BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:9

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:9

 

atha cittam samadhatum

na saknosi mayi sthiram

abhyasa-yogena tato

mam icchaptum dhananjaya

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

atha--if, therefore; cittam--mind; samadhatum--to fix; na--not;

saknosi--you are able; mayi--upon Me; sthiram--steadily;

abhyasa-yogena--by the practice of devotional service; tatah--then;

mam--Me; iccha--desire; aptum--to get; dhanam-jaya--O winner of

wealth, Arjuna.

 

TRANSLATION

 

My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon

Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of

bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.

 

PURPORT

 

In this verse, two different processes of bhakti-yoga are indicated.

The first applies to one who has actually developed an attachment for

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by transcendental love. And

the other is for one who has not developed an attachment for the

Supreme Person by transcendental love. For this second class there are

different prescribed rules and regulations one can follow to be

ultimately elevated to the stage of attachment to Krsna.

 

Bhakti-yoga is the purification of the senses. At the present moment

in material existence the senses are always impure, being engaged in

sense gratification. But by the practice of bhakti-yoga these senses

can become purified, and in the purified state they come directly in

contact with the Supreme Lord. In this material existence, I may be

engaged in some service to some master, but I don't really lovingly

serve my master. I simply serve to get some money. And the master also

is not in love; he takes service from me and pays me. So there is no

question of love. But for spiritual life, one must be elevated to the

pure stage of love. That stage of love can be achieved by practice of

devotional service, performed with the present senses.

 

This love of God is now in a dormant state in everyone's heart. And,

there, love of God is manifested in different ways, but it is

contaminated by material association. Now the heart has to be purified

of the material association, and that dormant, natural love for Krsna

has to be revived. That is the whole process.

 

To practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should, under

the guidance of an expert spiritual master, follow certain principles:

one should rise early in the morning, take bath, enter the temple and

offer prayers and chant Hare Krsna, then collect flowers to offer to

the Deity, cook foodstuffs to offer to the Deity, take prasadam, and

so on. There are various rules and regulations which one should

follow. And one should constantly hear Bhagavad-gita and

Srimad-Bhagavatam from pure devotees. This practice can help anyone

rise to the level of love of God, and then he is sure of his progress

into the spiritual kingdom of God. This practice of bhakti-yoga, under

the rules and regulations, with the direction of a spiritual master,

will surely bring one to the stage of love of God.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.