष्णिसुखदुखेशु So all this duality what happens संगविवर्जितः Actually संगविवर्जितः संग means attachment विवर्जितः means to give up So all material attachments, connections, relationships A devotee gives them up अनिकेतहस्तिरमतिर And it is further described The idea is that a devotee is satisfied with whatever situation Because the devotee is not in that situation The devotee is situated in one’s connection with Krishna And that connection with Krishna is the basis of supreme fulfilment But here अनिकेतहस्तिरमतिर This is a very beautiful concept which Krishna has talked about In this section अनिकेतहस्तिरमतिर A devotee’s body may not have a fixed residence अनिकेतह निकेतन is house अनिकेतह is one who doesn’t have any house So a devotee may be a travelling preacher Or something like that And you may say the devotee doesn’t have any house But at that point a devotee already has an inner house Just by virtue of being a devotee And that inner house is अनिकेतहस्तिरमतिर That inner house is one’s connection with Krishna One’s inner remembrance of Krishna भक्तिमान में प्रियोन रहा There is a person who has special attraction for me भक्तिमान में प्रियोन रहा में प्रियोन रहा A person among all devotees is most dear to me Now after describing this, Krishna goes to the last verse of this chapter So Bhairan, he’ll describe, he’ll summarise basically ये तु धर्मा अमृतमिदम् ये थोक्तप्पर्युपांशतें शुद्धधानामद्परमा भक्तास्तेतिव में प्रियहा ये तु धर्मा अमृतमिदम् इदम् is this धर्मा अमृतम् is the nectar of religion इतोक्तम् पर्युपांशतें As I have spoken, so one hears and understands इतोक्तम् पर्युपांशतें worships शुद्धधानामद्परमा भक्तास्तेतिव में प्रियहा devotee is most dear to me तीव में प्रियहा तीव means very specially exceedingly comparatively much greater पक्तास्तेतिव में प्रियहा actually प्रियहा devotee is most dear to me very greatly dear to me so what is this referring to नाम शुद्धधानामद्परमा Krishna has talked about शद्धा earlier in the same chapter in 12.8 sorry not 12.8, 12.2 Krishna has said 12.2 was Arjuna’s question so in the first verse of this chapter Krishna has talked about शद्धया and परयो पेता and here in the last verse of this chapter also Krishna talks about शद्धधाना so in a sense devotees, the flow of thought that Krishna has started from 12.2 in a symmetric sense he comes back to a similar point at the end of the same chapter so the point which is mentioned in the first verse शद्धधाना so शद्धा Krishna is saying you have to have faith शद्धधानामद्परमा पक्तास्तेतिव में प्रियहा that means devotee is most dear to me so what is it that makes the devotee dear actually, there are many things which are possible the way a devotee speaks, the way a devotee is very expert with words, the way a devotee comes with catch lines the way a devotee develops something called a personal charisma then at all the situations a person will start thinking all these are the reasons for actually becoming are all of these reasons for becoming when a devotee understands that these are all processes that all these यथोक्तम्परिपासते धर्मअमृत, the nectar of religion this is the means by which I can become purified, elevated, liberated so यथोक्तम्परिपासते as one has heard, one starts worshipping them जश्दधानामद्परमा understanding me to be supreme goal this person is very dear to me different acharyas explain this थीव in different ways some acharyas say that actually this refers to that one who accepts the principle of devotional service and starts practising with faith, so faith is the greatest quality all the other qualities engender one to Krishna, but faith engenders one to Krishna the most, but beyond that a devotee also wants to make sure that actually the path of spiritual life is not just as we said earlier a whitewash, one has to sincerely and seriously practise spiritual life and to the extent one is ready to practise spiritual life, to that extent one studies spiritual advancement, so therefore recognising this fundamental point, a devotee focusses on the practise of pure devotional service and one who has that faith in the potency of pure devotional service, this person is very dear to me, the Lord says भखतास्ते थीव में प्रिहा थीव में प्रिहा, this person is very dear to me, so Prabhupada writes in the purport that one need not bother about materials to keep body and soul together, because by the grace of the Lord everything is carried out automatically how is everything carried out automatically that means there are some companies which provide some perks they might provide some accommodation they might provide transportation, they might provide medical assurance medical insurance so even in the material world there are companies or government institutions which provide some additional benefits so when a person is working in such a place, the person is not excessively worried about other things, if I am working in an institute which is going to take care of my health, medical part my other parts, then I don’t have to bother too much about everything else, because if I just do my work properly, then my doing my work properly implies that other needs will be taken care of or for example, if I board a plane if I have paid the money then I don’t have to bother and check the fuel metre when the pilot is driving the plane, taking off oh, do you have enough fuel or not no, if I just get into the plane, actually the other things about the plane will be taken care of why, because that’s the way things work I don’t have to bother about whether that particular need is for me to fulfil because no, I have done something else and through that, that need is taken care of so all that I have to do is to make sure that I get what I need and I do my part, I just take a ticket properly in a proper, respected airlines then the other things will be taken care of similarly for a devotee, a devotee understands that if I just serve Krishna, then other things will automatically