In this small chapter of 20 verses, Shree Krishna emphasizes the path of devotion as the highest among all types of spiritual practices.
In chapter XI Krishna shines forth in His true nature. Now in Chapter XII He again shows his love for Arjuna by teaching Arjuna on how to reach Him (Krishna) which is liberation from bondage.
Throughout the Gita, there is emphasis on dharma. Here it goes further – dharma, in its highest form, becomes the means to liberation through heart’s devotion to one’s divine nature.
Krishna has reminded Arjuna in earlier chapters about his duty as a member of his clan (kula dharma), his duty as a warrior (jati dharma) on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, his duty to uphold justice over injustice, and why he needs to give up weakness and stand up and fight. Fight not only to conquer his enemies on the field of battle but also to fight his own ignorance and delusion that plagues him and all of us about our true purpose in this life.
But how is Arjuna to reach liberation? The easiest way is the path of love, says Krishna. Not to the formless Brahman (the Divine) but to Him, in person, with attributes. Although both ways, God immanent and transcendent, will lead to Him, the easiest path is the path of love and devotion to Him, and by extension, to all. He is One, in Arjuna, as the Divine principle, as He is in all beings. But only those, who love Him unconditionally and surrender themselves to Him with faith and love, are lifted out of false understanding by divine grace and love. As, Krishna says several times throughout the Gita, Arjuna is blessed by Him (Krishna) and now it is up to Arjuna to practice what he has learned from the Lord. Now it is his divine dharma to realize his own true nature – that he is the changeless Atma and not be dragged away by the sway of desires and aversions. That is maya, which is so strong that all embodied beings spend their entire lives fighting the pull of good and bad, happiness and suffering, love and hate and finally without realizing the wisdom given by the Lord, die and take on innumerable births. They stay caught up in the cycle of birth and death. Only by surrendering ignorance and delusion, and having complete faith in Krishna, can Arjuna do his duty, both phenomenal and divine.
Here dharma, in its highest form, (Jnana yoga-knowledge that leads to liberation, and action (Karma yoga) that is done as an offering to God without obsessing over a personal outcome, are merged into the Bhakti yoga, or the yoga of love and devotion. It is in overwhelming love for the divine, not a limited personal love, that all yogas merge – the head and the heart, the whole being to realize liberation. This is the highest meaning of dharma, the means to liberation.
.As he says in sloka 2 – “For those who set their hearts on Me and worship Me with unfailing devotion and faith, the way of love leads sure and swift to Me.”
“ The true devotee lives from the heart and sees the heart in all things. It is not an emotional place of ego and personal need. It is a devotional place of peace and freedom. And, more often, we start to see the sacred where once we only saw the mundane” (Rev. Stephanie Rutt)
Krishna says that such love for God does not come naturally to us. Devotion is not some mysterious gift that one can get; it requires consistent effort to cultivate it. He goes on to mention several ways in which human beings can show their love and devotion to Him.
The other concept, complementary to divine dharma, is to surrender the fruits of action, of all work to Him, Krishna (the Lord) and accept whatever results take place. Then, says Krishna, Arjuna can free himself from the false bondage of Me and Mine, the narrow boundaries of ego driven action which causes the strengthening of samskaras and the accumulation of karma.
As Eknath Easwaran states – “Surrender has nothing to do with doing nothing – and as for “just letting things flow,” that is a state that is achieved only after years of almost superhuman effort. The Gita is essentially a call to action. But it is a call to selfless action, that is, action without any selfish attachment to the results. In other words, it is not action or effort that we must surrender; it is self-will – and this is something that is terribly difficult to do. We must do our best constantly, yet never allow ourselves to become obsessed with whether things work out the way we want.
It takes many years of practice to learn this skill, but once we have it, all sense of inadequacy goes – in fact, the question of “Am I equal to this job?” cannot even arise. It is enough that the job needs to be done, and that you are doing your absolute best to do it. Then, no matter how stiff the challenges or how bleak the prospects, you can throw yourself into the work.
“On the spiritual path we let go of all our selfish attachments little by little, according to our capacity – not under duress, but of our own free will – until finally we no longer need to hang on to anything else for support. To be forced to surrender is bitter. But to give up something for one we love, though at first it may seem a cup of sorrow, is found at last to be immortal wine.”
“We come to our full stature as human beings only when the mind becomes still. The reason is simple: the only source of mental agitation is the ego. A still mind means a still ego – and when the ego is still we can see clearly, we are free from compulsions, and there are no barriers to interfere with our personal relationships.” “Without detachment from yourself and your habit patterns and samskaras, you get easily caught up in your own reactions.
Krishna emphasizes the need to trust and have faith in the Lord and not worry about the results after you have done your best keeping your intention pure, selfless and free from ego driven desire.
“It means going beyond the conditioned cycles of elation and depression to living with an abiding sense of joy.” With courage and peace abiding in your heart the mind resides in a state of equanimity, free from fear, realizing its own true nature.
This chapter ends with the exhortation to reach liberation – “If you have a goal in life, it is like a polestar: you can guide your whole journey by it. …………And Sri Krishna says here, Matparama: “…….. make Me your only goal.”……(Eknath Easwaran)
“In fact all who worship this divine nectar of dharma which I have now declared to you, all who have placed their faith in this teaching, all such devotees for whom I am the supreme goal, are dear to Me.” (sloka 20 – Rev.Stephanie Rutt)
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