CHAPTER 12: THE YOGA OF DEVOTION

On fixing oneself on the ultimate of perfection

(1) Arjuna said: 'Thus, of those who as Your devotees are always engaged in proper worship and of those who go beyond the senses for the unmanifested - who of them are the best in the knowledge of yoga?'

(2) The Supreme Lord said: 'Those who fix their mind on Me and who always are engaged in worship, endowed by Me with faith in the transcendental, are considered to be of the strongest bond. (3-4) But those who, of the indefinite and unmanifest that is beyond the senses, are completely of worship and fixed on the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging and immovable, controlling all the senses and equipoised towards all whenever; they for certain engaged for the welfare of all attain Me. (5) The trouble for those who are attached to the unmanifested is very great; for those minds set to the unseen the progress of the embodied is achieved with difficulty. (6-7) But to those whose activities are all directed to Me and who give up in the attachment to Me, undivided and sure by the practice of yoga of meditating and worshiping Me; of those whose minds are fixed on Me I become the swift deliverer of death in material existence, oh son of Prithâ. 

(8) Be sure to fix your mind on Me and to apply your intelligence for Me and you will live in Me for certain and never suffer any doubt thereafter. (9) If you are not able to fix your mind on Me, then be steadfast holding on to the rules of yoga and develop a desire to get to Me, oh conqueror of wealth. (10) If you are even unable to practice that, then become dedicated in working for My sake, as even by doing work you will achieve perfection. (11) And if you are even unable to do this in the yoga unto Me, then take your refuge in the renunciation of the results of all action and then remain with yourself. (12) Better than [mere] practice is knowledge and better than [mere] knowledge is meditation considered to be. Renouncing the fruits of labor is better than [mere] meditation as of such renunciation peace will ensue. 

(13-14) With no dislike towards anyone and surely friendly and kind, nonpossessive, and not identified, equal in distress and happiness, forgiving, peaceful and always devoted, selfcontrolled and with determination in mind and intelligence always fixed on Me - such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me. (15) Anyone of whom the people are never disturbed and who is also not disturbed by the people; he who is free from ups and downs, fears and anxieties is very dear to Me. (16) Anyone prepared for alternatives [neutral], who is pure, capable, unworried, untroubled and does not consider mundane endeavoring, such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me. (17) One who never rejoices nor hates, never grieves nor craves and remains detached for better or for worse - one who is such a devotee is dear to Me. (18-19) Equal to foe and friend, in honor and dishonor, in heat and cold and in happiness and distress and the same in absence of company; not different in infamy and repute, quiet and satisfied with anything, free from his home and fixed in his determination as a devotee a man is very dear to Me. (20) Those who but cherish the nectar of this nature and as said fully engage themselves with faith in the sublime of Me - those devotees are most dear to Me.'

 

 



 

 

 

Filognostic* understanding of the Bhagavad Gîtâ of Order

Text 1

Arjuna said: 'Thus, of those who as Your devotees are always engaged in proper worship and of those who go beyond the senses for the unmanifested - who of them are the best in the knowledge of yoga?'

FILOGNOSTIC TRANSLATION

Arjuna said: 'Those devotees who are always connected with you in proper worship, compared to those who go beyond the senses for the unapparent, who of them knows the unification of consciousness, the yoga, the best?' (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 2

The Supreme Lord said: 'Those who fix their mind on Me and who always are engaged in worship, endowed by Me with faith in the transcendental, are considered to be of the strongest bond.

The fortunate one said: 'Those who, in fixing their mind on me, and always transcendentally endowed with faith by me, are engaged in devotional activities, are the ones most perfect in the knowledge of yoga. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 3-4

But those who, of the indefinite and unmanifest that is beyond the senses, are completely of worship and fixed on the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging and immovable, controlling all the senses and equipoised towards all whenever; they for certain engaged for the welfare of all attain Me.

But those who in sacrifice for the welfare of all, fully attend to the indefinite and unapparent, being fixed upon the inconceivable, unchanging and immovable, and who in control of all the senses in every situation are of an equal-minded intelligence, actually reach me. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 5

The trouble for those who are attached to the unmanifested is very great; for those minds set to the unseen the progress of the embodied is achieved with difficulty.

The trouble for those who, free from attachments, are of the unapparent is very great; for those embodied ones, who turned their minds to the unseen, progress is something difficult. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 6-7

But to those whose activities are all directed to Me and who give up in the attachment to Me, undivided and sure by the practice of yoga of meditating and worshiping Me; of those whose minds are fixed on Me I become the swift deliverer of death in material existence, oh son of Prithâ.

