श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता

मूल श्लोकः

arjuna uvāca

ēvaṅ satatayuktā yē bhaktāstvāṅ paryupāsatē.

yēcāpyakṣaramavyaktaṅ tēṣāṅ kē yōgavittamāḥ৷৷12.1৷৷

English Commentary by Swami Sivananda



12.1 ēvam thus, satatayuktāḥ ever steadfast, yē who, bhaktāḥ devotees, tvām Thee, paryupāsatē worship, yē who, ca and, api also, akṣaram the imperishable, avyaktam the unmanifested, tēṣām of them, kē who, yōgavittamāḥ better versed in Yoga.

Commentary:
The twelfth discourse goes to prove that hakti Yoga or the Yoga of devotion is much easier than Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of knowledge. In hakti Yoga the devotee establishes a near and dear relationship with the Lord. He cultivates slowly and one of the five havas (attitudes) according to his temperament, taste and capacity. The five attitudes are the Santa hava (the attitutde of peaceful adoration); Dasya hava (the attitude of servant towards the master); Sakhya hava (the attitude of a friend); Vatsalya hava (the attitude of a parent to the child); and Madhurya hava (the attitutde of the lover towards the beloved). The devotee adopts these attitudes towards the Lord. The last (Madhurya hava) is the culmination of devotion. It is merging or absorption in the Lord.The devotee adores the Lord. He constantly remembers Him (Smarana). He sings His Name (Kirtana). He speaks of His glories. He repeats His Name. He chants His Mantra (Japa). He prays and prostrates himself. He hears His Lilas (divine plays). He does total, ungrudging and unconditional self-surrender, obtains His grace, hols communion wih, and eventually gets absorbed in Him.The devotee begins by worshipping the idols or the symbols of God. Then he performs internal worship of the Form. Ultimately he is led to the supreme worship of the all-pervading rahman (Para Puja).Thus: As declared in the last verse of the previous chapter.Avyaktam: The unmanifested, i.e., incomprehensible to the senses, transcending all limiting adjuncts. The unmanifested rahman is beyond all limitations. That which is visible to the senses is called Vyakta or manifest.The hearts of the devotees are wholly fixed on Thee. They worship Thee with all their heart and soul.There are others who worship the unmanifested rahman which is beyond time, space and causation, which is attributeless, which is eternal and indefinable, which is beyond the reach of speech and mind. These are the wise sages.Of these two, the devotees and the men of knowledge -- who are the better knowers of Yoga (Cf.XI.55)

English Translation By Swami Gambirananda

12.1 Arjuna said Those devotees who, being thus ever dedicated, meditate on You, and those again (who meditate) on the Immutable, the Unmanifested-of them, who are the best experiencers of yoga [(Here) yoga means samadhi, spiritual absorption.] ?

English Translation By Swami Sivananda

12.1 Arjuna said Those devotees who, ever steadfast, thus worship Thee and those also who worship the imperishable and the unmanifested which of them are better versed in Yoga?

English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary By Swami Adidevananda

12.1 Arjuna said These are two types of spiritual aspirants who are contrasted thus: (1) On the one hand there are those devotees who adore You 'thus'; namely, in the way taught in such text as 'Whosoever works for Me' (11.55), and who are desirous of being ever 'integrated' with You, namely, considering You as the supreme end. They adore You in utter devotion - You, the ocean of boundless attributes of limitless excellence like grace, affability, omniscience, true resolve etc., and endowed with all glory. (2) On the other hand there are those who meditate on the 'Imperishable', (Aksara) namely, the individual self in Its true nature, which is the same as the 'Unmanifest' (Avyakta), namely that whose nature cannot be grasped by organs such as the eye etc. The question posed is: Which of these two classes of devotees have greater knowledge of Yoga? Who would reach their respective goals sooner? Such is the meaning of the question. Sri Krsna clearly states later on, 'O Arjuna, I become before long their redeemer from the fatal sea of recurring births and deaths' (12.7), with reference to the speed with which the latter kind of devotees reach Him.

English Translation Of Sri Shankaracharya's Sanskrit Commentary By Swami Gambirananda

12.1 The subject-matter stated in the immediately preceding verse, '৷৷.he who works for Me,' etc. is referred to by the word evam (thus). Ye bhaktah, those devotees who, seeking no other refuge; evam, thus; satata-yuktah, being ever-devoted, i.e., remaining unceasingly engaged in the works of the Lord, etc., intent on the aforesaid purpose; paryupasate, meditate; tvam, on You, in the Cosmic form as revealed earlier; ye ca api, and those others, again, who have renounced all desires, who have given up all actions; who meditate on Brahman as described (below), aksaram, on the Immutable; avyaktam, on the Unmanifested, which is so on account of being bereft of all limiting adjuncts, (and) which is beyond the comprehension of the organs-in the world, whatever comes within the range of the organs is said to be manifest, for the root anj conveys that sense; but this Immutable is the opposite of that and is endowed with alifications that are spoken of by the great ones; those again, who meditate on that-; tesam, of them, among the two (groups); ke, who; are the yoga-vit-tamah, best experiencers of yoga, i.e., who are those that are surpassingly versed in yoga? But leave alone those who meditate on the Immutable, who are fully enlightened and are free from desires. Whatever has to be said with regard to them, we shall say later on. As for those others-