Bhagavad Gita · 12.14 · The Yoga of Devotion·14 of 20
सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः।मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥
santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Sanskrit recitation
The devotee’s everyday virtues · 12.13–12.20 · Teaching
Translation
Ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessing firm conviction, with the mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
Meaning
He knows that all that comes to him is the fruit of his own actions in the past and so he is ever contented. He does not endeavour to attain the finite or perishable objects. He fixes his mind and intellect on the Supreme Being or the Absolute, attains eternal satisfaction and stands adamant like yonder rock, amidst the vicissitudes of time.Contentment ever dwells in the heart of My devotee. Like the ocean which is ever full, his heart is ever full as he has no cravings. He is ever cheerful and joyous. He has a feeling of fullness whether or not he gets the means for the bare sustencance of his body. He is satisfied with a little thing and he does not care whether it is good or not. He never grumbles, complains or murmurs when he does not obtain food and clothing which are necessary for the maintenance of the body. His mind is ever filled with Me through constant and steady meditation.Yogi He who has evenness of mind always. He has controlled all the senses and desires. With a firm determination he has fixed his mind and intellect on Me in a spirit of perfect selfsurrender. He is endowed with a firm conviction regarding the essential nature of the Self
After Swami Sivananda
The devotee’s everyday virtues· 12.13–12.20→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 12.13He who hates no creature, is friendly and compassionate to all, is free from attachment and egoism, is balanced in pleasure and pain, and is forgiving.
12.14Ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessing firm conviction, with the mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.
- 12.15He whom the world does not agitate, and who cannot be agitated by the world, and who is freed from joy, anger, fear, and anxiety—he is dear to Me.
- 12.16He who is free from wants, pure, expert, unconcerned, and free from pain, renouncing all undertakings and commencements, he who is devoted to Me is dear to Me.
- 12.17He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves nor desires, renouncing both good and evil, and who is full of devotion, is dear to Me.
- 12.18He who is the same to foe and friend, and also in honor and dishonor, who is the same in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, and who is free from attachment.
- 12.19He to whom censure and praise are equal, who is silent, content with anything, homeless, of a steady mind, and full of devotion; that man is dear to me.
- 12.20They who follow this immortal Dharma, endowed with faith and regarding Me as their supreme goal, are exceedingly dear to Me.
Word-by-word→
- me
- to me
- mayi
- to me
- saḥ
- they
- yaḥ
- who
- yogī
- united in devotion
- arpita
- dedicated
- manaḥ
- mind
- satatam
- steadily
- priyaḥ
- very dear
- buddhiḥ
- intellect
- yata-ātmā
- self-controlled
- mat-bhaktaḥ
- my devotees
- santuṣhṭaḥ
- contented
- dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ
- firm in conviction
Related verses
- 2.64But the self-controlled man, moving among objects with the senses restrained and free from…
- 2.65In that peace, all pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-minded soon…
- 4.21Without hope, controlling the mind and the self, having abandoned all covetousness, and…
- 4.22Content with what comes to him without effort, free from the pairs of opposites and envy,…