Does Gita 18.56 refer to karma-yoga or bhakti-yoga?
Perfection.
Hare Krishna Question from Hariparayan Prabhu. Does Gita 18.56 refer to Karma Yoga or to Bhakti Yoga? This comes just after the ladder of how the Gyanis progress to Bhakti, so doesn't this refer to Bhakti Yoga? Answer, yes 18.56 definitely refers to Bhakti Yoga but it talks about how the reach of Bhakti extends down to anyone, whatever Karma one might be doing, so 18.56 is Sanskrit Sanskrit Sanskrit Sanskrit that is mercy of Krishna which is one characteristic of Bhakti Yoga taking shelter of Krishna, that is also characteristic of Bhakti Yoga so both ways, we taking shelter and Krishna giving mercy both are characteristic of Bhakti Yoga but relevant for us is Sarvakarmanya Apisada, that a person can be doing all kinds of work, that means that a person doesn't have to renounce the world, a person doesn't have to be situated in a particular kind of work, for Gyanakand for the Gyanamarga, a person has to renounce the world and for many of the Vedic rituals, one has to be a Brahmana so that sort of restriction Krishna is saying emphatically is not there, Sarvakarmanya Apisada, anybody can be doing any work and that person can practice Bhakti so that means that this was, so prior to this, from 18.40 onwards when Krishna talks about Varanashram and how we can offer the fruits of our work to him through Varanashram, so through that Bhagwat Tarpit Karma Yoga, through Gyan Yoga one comes to Bhakti Yoga, but Krishna is saying there is an alternative way that instead of having to go through the Gyan ladder going through the Gyan Yoga level, where one renounces the world, one can be doing whatever work one wants whatever is one's nature in Varanashram whatever occupation one has and from that position itself one takes shelter of him, then one can attain the perfect destiny, supreme destination so this verse is not talking about Karma Yoga, but it is talking about the capacity of a person, of Bhakti to reach down to people who may be externally continuing to act in the world in a way that seems similar to the way Karmis or Karma Yogis are acting and still elevate them, so essentially this verse demonstrates the Bhakti's compassionate reach downwards to lift us up and Bhakti's capacity to circumvent the Yoga ladder and its step by step staircase by offering an elevator which can pick us up from wherever we are, so Sarva Karmana describes the lower end of the Yoga ladder of the Bhakti elevator wherever we are, the elevator will come down to that level for us and Shashvatam Padam Avyayam and it will take us to the eternal destination, so that talks about the scope of the upper end of the Bhakti elevator, in this way Bhakti can take us from the lowest wherever we are to the highest destination and that way we can practice Bhakti Yoga without having to renounce the world as would be required if we are going through the Yoga ladder and we have to go through the Jnana or Dhyana stage, thank you.