SECTION XXXVI
[(Bhagavad Gita Chapter XII)]
"Arjuna said, 'Of those worshippers who, constantly devoted, adore thee,
and those who (meditate) on you as the Immutable and Unmanifest, who are
best acquainted with devotion.'
"The Holy One said, 'Fixing (their) mind on me, they that constantly
adore me, being endued (besides) with the highest faith, are deemed by me
to be the most devoted. They, however, who worship the Immutable, the
Unmanifest, the All-pervading, the Inconceivable, the Indifferent, the
Immutable, the Eternal, who, restraining the entire group of the senses,
are equal-minded in respect of all around and are engaged in the good of
all creatures, (also) attain to me. The trouble is the greater for those
whose minds are fixed on the Unmanifest; for the path to the Unmanifest
is hard to find by those that are embodied. They (again) who, reposing
all action on me (and) regarding me as their highest object (of
attainment), worship me, meditating on me with devotion undirected to
anything else, of them whose minds are (thus) fixed on me, I, without
delay, become the deliverer from the ocean of (this) mortal world. Fix
thy heart on me alone, place your understanding on me, Hereafter then
shalt you dwell in me. (There is) no doubt (in this).[258] If however,
thou are unable to fix your heart steadily on me, then, O Dhananjaya,
strive to obtain me by devotion (arising) from continuous application. If
thou beest unequal to even (this) continuous application, then let
actions performed for me be your highest aim. Even performing all your acts
for my sake, you wilt obtain perfection. If even this you are unable to
do, then resorting to devotion in me, (and) subduing your soul, abandon
the fruit of all actions. Knowledge is superior to application (in
devotion); meditation is better than knowledge; the abandonment of the
fruit of reaction (is better) than meditation, and tranquillity (results)
immediately from abandonment. He who hath no hatred for any creature, who
is friendly and compassionate also, who is free from egoism, who hath no
vanity, attachment, who is alike in pleasure and pain, who is forgiving,
contented, always devoted, of subdued, soul, firm of purpose, with heart
and understanding fixed on me, even he is dear to me. He through whom the
world is not troubled, (and) who is not troubled by the world, who is
free from joy, wrath, fear and anxieties, even he is dear to me. That
devotee of mine who is unconcerned, pure, diligent, unconnected (with
worldly objects), and free from distress (of mind), and who renounceth
every action (for fruit), even he is dear to me.[259] He who hath no joy,
no aversion, who neither grieveth nor desireth, who renounceth both good
and evil, (and) who is full of faith in me, even he is dear to me. He who
is alike to friend and foe, as also in honour and dishonour, who is alike
in cold and heat, (and pleasure and pain), who is free from attachment,
to whom censure and praise are equal, who is taciturn, who is contented
with anything that cometh (to him), who is homeless, of steady mind and
full of faith, even that man is dear to me. They who resort to this
righteousness (leading to) immortality which hath been (already)
declared,--those devotees full of faith and regarding me as the highest
object (of their acquisition) are the dearest to me.'
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 36 ---------------------
