Gita 09.34 – Offering is the way of receiving

Thank you Krishna in Gita 9.24 9.34 is describing how we can attain him this is the last verse of the 9th chapter and it is a call to render wholehearted devotional service prior to this starting from verse 20 onwards Krishna has described various glories of devotional service precisely five glories the eternality of its result as contrasted with the temporality of the result of Karmakanda the simplicity of its practice as compared to the elaborate complexity of the Karmakanda rituals the accessibility of Bhakti for through various kinds of activities that all activities can be devotionalized unlike in Karmakanda which centers on specific rituals and how Bhakti can be performed even by those who occasionally commit sins even grievous sins Bhakti can redeem and release from material existence even such people and then how Bhakti is accessible to everyone even those who are low born Papayonayah and now after giving such a stirring description of the glories of Bhakti Krishna concludes by giving a call practice devotion wholeheartedly Manmana bhava he says just fix your mind on it Manmana Manmana there is a poetic alliteration over here so the first transformation of me and to me fix your mind Manmana bhava mad bhakto so again bhava there is a poetic alliteration bhakto and bhava become my devotee so fix your mind on me but don't fix your mind on me the way say historian may fix the mind on a historical subject not just as a object of clinical critical study but fix your mind on me making me the object of your supreme object of your devotion Madhyaji Mam Namaskuru now that devotion shouldn't be just kept as a internal emotion but is expressed externally through offering obeisances and through offering homage and Mam if you do this you will attain me Mam Yuktva evam what does one need to do to attain him Yuktva evam stay engaged in this way Atmanam Madparayanah Atmanam if your soul your very as your being Madparayanah when it is devoted to me when it is dedicated to me when it is committed to me then surely you will attain me so actually the purpose and perfection of life is to become Hariparayanah Narayanaparayanah Madparayanah that is what Krishna is reiterating over here we all live for something in life some people may live to just earn more and more money some people love for live for their spouse or for their children some people live for their nation and some people live just for the gratification of their senses Kamaparayanah so like that different people live for different purposes and none of these purposes can grant leave alone the eternal destination but grant even some lasting satisfaction in this very life but when we make ourselves Madparayanah when we make ourselves Parayan to Krishna then by that we will be able to attain the everlasting destination Krishna himself and his eternal abode and when we pray to Krishna when we remember him when we chant his holy names when we meditate on him all these are processes by which we try to make ourselves Parayanah to him, devoted to him sold out to him so we offer various things to Krishna as means by which we can offer ourselves to Krishna and to the extent we can offer ourselves to him to that extent we will be able to connect with him because offering is the means by which offering is actually the means of receiving when we offer ourselves when we offer our consciousness to him then our consciousness opens to receive his supreme blessing and with that blessing and that supreme blessing is steady strong attraction to him so when we offer ourselves to him our consciousness becomes open to receive and relish his glories and he mercifully reveals those glories and we receive and relish those glories and thus our attraction to him becomes stronger and stronger remembrance of him becomes sweeter and sweeter and thus we become absorbed in devotional love for him even in this world what to speak of when we go after death to his eternal abode where there are no distractions from him and there is constant ecstatic everlasting attraction to him thank you.