Essentials of Hinduism - Bhagavad Gita

Essentials of Hinduism

Bhagavad Gita

Chapter 12 - Path Of Devotion

The Absolute is Formless and Nameless and beyond the perception of the Sense Organs, feelings of the Mind, and comprehensions of the Intellect. The form of Worship and Meditation is discussed in this Chapter. Lord Krishna explains the Path-of-Meditation upon a form representative of the Divine.

Stanza 2:

Three main conditions are enumerated in this Stanza as essential and unavoidable for one to become a True Devotee who does Idol Worship (Manifest Form of the Lord): (1) Perfect Faith, (2) Ever Steadfast Worship (Firmly fixed in place with determination and not subject to change), (3) One’s Mind totally merged with the concept of the Lord.

Stanza 4:

For successful Meditation upon the Unmanifest-Form of the Lord, Krishna emphasizes three conditions also: (1) Keep all our sense organs under control; (2) Maintain intellectual equanimity in all conditions and experiences – in this World of change, a seeker must discover his own balance and equipoise pertaining to mental attachments and physical contacts with the World outside despite the mad celebrations of things and beings around the Seeker; (3) the Seeker should always be self-dedicated in serving at his best all Beings.

Stanza 11:

Krishna tells us to curb wasting our energies in our anxieties and fears by brooding over the Future. Instead, Krishna urges us to Live vitally, sincerely, fully and dynamically in the Present. This act can integrate our personality and make it single-pointed and strong.

We differ from each other only in the thickness of the Vasana-layers in our inner-equipment. If the Mind is thinly coated with Vasanas, the slight distractions created by them can be controlled by the Yoga of Practice. If the layer of Vasana is thick, then it can be treated with the Yoga of action performed with Divine dedication. If the Mind is shacked with still thick layers of Vasanas, then the Seeker is advised to curb his imaginations and act with Karma-Phala-Tyaga (performing the Karmas Selflessly without expecting fruits for the action performed).

Stanza 12:

The Lord extols (praises) the abandoning of the fruits of actions. He says: Knowledge is better than Practice; Meditation is better than Knowledge; Renunciation of the fruits of actions is better than the Meditation. Peace immediately follows the Renunciation. He adds how Renunciation of our anxiety for the future immediately brings about a healthy condition within ourselves. Renunciation is nothing other than giving up all our clinging attachments to the pleasures arising out of our contact with the external Sense Objects.

Stanza 20:

The Lord concludes by saying: the Devotees who adopt the following immortal Dharma (Laws of Life) endowed with Faith, regarding Me as the Supreme Lord are exceedingly Dear to Me:

(i) Characteristic features of a Man-of-Perfection: Steadfast in his Meditation, Self-Controlled and firm in his Resolve, Mind and Intellect ever centered in Me; (ii) he by whom the World is not agitated, who cannot be agitated by the World, he is completely free from all the usual causes for inward agitations such as joy, envy, fear and anxiety; (iii) a true Devotee no more depends upon the objects of the World, he is pure, alert, unconcerned and overlooks little pin-pricks of every- day life, renounces egoistic sense of self importance, neither rejoices or hates, grieves or desires, renounces good and evil; (iv) equal to foe and friend, who is the same to honor and dishonor, free from attachment, a man of few words, content with anything, one who is striving to free himself from all sense of possession and material shackles.

This is the end of THE YOGA OF DEVOTION.

This article is a snippet from the Book Essentials of Hinduism, Authored by G.S Nilakantan. Hinduism for All is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.