Bhagavad Gita · 12.16 · The Yoga of Devotion·16 of 20
अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथः।सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥
anapekṣhaḥ śhuchir dakṣha udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Sanskrit recitation
The devotee’s everyday virtues · 12.13–12.20 · Teaching
Translation
He 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.
Meaning
He is free from dependence. He is indifferent to the body, the senses, the objects of the senses and their mutual connections. He has external and internal purity. External purity is attained through earth and water (washing and bathing). Inner purity is attained by the eradication of likes and dislikes, lust, anger, jealousy, etc., and through the cultivation of the virtues -- friendship (towards eals), compassion (towards those who are inferior) and complacency (towards superiors).Daksha Prompt, swift and skilful in all actions expert. He is able to decide rightly and immediately in matters that demand prompt attention and action.Udasina He who does not take up the side of a friend and the like (in a controversy) he who is indifferent to whatever happens.Gatavyathah He who is free from pain. He is not troubled even if he is beaten by a wicked man. He is not pained or afflicted by any result of any action or any happening.Sarvarambhaparityagi He habitually renounces all actions calculated to secure the objects of enjoyment, whether of this world or of the next. He has abandoned all egoistic, personal and mental initiative in all actions, mental and physical. He has merged his will in the cosmic will. He allows the divine will to work through him. He has neither preference nor personal desire and so he is swift, prompt and skilful in all actions
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 ne
- saḥ
- he
- priyaḥ
- very dear
- śhuchiḥ
- pure
- dakṣhaḥ
- skillful
- parityāgī
- renouncer
- udāsīnaḥ
- without cares
- mat-bhaktaḥ
- my devotee
- anapekṣhaḥ
- indifferent to worldly gain
- gata-vyathaḥ
- untroubled
- sarva-ārambha
- of all undertakings
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