Bhagavad Gita · 18.65 · Yoga through the Perfection of Renunciation and Surrender·65 of 78
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु।मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे ॥
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣhyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo ‘si me
Sanskrit recitation
Surrender the weight · 18.56–18.66 · Teaching
Translation
Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. You will come to Me; I truly promise you this, for you are dear to Me.
Meaning
Develop onepointedness of mind. Fix thy thought on Me. If the mind wanders bring it again and again to the centre or point or object of meditation, through constant practice. Offer all thy actions to Me. Let thy tongue utter My name. Let thy hands work for Me. Let thy feet move for Me. Let all thy actions be for Me. Give up hatred towards any living creature. Bow down to Me. Then thou wilt attain Me.The Lord gives Arjuna His definite word of promise or solemn declaration. Having received My grace thou wilt gain complete knowledge of Me and that in itself will indeed lead to thy absorption into My Being.O Arjuna, looking up to Me alone as thy aim and the sole refuge, thou shalt assuredly come to,Me.Have faith in the words of the Lord and make a solemn promise. Take the Lord as your sole refuge. You will attain final emancipation.The secret of devotion is to take the Lord as your sole refuge. In the next verse the Lord proceeds to speak of the gist of selfsurrender. (Cf.IX.34XII.8)
After Swami Sivananda
Surrender the weight· 18.56–18.66→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 18.56Having taken refuge in Me and doing all actions, by My grace he obtains the eternal, indestructible state of being.
- 18.57Mentally renouncing all actions in Me, having Me as the highest goal, and resorting to the yoga of discrimination, do thou ever fix thy mind on Me.
- 18.58Fixing your mind on Me, you shall, by My grace, overcome all obstacles; but if you will not hear Me due to egoism, you shall perish.
- 18.59If, filled with egoism, thou thinkest, "I will not fight," then thy resolve is vain; nature will compel thee.
- 18.60O Arjuna, bound by your own Karma (action) born of your own nature, that which from delusion you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly.
- 18.61The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings, by His illusory power, to revolve as if mounted on a machine.
- 18.62Fly to Him for refuge with all your being, O Arjuna; by His grace you will obtain supreme peace and the eternal abode.
- 18.63Thus, wisdom more secret than secrecy itself has been declared to you by me. Reflect on it fully, then act as you wish.
- 18.64Hear again My supreme word, most secret of all; for you are dearly beloved of Me, I will tell you what is good.
18.65Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. You will come to Me; I truly promise you this, for you are dear to Me.
- 18.66Abandon all duties and take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Word-by-word→
- me
- to me
- te
- to you
- asi
- you are
- eva
- certainly
- mām
- to me
- bhava
- be
- satyam
- truly
- priyaḥ
- dear
- eṣhyasi
- you will come
- namaskuru
- offer obeisance
- mat-yājī
- worship me
- pratijāne
- I promise
- mat-manāḥ
- thinking of me
- mat-bhaktaḥ
- my devotee
Related verses
- 4.39The one who is full of faith, devoted to it, and has subdued their senses obtains this…
- 7.1The Blessed Lord said, "O Arjuna, hear how you shall, without doubt, know Me fully, with…
- 7.25I am not manifest to all, veiled as I am by the Yoga-Maya. This deluded world does not…
- 9.12They are possessed of the deceitful nature of demons and undivine beings, filled with vain…