Gita 11.54 Pure devotion grants the topmost spiritual vision

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Thank you. Krishna is speaking here and telling Arjuna, how he can be attained.

In the previous verse, there was negation, and this verse, there is affirmation. The previous verse was, that actually, there is no, there is no, by all these methods, by study of Vedas, by performance of austerities, by giving charity and by doing worship, the Lord cannot be attained, but He can be attained through bhakti. So, there, Ijjaya refers more to yajnic worship, doing yajnas.

Here, it refers to bhakti. So, bhaktyātmananyāśakyaṁ, if one practices unalloyed devotion, I can be known, O Arjuna. You can know me and you can see me.

In truth, you can enter into the understanding of the truth. So, Krishna stresses here that it is only by bhakti that one can know Him, that it is not possible by any other means. bhaktiātmananyāśakyaṁ, only by unalloyed devotion is it possible.

So, actually, the important thing on the spiritual path or on the spiritual journey is to know the right path. If one is, say, lost in wilderness, just the energy to walk is not enough. Say, somebody is in a desert.

Now, on all sides, the desert looks the same. And in such a situation, if this one has the energy to walk a lot, just the energy to walk a lot will not take the person very far. Actually, that person has to keep moving steadily, firmly, energetically, but also in a proper direction.

That person doesn't have the right sense of direction, then no matter how much that person, they travel, they will not get to the right destination. So, it's important that we complement one's energy with knowledge. Similarly, in the spiritual path, there can be a lot of exploration.

Should I do this? Should I do that? Should I go here? Should I go there? And we can try out various things. And certainly, that kind of exploration indicates one's serious inquisitiveness. That this is what I, that I really want to know about the subject.

I really desperately need to know about what is the right destination which I should be trying to achieve. But that alone, that kind of knowledge alone is not enough. One has to complement that, that kind of energy alone is not enough.

This yield to explore is not enough. Eventually, one has to settle on a path and pursue that path purposefully. And understanding which is the best path, which is the path that one should follow, that is vital.

So, Krishna in these two verses is, through the combination of negation and affirmation, first by saying that this need not be done, the second by saying this be done, by that combination of negation and affirmation, is making it very clear about what he expects Arjuna to do. He expects Arjuna to bhakti, to practice bhakti. Now, earlier Krishna has displayed the universal form.

And while displaying the universal form, he has stated that actually even seeing the universal form is very rare. Now, earlier means just seven, eight verses before this in the same chapter. Now, it has been described that Krishna has shifted over to his own form.

And Krishna is saying that it is his form which can be seen only through bhakti. When Krishna descended into this world, did everyone not see his form? At one level they saw, but seeing involves a combination of perception and comprehension. For example, you say somebody sees the prime minister of the country, but then they don't know that the person is the prime minister.

Then have they really seen the prime minister? Maybe the excitement of seeing the prime minister, seeing the head of state of a country, that they experience none of that because they have no knowledge. There is no comprehension of who they are interacting with. So, if there is perception without comprehension, then that is not really complete.

On the other hand, if there is comprehension, but there is no perception. That means, okay, we know this person is so great, he is the prime minister of the country. But we see them on the newspaper, we see them on TV, but there is no meeting.

They have not really seen the prime minister in that case. So, when there is perception and comprehension, say when actually one knows the position of the prime minister and then one meets the prime minister, then that is a very memorable experience for many people when they get to meet the head of state of a particular country. So, similarly, when we talk about seeing Krishna, this combination of perception and comprehension is what is being talked about.

So, the process of bhakti gives us comprehension because bhakti involves hearing about Krishna. It involves talking about Krishna and by that we understand his glory, his position, his sweetness. And then bhakti also involves a process of gradual purification by which our consciousness gets elevated to the spiritual level.

Bhakti also involves Krishna being pleased with us and Krishna wanting to bestow his mercy on us and thus, by that also, things move onwards and one learns to see Krishna. One gets the darshan of Krishna because Krishna mercifully bestows his darshan. So, in that sense, devotion grants vision through a combination of perception and comprehension.

Devotion grants vision. So, vision means seeing, but this vision is not just the eyes come in contact with something, but it is that vision in order for it to be meaningful, truly glorious, to be impactful. It has to be a combination of comprehension and perception and devotion grants that.

And Krishna is pointing towards that. He says, Arjuna, and then you will enter into my mysteries of my understanding as Prabhupada. That means, we will actually appreciate Krishna's greatness, appreciate Krishna's sweetness and our consciousness will become immersed in Krishna, completely lost in Krishna and that is life's perfection.

Thank you.