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Chapter XII20 verses

अथ द्वादशोऽध्यायः

भक्तियोगः

The Yoga of Devotion

Bhakti-yoga

Repose all thy mind in the Beloved and lodge thy understanding in him, and swiftly he will lift thee out of the sea of death into the secure bosom of the Eternal. — The Delight of Krishna

The soul enters in
viśvarūpa — the All-Form seen, too vast yet for the unready heart
and is led towards
madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ — the lover, equal to all, who is dear to God
Begin at 12 · 1 Play chapter

Recitations

  1. Swami Sarvagananda ji0:00
  2. Ashit Desai0:00
In this chapter

20 verses

Summary of chapter 12

The way and the Bhakta - In the eleventh chapter the original object of the teaching has been achieved and brought up to a certain completeness. What remains still to be said tums upon the difference between the current Vedantic view of spiritual liberation and the larger comprehensive freedom which the teaching of the Gita opens to the spirit. The twelfth chapter leads up to this remaining knowledge and the last six that follow develop it to a grand final conclusion.

Chapter 12 illustration, titled भक्तियोगः
Illustration · Sushanto Nath, Sri Aurobindo Society

Chapter outline

Choose a range to read just those verses.

  1. 12·1–8Arjuna's inquiry and Shri Krishna's advice regarding approaches to the Unmanifest Transcendent and the Manifest Divine.
  2. 12·9–12Alternative steps in sédhané.
  3. 12·13–20The characteristics of the God-lovers whom the Divine loves.
  4. 12·1–20Show all 20 verses

The verses

Showing verses 9–12 of 20 · Show all 20 verses

Śrī Bhagavān uvācaश्रीभगवानुवाच

  1. 12·9अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् । अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय ॥ ९ ॥atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram, abhyāsayogena tato māmicchāptuṁ dhanañjaya.And if thou art not able to keep the consciousness fixed steadily in Me, then by the Yoga of practice seek…
  2. 12·10अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव । मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन्सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि ॥ १० ॥abhyāse’pyasamartho’si matkarmaparamo bhava, madarthamapi karmāṇi kurvansiddhimavāpsyasi.If thou art unable even to seek by practice, then be it thy supreme aim to do My work…
  3. 12·11अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रितः । सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ततः कुरु यतात्मवान् ॥ ११ ॥athaitadapyaśakto’si kartuṁ madyogamāśritaḥ, sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān.But if even this constant remembering of Me and lifting up of your works to Me is felt beyond your power, then…
  4. 12·12श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते । ध्यानात्कर्मफलत्यागस्त्यागाच्छान्तिरनन्तरम् ॥ १२ ॥śreyo hi jñānamabhyāsājjñānāddhyānaṁ viśiṣyate, dhyānātkarmaphalatyāgastyāgācchāntiranantaram.Better indeed is knowledge than practice; than knowledge, meditation is better…
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End of the chapter

ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सुब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादेभक्तियोगो नाम द्वादशोऽध्यायः ॥ १२॥

om tatsaditi śrīmadbhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsubrahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvādebhaktiyogo nāma dvādaśo’dhyāyaḥ

Thus, in the Upanishad sung by the Lord, the science of Brahman, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the twelfth chapter entitled “The Yoga of Devotion”

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