Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 - The Yoga of Devotion

The Yoga of Devotion is the heading of Chapter 12 in the Bhagavad Gita.



In the Bhagavad Gita - Text and Commentary by Sri Sivananda (Sivananda Press Durban SA) the discourse (summary) is as follows:

The twelfth discourse indicates that the path of devotion is easier than the path of knowledge. In this path the aspirant worships God in His Cosmic Form of Supreme Personality. He develops a loving relationship with Him, adores Him, remembers Him and chants His praises and Name. He thus effects union with the Lord and attains not only His formless aspect but also the Lord as the manifest universe.

The path of knowledge, whereby the aspirant meditates on the formless Brahman, is more difficult as he has to give up his attachment to the body from the very beginning. He has to have dispassion for the things of the world.

How to practise devotion? Krishna asks Arjuna to fix his entire mind on Him. As often as the mind wanders it should be brought back to the Lord. If this process of concentration is difficult he should dedicate all his actions to Him, feeling that it is His power that activated everything. If this is also beyond his ability, he should offer all his actions to the Lord, abandoning the desire for their fruits. He should take complete refuge in Him. The devotee who surrenders himself completely to the Lord attains perfect peace and tranquillity of mind.

The Lord goes on to describe the qualities that a true devotee possesses. He neither attaches himself to anything nor does he have any aversion to things. He has a balanced mind under all circumstances. He is not agitated by the happenings of the world, nor does he himself cause any agitation in others. He is perfectly desireless and rejoices in the Lord within. He see equality everywhere being untouched by sorrow, fear, honour and dishonour. He is perfectly content as he has completely surrendered his entire being to the Lord.

12.1 - arjuna uvacaevam satata-yukta yebhaktas tvam paryupasateye capy aksharam avyaktamtesham ke yoga-vittamah - "Arjuna inquired: Which are considered to be more perfect, those who are always properly engaged in Your devotional service or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?"

12.2 - sri-bhagavan uvacamayy avesya mano ye mamnitya-yukta upasateshraddhaya parayopetaste me yuktatama matah - "The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect."

12.3 - ye tv aksharam anirdesyamavyaktam paryupasatesarvatra-gam acintyam cakuta-stham acalam dhruvam

12.4 - sanniyamyendriya-gramamsarvatra sama-buddhayahte prapnuvanti mam evasarva-bhuta-hite ratah
"But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and immovable—the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth—by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me."

12.5 - kleso ’dhikataras tesamavyaktasakta-cetasamavyakta hi gatir duhkhamdehavadbhir avapyate - "For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied."

12.6 - ye tu sarvani karmanimayi sannyasya mat-parahananyenaiva yogenamam dhyayanta upasate

12.7 - tesam aham samuddhartamrityu-samsara-sagaratbhavami na cirat parthamayy avesita-cetasam
"But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pritha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death."

12.8 - mayy eva mana adhatsvamayi buddhim nivesayanivasisyasi mayy evaata urdhvam na samsayah - "Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

12.9 - atha cittam samadhatumna saknosi mayi sthiramabhyasa-yogena tatomam icchaptum dhananjaya - "My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me."

12.10 - abhyase ’py asamartho ’simat-karma-paramo bhavamad-artham api karmanikurvan siddhim avapsyasi - "If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage."

Click here for the rest of Chapter 12 verses.

What is your Path?

What is your path in life? Which course, direction or roadway are you traveling? Everyone one is moving in some direction. Some are stuck at the crossroad not knowing which is the best way for them. So there is no movement, stagnation. Some people go down a path not to be alone so they follow others. Some just go down a path to keep it moving.

For some people singing is their path, others teaching, writing a book, having a family. For me my path is yoga. To me yoga is fascinating. Most people might think of physical postures or contortion when they hear the word yoga. There are different limbs of yoga. Yoga is the trunk of the tree and it has many branches. Major branches of yoga include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga.[3][4][5] Raja Yoga, compiled in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

I find that the practice of yoga brings my attention to many topics like health, mental health , peace of mind, how to deal with stress, etc. People might be having symptoms that they believe are related to an illness when it might be a sign of an awakened kundalini. A definition of kun·da·lini as a noun is Hinduism a cosmic or divine energy in human beings located at the base of the spine and released upward by means of yogic techniques. Or another definition is the yogic life force that is held to lie coiled at the base of the spine until it is aroused and sent to the head to trigger enlightenment. According to Swami Muktananda in his book 'Where Are You Going?' he states "When the inner energy awakened and this spontaneous yoga begins, your entire body will be purified from within. Your awareness will be turned inside, and you will begin to see inner worlds."

I remember mentioning this topic in a class I was teaching one day. A student that I had not seen for a while came to me after the class. She told me she had stopped the yoga practice for a while because she had a couple of experiences that was a related to the kundalini awakening I had mentioned. She was relieved to find out what was happening to her.

So yoga for me has been a major path in my life that is leading me to a deeper awareness of my inner self, as well as outer self. It is definitely not boring and is full of revelations to waking up in this seemingly complicated world of illusions.