BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:1

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:1

 

arjuna uvaca

evam satata-yukta ye

bhaktas tvam paryupasate

ye capy aksaram avyaktam

tesam ke yoga-vittamah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

arjunah uvaca--Arjuna said; evam--thus; satata--always;

yuktah--engaged; ye--those who; bhaktah--devotees; tvam--You;

paryupasate--properly worship; ye--those who; ca--also; api--again;

aksaram--beyond the senses; avyaktam--the unmanifested; tesam--of

them; ke--who; yoga-vit-tamah--the most perfect in knowledge of yoga.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Arjuna inquired: Which are considered to be more perfect, those who

are always properly engaged in Your devotional service or those who

worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?

 

PURPORT

 

Krsna has now explained about the personal, the impersonal and the

universal and has described all kinds of devotees and yogis.

Generally, the transcendentalists can be divided into two classes. One

is the impersonalist, and the other is the personalist. The

personalist devotee engages himself with all energy in the service of

the Supreme Lord. The impersonalist also engages himself, not directly

in the service of Krsna but in meditation on the impersonal Brahman,

the unmanifested.

 

We find in this chapter that of the different processes for

realization of the Absolute Truth, bhakti-yoga, devotional service, is

the highest. If one at all desires to have the association of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, then he must take to devotional

service.

 

Those who worship the Supreme Lord directly by devotional service are

called personalists. Those who engage themselves in meditation on the

impersonal Brahman are called impersonalists. Arjuna is here

questioning which position is better. There are different ways to

realize the Absolute Truth, but Krsna indicates in this chapter that

bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to Him, is the highest of all. It

is the most direct, and it is the easiest means for association with

the Godhead.

 

In the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord explained

that a living entity is not the material body; he is a spiritual

spark. And the Absolute Truth is the spiritual whole. In the Seventh

Chapter He spoke of the living entity as being part and parcel of the

supreme whole and recommended that he transfer his attention fully to

the whole. Then again in the Eighth Chapter it was said that anyone

who thinks of Krsna at the time of quitting his body is at once

transferred to the spiritual sky, to the abode of Krsna. And at the

end of the Sixth Chapter the Lord clearly said that of all yogis, one

who always thinks of Krsna within himself is considered the most

perfect. So in practically every chapter the conclusion has been that

one should be attached to the personal form of Krsna, for that is the

highest spiritual realization.

 

Nevertheless, there are those who are not attached to the personal

form of Krsna. They are so firmly detached that even in the

preparation of commentaries to Bhagavad-gita they want to distract

other people from Krsna and transfer all devotion to the impersonal

brahmajyoti. They prefer to meditate on the impersonal form of the

Absolute Truth, which is beyond the reach of the senses and is not

manifest.

 

And so, factually, there are two classes of transcendentalists. Now

Arjuna is trying to settle the question of which process is easier and

which of the classes is most perfect. In other words, he is clarifying

his own position because he is attached to the personal form of Krsna.

He is not attached to the impersonal Brahman. He wants to know whether

his position is secure. The impersonal manifestation, either in this

material world or in the spiritual world of the Supreme Lord, is a

problem for meditation. Actually, one cannot perfectly conceive of the

impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore Arjuna wants to

say, "What is the use of such a waste of time?" Arjuna experienced in

the Eleventh Chapter that to be attached to the personal form of Krsna

is best because he could thus understand all other forms at the same

time and there was no disturbance to his love for Krsna. This

important question asked of Krsna by Arjuna will clarify the

distinction between the impersonal and personal conceptions of the

Absolute Truth.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.