Bhagavagd Gita - Session 35- Track 3506
Question: To become a bow would be because of our purushartha?
Not of us, it is the Lord’s. Only He does everything.
The 11th Chapter, is the, you might see now is a complete integration of not only knowledge, integral knowledge, integral Bhakti, and integral action. That is the speciality of the Chapter number eleven that is why it is so important. The essence of all this is the most integrating point – is ananya bhakti.
It is this ananya bhakti that is now expounded in the 12th Chapter. So this 12th Chapter the very beginning of the Chapter, is as it were a reminiscence from the original question with which Arjuna was perplexed at the earlier Chapters of the Bhagavad Gita, where he was constantly asking questions: is Sankhya better than Yoga, or Yoga is better than Sankhya. The original question he was asking from the beginning; the was asking repeatedly that is because in the time in which the Gita was expounded there was a strong dose of Sankhya in the atmosphere and a strong idea that renunciation of action is better is lesser than turning to the knowledge; so turn to the knowledge, and that was in the very 1st Chapter. He says to renounce and to run away from here and attain to the Sanyasa. So right from the beginning that idea of Sannyasa and knowledge and superiority of knowledge, everything else has been running throughout and now the Bhakti is added, ananya bhakti is added now. So once again the whole question revolves around this important point, - what is better? To meditate upon the immutable or to be engaged in action and knowledge and Bhakti, altogether, - of which you are now speaking, which one of them is better, - so that is how the 12th Chapter begins.
Arjuna uvāca
evaṁ satatayuktā ye bhaktāstwaṁ paryupasate I
ye cāpyakṣarmavayktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yogavittamāḥ II1II XII
Who are uttamāḥ, - yogauttamāḥ or yogavittamāḥ, who are better in the Yoga, those who are all the time united, like bhaktas and who worship You, are they better or akṣarmavayktaṁ paryupasate – or those who worship or those who try to attach themselves to the immutable, inexpressible, Silent Divine. Which of these two are better? (Very often the translators say, - is nirguna better or saguna better? This is how the distinction is made, but the distinction is much deeper.) Is the immutable, the Silent Brahman, that which is approached through the silence of the Brahman and therefore those who approach the silence of the Brahman and those who are bhaktas, who are constantly trying to unite themselves with the Divine, which of these two are better? It is similar to the earlier question that he had asked. Yoga implies action, Yoga implies devotion, Sankhya is for knowledge, knowledge of the silence of the Brahman. He was asking the same question earlier; the emphasis was action and knowledge and here knowledge and devotion but the devotion is not only devotion as Sri Krishna has explained, - a real devotee, the real bhakta, - not only goes on worshipping the Divine, adoring the Divine, admiring the Divine but he likes to be with the Divine wherever He is. If the Divine chooses the field of kurukshetra, then the real devotee should like to be there also. So he is the devotee of the Integral Divine integrally, wherever the Divine is there, he wants to be; if the Divine chooses Kurukshetra, how can I give it up? I am the dasasya dasa, I am the coolie of coolies, I am the labourer among the labourers or the servant of servants. So wherever the Lord is, I must be present with Him. It is that bhakta, it is that path better or this path, and the Yogis who are accomplished in the knowledge are they better or the Yogis who are great bhaktas are better. This is the question with which the whole thing starts.
Now Sri Krishna expounds the question itself and says who are the bhaktas? To explain what is a bhakta, He expounds the question of Arjuna himself, before answering.
So He says,
mayyāveśya mano ye māṁ nityayukta upāste I
śraddhayā parayopetāḥ te meyuktatamā matāḥ II2II XII
He says, - without any kind of hesitation very clearly that bhaktas are better. mayyāveśya manah those who are putting their mind in Me, mayyāveśya mano ye māṁ nityayukta upāste and those who worship Me all the time, nityayukta, - who are constantly united with Me. śraddhayā parayopetāḥ they are constantly perceiving Me everywhere in all forms, - śraddhayā , - a faith which is not a belief as I have told you earlier, in Gita, śraddhā is not a belief, not a trust, it’s a dynamic perception which becomes greater and greater by a great force of tapasya so as to become a realised fact. śraddhā is not a belief; it is a perception which has the capacity of giving you a push to realise fully what is perceived partially in the beginning. śraddhā is already a perception; it’s more than a perception, more than a belief. In most of the religions belief is regarded to be the end, you believe in God you are a religious man and the highest is realised the moment you believe. But Sri Krishna speaks of śraddhā, which is not that belief which is already a perception, there is a consent, there is a perception which the mind holds and to which the will has consented and it gives you a further push, it does not remain there.