Bhagavad Gita, chapter 12, the Path of devotion

 

1.   Arjuna asked: “My Lord, of those who love Thee as the Lord of Love, and those who seek Thee as a Nameless, Formless Reality, which way leads sure and swift, Love or Knowledge?

 

2.  Lord Sri Krishna replied: “ For those who set their hearts on Me, and worship Me with faultless devotion and faith, the way of Love leads sure and swift to Me.”
 

3. “Those who seek the transcendental Reality, Un-manifested, without name and form, beyond the reach of feeling and thought;

 

4. “With their senses subdued and mind serene, and striving for the good of all beings, they too will verily come to Me”

 

5. “Yet, hazardous and slow is the path to the Unrevealed; difficult for man to   tread.
 

6.  “But they for whom I am the goal supreme, who do all works renouncing self to Me, and meditate on Me with single – hearted devotion;

 

7.  “These will I swiftly rescue from the cycle of birth and death, to fullness of eternal life in Me.  

 

8.  “Still thy mind in Me; still thyself in Me; and without doubt thou shalt be united with Me, Lord of love, dwelling in the heart.  

 

9.  “If thou canst not still thy mind, then learn thou to do so with the practice of  meditation.

 

10.“If thou lackest the will for self-discipline, engage  thyself in selfless service to all around thee, for selfless service can lead thee at last to Me.

 

11.“If unable to do even this, surrender thyself to Me in Love, receiving success and failure with equal calmness, as granted by Me.

 

12.“Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better still is meditation. But better than meditation is surrender in Love, for there follows immediate Peace.

 

13.“That thou I Love who is incapable of hatred, and who returns love for hatred.    Living beyond the reach of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ and of pleasure and pain;

 

14.“Centred, self-controlled, firm in faith, with all his mind and all his heart given to Me, such a one is dear to Me.

 

15.“Not agitating the world nor agitated by it; he stands above the sway of elation, competition and fear; accepting life, good and bad, as it comes.

 

16.“He is pure, efficient, detached, ready to meet every demand I make upon him, as a humble instrument of My work.

 

17.“He is dear to Me who runs not after the pleasant, or away from the painful; grieves not over the past; lusts not today; but let things come and go as they happen.

 

 18-19. “Who serves both friend and foe with equal love, not buoyed up by praise, or cast down by blame; alike in heat and cold, pleasure and pain, free of selfish attachment and self-will, in  harmony everywhere, firm in faith- such a one is dear to Me.

 

20. “But dearest to Me are those who seek Me in Love and faith, as Life’s Eternal  Goal. They go beyond death to Immortality,”

Thus ends the twelfth chapter entitled Bhakti Yoga, in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, on the science of yoga ( Yogasastra), as a part of the knowledge of Brahman (Brahmavidya), in the Upanishad called the Bhagavad Gita.