be taken care of and in this way, a devotee stays wholeheartedly fixed in the devotional service of Krishna even if one doesn’t have much good qualities now it doesn’t matter, even if one has many bad qualities that doesn’t matter, we can practise devotional service and we can aspire for these elevated qualities and by the steady practise, we will develop these qualities and we will also become dear to Krishna so in this way if we again try to look at symmetries the chapters 7 to 12 are the bhakti section and now the bhakti section is ending so bhakti section started with 7.1 was mayi asakta manaha and 12.20 is ending with yomat bhaktah same priyaha so what does this change indicate? it essentially indicates that sorry, not yomat bhaktah same priyaha it indicates bhaktas te teevame priyaha very dear to me, bhaktas te teevame priyaha so what has happened is Krishna has whatever highest level of bhakti he has said that in order to constantly fix the mind on me so that was said earlier in the 6th chapter and also that the yogi may go through the various stages of yoga and ultimately come to elevated stage but the most elevated yogi is one who fixes the mind on Krishna and the alternative way to practise that and to attain that same perfection of fixing the mind on Krishna is through bhakti yoga and that was delineated in chapters 7 to 12 and from next chapter onwards Krishna will talk about jnana yoga and how jnana yoga is connected with bhakti yoga or rather how jnana yoga culminates in bhakti yoga so let’s look at a quick overview of the middle 6 chapters to understand what is happening in the 7th chapter Krishna basically 7th chapter is called as knowledge of the absolute in which Krishna introduces us to how he pervades material world and how ultimately different people, some are surrendering to him directly, some indirectly some deride him and some approach him inquisitively so he describes various categories of people basically 7th chapter provides us the intellectual foundation for leading a life of devotion by telling about Krishna’s manance, by telling about Krishna’s transcendence by telling about Krishna’s superior position of bhakti yoga over all other processes in one consolidated place and after that in the 6th chapter Krishna is talking about ashtanga yoga so 8th chapter compares ashtanga yoga and bhakti yoga and establishes how bhakti yoga is preferable because it is easier and Krishna also says in that same chapter one doesn’t have to worry about other things, whether one is dying at the right time or not the lord will make sure that for a devotee everything will work out right and then after that in the 9th chapter Krishna has focused on the most confidential knowledge that is the knowledge of pure devotional service which works in various ways and various glories of pure devotional service are described first Krishna’s position is described then various kinds of people the mayavadis, the ananya bhaktas and then the three kinds of jnana yogis the jnana yagya performers are described then how devotional service elevates one beyond one’s inherent faults and one’s internal faults and how devotional service is very easy to perform as compared to demigod worship and how devotional service gives eternal results all these are discussed in the 9th chapter the 10th chapter talks about vibhuti yoga where before that Krishna talks about how it is rare to know him then he describes how he can be known through the process of bhakti yoga which attracts his mercy and the chittu shloki bhagavad gita comes up after that Arjuna for the first time speaking not in a questioning mood but in an acknowledging mood after one has learned something valuable actually Arjuna speaks that I had fears about this matter but Arjuna is able to transit through the darshan which he gets in the 11th chapter that ultimately all enemies are going to be destroyed so Krishna is told by Arjuna that whatever you want to see and whatever you may not express right now but you may want to see in the future I will show it to you so as if a magic Krishna is able to see Krishna shows him the virat rupa so the 10th chapter talks about how Krishna pervades nature after Arjuna accepts Krishna’s glories then to help material minded people think of Krishna Krishna organises the bhuti yoga and then after that at the behest of Arjuna Krishna speaks the reveals the virat rupa and then there is a discussion and offering of prayers and obeisance to the virat rupa so at Krishna’s request the virat rupa disappears then becomes the vishnu murti and then returns back to its two handed form and then also the conclusion is bhakti is the best way and the 12th chapter another common conception is does bhakti lead to gyan or gyan lead to bhakti so at this point Krishna says that actually doing worship practising bhakti is far better than practising gyan that means worshipping the personal absolute truth is far preferable to worshipping the impersonal conception because it is so much more difficult and so less productive then Krishna’s incredible mercy extreme ordinary compassion in nature in offering people multiple levels of bhakti that is discussed from 10.8 to 12 and then in this section today we discussed about how there are various qualities if you develop those qualities then that endears us to Krishna so in this way the bhakti section ends in the next chapter we will also begin with Arjuna’s question so this is the 4th chapter in which the main discussion has begun with Arjuna’s question 10th chapter was one such chapter 11th chapter was another chapter and 12th chapter was another chapter and in this way the glory of bhakti yoga is being established and Arjuna will begin with another question in 13th chapter also and then Krishna will start talking about gyan yoga and how gyan ultimately leads to bhakti that we will discuss in our future class. Thank you very much.