Bhagavad Gita · 14.26 · Yoga through Understanding the Three Modes of Material Nature·26 of 27
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्ितयोगेन सेवते।स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान् ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥
māṁ cha yo ’vyabhichāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
Sanskrit recitation
Rising above the gunas · 14.19–14.27 · Teaching
Translation
And he who serves Me with unwavering devotion, he, crossing beyond the dualities, is fit for becoming Brahman.
Meaning
A Sannyasi or even a Karma Yogi who serves Him (the Isvara, Narayana Who abides in the hearts of all beings) with unswerving devotion, is endowed with the knowledge of the Self. He then goes beyond the three alities and becomes fit to become Brahman, for attaining liberation or release from birth and death.He attains to the knowledge of the Self through the grace and mercy of the Lord. To these everharmonious devotees worshipping Me in love, I give the Yoga of discrimination by which they come unto Me. Out of pure compassion for them, dwelling within their Self, I destroy the ignorancorn darkness by the shining lamp of wisdom. (Chapter X. 10 and 11)Avyabhicharini Bhakti The devotee constantly meditates on the Lord. He has exclusive devotion to the Lord alone. He has no other thought save that of his Lord. His mind is filled with the thoughts of the Lord. His thoughts flow towards the Lord like the continuous flow of oil from one vessel to another. There is Sajatiya Vritti Pravaha, i.e., unbroken flow of the one thought of God. There is total abandonment of thoughts of sensual objects. Constant thinking of God is the sure means for crossing beyond the three alities of Nature.
After Swami Sivananda
Rising above the gunas· 14.19–14.27→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 14.19When the seer beholds no agent other than the Gunas and knows that which is higher than them, he attains to My Being.
- 14.20The embodied one, having crossed beyond these three Gunas from which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay, and pain, and attains immortality.
- 14.21Arjuna said, "What are the marks of one who has transcended the three qualities, O Lord? What is their conduct, and how do they go beyond these three qualities?"
- 14.22The Blessed Lord said, "When light, activity, and delusion are present, he does not hate them, nor does he long for them when they are absent.
- 14.23He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the dualities, and who, knowing that the dualities are active, is self-centered and does not move.
- 14.24Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are all alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly, who is firm, and to whom censure and praise are one and the same.
- 14.25Who is the same in honor and dishonor, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings, he is said to have transcended the dualities.
14.26And he who serves Me with unwavering devotion, he, crossing beyond the dualities, is fit for becoming Brahman.
- 14.27For I am the abode of Brahman, the immortal, immutable, and everlasting Dharma, and absolute bliss.
Word-by-word→
- cha
- only
- mām
- me
- etān
- these
- saḥ
- they
- yaḥ
- who
- sevate
- serve
- kalpate
- comes to
- guṇān
- the three modes of material nature
- samatītya
- rise above
- bhakti-yogena
- through devotion
- brahma-bhūyāya
- level of Brahman
- avyabhichāreṇa
- unalloyed
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