THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER NUMBER 12, VERSE NUMBER 12, BHAKTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DEVOTION

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 12

VERSE NUMBER 12

BHAKTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DEVOTION:

TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:

sreyo hi jnaanam abhyaasaat jnaanaad dhyaam visishyate

dhyaanaat karmaphala tyaagas ytaagaac chaantir anantaram

SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:

Sryyah = better: hi = indeed: jnaanam =  knowledge: abhyaasaat = than practice: jnaanaat = than knowledge: dhyaanam = meditation: visishyate = excels: dhyaanaat = than meditation: karma phala tyaagah = the renunciation of the fruits of the actions: tyaagaat = from renuncitation: saantih = peace: anantaram = immediately.

TEXT IN ENGLISH:

Better indeed is knowledge than (formal) Abhyasa; better than knowledge is meditation; better than meditation is the renunciation of the fruit of action; peace immediately follows renunciation.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

Ritualistic religious practice is called Abhyaasa. Many a man does it mechanically without any feeling behind it. With him it is a social habit involuntarily picked up, falling in line with what the others are doing. A conventionally pious man goes to the temple, stands before the symbol of the Deity, pays homage with folded palms, turns round on all directions palms remaining folded as they are, prostrates before the Deity and goes home with the thought that he has discharged his duty to the Maker. He knows nothing of the principles underlying his actions.

There is another man who is not given to this habitual formalism, but who knows theoretically that the cognition of the Divinity should commence at the temple, but that it should not end there. That adoration ought to be extended in all directions to aught that is. This second man’s act of understanding the principle is better than the first man’s act of ignorantly observing a formality.

A third man sits at appointed hours and meditates on the truth that it is Divinity that is manifesting Itself as the various beings that he contacts every day. What this man does is better still because he attempts to get fixed in the truth that he has intellectually grasped.

A fourth man gives a practical shape to his understanding by devotedly sharing with others whatever good things he has procured by his personal efforts. Because of the renunciation that he practises, this man stands foremost among the sadhakas.  Heartfelt abhyaasa, right knowledge and good meditation are all implicitly contained in this holy act of his.

That peace immediately follows renunciation is self-evident. A few dogs fight among themselves for a few pieces of bread strewn about. Evidently, there is no peace among them. Elsewhere a crow calls its comrades to share some scattered rice. They flock and eat peacefully because of their spirit of mutual help which is equivalent to the spirit of renunciation. This is an objective example. Subjectively a yogi can feel how much peace and exuberance there are in giving away and sharing with others, than in grabbing and jealously keeping things all to oneself. Renunciation is the key to a higher life.

SRIMAT SWAMI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

A kite snatched a piece of meat from a butcher’s shop and flew to a branch of a tree to feast on it. But immediately ensued a scramble when some other birds swooped to loot it. The kite flew from tree to tree, but there was no escape from the raiders. To avoid this botheration it let go the meat and perched quietly upon a bough. A sage who saw this scene learnt a lesson from the kite—Tranquitlity is born of renunciation.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

Sridhara interprets jnaana as aavesa or directing the spirit towards God and dhyaana as being full of God, bhagavadmayatvam, and this is completed in the spirit’s full possession of God Himself. Cp. Soorya Gita: “Devotion is better than knowledge and desirless action is better than devotion. He who realizes this principle of Vedaanta is to be regarded as the best man.” Devotion, meditation and concentration are more difficult than renunciation of the fruits of action, karmaphalatyaaga. This latter destroys the sources of unrest and brings about an inner calm and peace, which are the very foundations of spiritual life. The bhakti emphasis leads to the subordination of knowledge and meditation to the devout mind and consecration of knowledge and meditation to the devout mind and consecration of all works to God.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:

Theoretical or indirect knowledge of Brahman gained from the scriptures is better than the practice (of restraining the modifications of the mind or worship of idols or self-mortification for the purpose of control of the mind and the senses) accompanied with ignorance. Meditation is better than theoretical knowledge. Renunciation of the fruits of all actions as a means to the attainment of supreme peace or Moksha is merely eulogised here by the declaration of the superiority of one over the other to encourage Arjuna (and other spiritual aspirants) to practise Nishkamya Karma Yoga, to create a strong desire in them to take up the Yoga of selfless action, in the same manner as by saying that the ocean was drunk by the Brahmana sage Agastya even the Brahmanas of this age are extolled because they are also Brahmanas.

Desire is an enemy of peace. Desire causes restlessness of the mind. desire is the source of all human miseries, sorrows and troubles. Stop the play of desire through discrimination, dispassion and enquiry into the nature of the Self; then you will enjoy supreme peace.

Renunciation of the fruits of action is prescribed for the purification of the aspirant’s heart. It annihilates desire, the enemy of wisdom. The sage, too, renounces the fruits of actions. It has become natural to him to do so.