But, to those who dedicate all their actions to me and who, attached to me, forsake the world and, undivided in the unification of their consciousness, are of meditation and worship with me, to those who fixed their minds thus upon me, I become, after not too long a time, the one who delivers them from dying in the ocean of material existence, oh son of Prithâ. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 8

Be sure to fix your mind on Me and to apply your intelligence for Me and you will live in Me for certain and never suffer any doubt thereafter.

Therefore, be sure to fix your mind upon me, so that you, with your intelligence thus engaged, will live in me and as a consequence will never suffer any doubt. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 9

If you are not able to fix your mind on Me, then be steadfast holding on to the rules of yoga and develop a desire to get to Me, oh conqueror of wealth.

If you can't fix your mind upon me, be then, relentless in your yoga practice, steady in your desire to get to me, oh conqueror of wealth. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 10

If you are even unable to practice that, then become dedicated in working for My sake, as even by doing work you will achieve perfection.

If you're not even capable of that fortitude, then try to develop dedication in working for my sake, because you will achieve the perfection even when you're engaged in labor. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 11

And if you are even unable to do this in the yoga unto Me, then take your refuge in the renunciation of the results of all action and then remain with yourself.

And if even that doesn't work for you, then take to the renunciation of the profit motive with the work you do, and remain with yourself. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 12

Better than [mere] practice is knowledge and better than [mere] knowledge is meditation considered to be. Renouncing the fruits of labor is better than [mere] meditation as of such renunciation peace will ensue.

To actually renounce the profit motive is better than just to meditate it, because peace follows the renunciation. Meditation is considered to be better than just knowing about the spiritual, and to be of spiritual knowledge is better than to practice without. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 13-14

With no dislike towards anyone and surely friendly and kind, nonpossessive, and not identified, equal in distress and happiness, forgiving, satisfied and always devoted, selfcontrolled and with determination in mind and intelligence always fixed on Me - such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

The one dedicated to me who, friendly and kind, is not averse to anyone, who is not possessive and not identified, who is equal in distress and happiness, who is forgiving, peaceful and ever devoted, who is self-controlled and of a determined mind and who has an intelligence always fixed on me, I like the most. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 15

Anyone of whom the people are never disturbed and who is also not disturbed by the people; he who is free from ups and downs, fears and anxieties is very dear to Me.

The one by whom the people are never disturbed, the one who is never disturbed by the people; the one who is free from ups and downs and the one who is free from fears and anxieties is my favorite. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 16

Anyone prepared for alternatives [neutral], who is pure, capable, unworried, untroubled and does not consider mundane endeavoring, such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

The one devoted to me who is impartial and pure, capable and unconcerned, not troubled and free from mundane endeavoring, I like better. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 17

One who never rejoices nor hates, never grieves nor craves and remains detached for better or for worse - one who is such a devotee is dear to Me.

The one devoted to me who rejoices nor hates, grieves nor craves and remains detached for better or for worse, is the one I prefer. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 18-19

Equal to foe and friend, in honor and dishonor, in heat and cold and in happiness and distress and the same in absence of company; not different in infamy and repute, quiet and satisfied with anything, free from his home and fixed in his determination as a devotee a man is very dear to Me.

A devotee of mine who is equal to foe and friend, equal in honor and dishonor, equal in heat and cold, equal in happiness and distress and the same in being together as in the absence of company; a devotee of mine not different in fame and infamy, who is quiet and satisfied with anything, and free from his home and fixed in his determination, is a human being most dear to me. (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

Text 20

Those who but cherish the nectar of this nature and as said fully engage themselves with faith in the sublime of Me - those devotees are most dear to Me.'

Those devoted to me who but cherish the nectar of this nature and, as I said, fully engage themselves with faith in the sublime of me, are the ones I cherish most.' (Sanskrit & tradition)

 

 

 

 

Versions consulted:

- A Song of Fortune One - A modern Gîtâ - the modern version of filognosy (also in mp3-audio).

- A Song of Fortune - A Classical Gîtâ - the classical version of filognosy.

- The Bhagavad Gîta-as-it-is by Swami Bhaktivedânta Prabhupâda (PDF-download).

- The Bhagavad Gîtâ-as-it-is: online (version 1.0).

- The Bhagavad Gita As It Is By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (pdf-download).

- The Bhagavad Gita by the Bhagavad Gita Trust.

- Bhagavad Gita by Sanderson Beck.

- Bhagavad Gita by Ramanad Prasad (American Gita society).

- Srimad Bhagavad-gita - The Hidden Treasure of the Sweet Absolute (from the Vaishnav' S'rî Caitanya Saraswath math).

Sanskrit dictionary: (Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary').

 

 

 

 

 

Production and copyright of this translation: Anand Aadhar Prabhu                   
The filognostic translations are of the same author.                   
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