 Bhagavad Gita—Chapter Twelve
The Yoga of Devotion
 Arjuna said:
Those devotees who worship You,
And those also who do worship
The Changeless, the Unmanifest–
Which are better versed in yoga? (1)
The Holy Lord said:
Those who, fixing their mind on Me,
Worship steadfast, with supreme faith,
It is My opinion that they
Are thus the best versed in yoga. (2)
They worship the Unperishing,
Unspeakable, Unmanifest,
Omnipresent, Unthinkable
Unchangeable, Immovable– (3)
Having subdued all the senses,
And even-minded ev’rywhere,
Engaged in the welfare of all–
Verily they reach Me alone. (4)
Greater is their trouble whose minds
Are set on the Unmanifest;
For the Unmanifest is hard
For the embodied ones to reach. (5)
Those who worship Me, resigning
All action, deeming Me as the
Supreme Goal, meditating on
Me with single-minded yoga– (6)
To these whose mind is set on Me,
Verily, I become ere long,
O Pritha’s son, their Savior from
The sea of mortal samsara. (7)
Fixing your mind on Me alone,
Placing your intellect in Me,
Then doubtless you shall evermore
Live in Me, here and hereafter. (8)
If you are unable to fix
Your mind on Me in steadiness,
By constant practice of yoga
Seek to reach Me, Dhananjaya. (9)
But if you are unable to
Constantly practice yoga, be
Intent on acting for My sake.
Even that leads to perfection. (10)
If you cannot do even this,
Then by taking refuge in Me,
Abandon the fruits of action,
Becoming this way self-controlled. (11)
Better is knowledge than practice;
Meditation than mere knowledge;
Renouncement than meditation;
Instant peace comes from renouncement. (12)
He hates no one, and is friendly
And compassionate towards all,
Free from feelings of “I” and “mine,”
Even-minded and forbearing. (13)
Always content, balanced in mind,
Self-controlled, firm in conviction,
Mind and intellect fixed on Me,
Devoted to Me, dear to Me. (14)
He who agitates not the world,
And whom the world agitates not,
Who is freed from joy, envy, fear,
And worry–he is dear to Me. (15)
He who is free from dependence,
Pure, skilled, unconcerned, untroubled,
Renouncing all undertakings–
That devotee is dear to Me. (16)
He neither rejoices nor hates,
Nor grieves, nor desires, renouncing
Both good and evil, and full of
Devotion–he is dear to Me. (17)
He is the same to friend and foe,
And in honor and dishonor;
In heat and cold, pleasure and pain;
And ever free from attachment. (18)
Who deems blame and praise as equal;
Silent, content with anything,
Homeless, steady-minded, full of
Devotion–he is dear to Me. (19)
They who follow this Immortal
Dharma, described, endued with faith,
Deeming Me as the Goal Supreme,
Devoted–are most dear to me. (20)
Om Tat Sat
Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the twelfth discourse entitled: The Yoga of Devotion. More chapters of the Bhagavad Gita:
• Introduction
• Chapter One—The Yoga of the Despondency of Arjuna
• Chapter Two—Sankhya Yoga
• Chapter Three—The Yoga of Action
• Chapter Four—The Yoga of Wisdom
• Chapter Five—The Yoga of Renunciation of Action
• Chapter Six—The Yoga of Meditation
• Chapter Seven—The Yoga of Wisdom and Realization
• Chapter Eight—The Yoga of Imperishable Brahman
• Chapter Nine—The Yoga of the Kingly Science and Kingly Secret
• Chapter Ten—The Yoga of Divine glories
• Chapter Eleven—The Yoga of the Vision of the Cosmic Form
• Chapter Twelve—The Yoga of Devotion
• Chapter Thirteen—The Yoga of the Distinction Between the Field and the Knower of the Field
• Chapter Fourteen—The Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas
• Chapter Fifteen—The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit
• Chapter Sixteen— Yoga of the Division between the Divine and the Demoniacal
• Chapter Seventeen—The Yoga of the Division of Threefold Faith
• Chapter Eighteen—The Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation
• Sri Maharshi Gita—An arrangement of verses of the Bhagavad Gita made by Sri Ramana Maharshi that gives an overview of the essential message of the Gita.
• The Maharshi Gita sung in english. – This is an arrangement of verses of the Bhagavad Gita made by Sri Ramana Maharshi that gives an overview of the essential message of the Gita. Arranged according to the meter of the original Sanskrit text and sung to a classical Gita melody used to chant the Gita every morning in our ashram and in most of the ashrams of India. Sung by the monks of Atma Jyoti Ashram.
• To hear online audio files of the above translation of the Gita, click here. 
and more as it is posted.
1) Tyaga: Literally: “abandonment.” Renunciation–the relinquishment of the fruit of action. [Go back] |
