Bhagavad Gita · 12.19 · The Yoga of Devotion·19 of 20
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येनकेनचित्।अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्ितमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣhṭo yena
kenachit aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ
Sanskrit recitation
The devotee’s everyday virtues · 12.13–12.20 · Teaching
Translation
He 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.
Meaning
He is neither elated by praise nor pained by censure. He keeps a balanced state of mind. He has controlled the organ of speech and so he is silent. His mind also is serene and silent as he has controlled the thoughts also. He is ite content with the bare means of bodily sustenance. It is said in the Mahabharata (Santi Parva, Moksha Dharma) Who is dressed in anything, who eats any kind of food, who lies down anywhere, him the gods call a Brahmana or a liberated sage or Jivanmukta.He does not dwell in one place. He has no fixed abode. He is homeless. He regards the world as his dwelling place. His mind is ever fixed on Brahman. (Cf.VII.17IX.29XII.17)
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
- tulya
- alike
- maunī
- silent contemplation
- sthira
- firmly fixed
- matiḥ
- intellect
- naraḥ
- a person
- priyaḥ
- very dear
- aniketaḥ
- without attachment to the place of residence
- bhakti-mān
- full of devotion
- yena kenachit
- with anything
- nindā-stutiḥ
- reproach and praise
- santuṣhṭaḥ
- contented
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