Bhagavat gita adetailed study-chapter 9 -Brahmavidya the royal secret

[Guest guest]

22. ananyaaH chinthayantho maam ye janaah paryupaasathe

theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam yogakshemaam

vahaamyaham

For those people, who think of me without any other thought and persistent in my devotion always , I take care of their welfare.

The Lord promises that He will look after those, who think of Him and worship Him, persistently and consistently, in this world and the next. Yoga is attainment and Kshema is preservation of that which is attained. The Lord looks after the acquirement and preservation of the needs of his ardent devotees in this world and takes the responsibility of bringing them to Him and preserving them in that state forever. It means that they do not return to samsara.

This sloka interpreted with a secular slant proves to be the formula for success in any endeavour, most valuable in management sciences. If one thinks of nothing else except the work at hand, and works on it persistently and consistently the work itself promises success. This and the sloka in second chapter 'karmaNyEvdhikarasthE' (ch.2.47)taken together will be invaluable principles in worldly pursuits for one who aims for success. When the same work done without the expectation of result and as an offering to God it becomes karmayoga.

The important words to be remembered in this sloka are paryupaasathe and nithyaabhiyukathaanaam. When one thinks of an ideal or goal to be reached he should remember it always , nithyaabhiyuktha, and continuously, oaryupasathe. A worker who works relelntlessly on his work, may it be painting, singing or studying etc. he is crowned with success. This is because he gets totally involved in his work becomes dedicated when, even the thought of success never enters his mind. But the work performed thus takes care of the result. This is the implication of yogakshemam vahaamyaham even taken in the worldly sense.

The same dedication and involvement towards the Lord, and puts the responsibility of taking care of the devotee on His shoulders and He says "I will look after the welfare of such a devotee." The life history of all the saints is the proof of this. When the devotee says, kaayena vaachaa mansendhriyairvaa budDhyaathmanaa vaa prakrthersvabhaavaath karom yath yath sakalam parasmai naaraayaNaayethi samarpayaami, meaning , what ever I do feel and think I offer it to Narayana, the onus is on Narayana to look after him.

He cut vegetables in the house of Ghorakumbha, prepared cowdung cakes for Bhaktha Jana, helped in the daily worship for Ramanuja and some others, repaid the loan of Badrachala Ramadas, protected the money given to Thyagaraja by a devotee from the thieves, what ever He had not done for His devotees! It produces horripilation even to mention these acts of love of the Lord and they are countless, starting from early yugas right down to Kaliyuga. In this sloka the Lord shows the easiest way to attain His grace.