Word meanings
- arjunaḥ uvāca
- Arjun said
- evam
- thus
- satata
- steadfastly
- yuktāḥ
- devoted
- ye
- those
- bhaktāḥ
- devotees
- tvām
- you
- paryupāsate
- worship
- ye
- those
- ca
- and
- api
- also
- akṣaram
- the imperishable
- avyaktam
- the formless Brahman
- teṣām
- of them
- ke
- who
- yoga-vit-tamāḥ
- more perfect in Yog
Translations
Arjuna said, "Which of them are better versed in Yoga—those who steadfastly worship You, or those who worship the imperishable and the unmanifested?"
Arjuna asked, "My Lord, which are the better devotees who worship You: those who try to know You as a Personal God, or those who worship You as Impersonal and Indestructible?"
Arjuna said: "Which of these devotees, who are ever dedicated and meditate on You, and those who meditate on the Unmanifested and Immutable, are the best experiencers of yoga [here, yoga means samadhi, spiritual absorption]?"
जो भक्त इस प्रकार निरन्तर आपमें लगे रहकर आप-(सगुण भगवान्-) की उपासना करते हैं और जो अविनाशी निराकारकी ही उपासना करते हैं, उनमेंसे उत्तम योगवेत्ता कौन हैं?Commentary
The twelfth discourse goes to prove that Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga of devotion is much easier than Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of knowledge. In Bhakti Yoga the devotee establishes a near and dear relationship with the Lord. He cultivates slowly and one of the five Bhavas (attitudes) according to his temperament, taste and capacity. The five attitudes are the Santa Bhava (the attitutde of peaceful adoration) Dasya Bhava (the attitude of servant towards the master) Sakhya Bhava (the attitude of a friend) Vatsalya Bhava (the attitude of a parent to the child) and Madhurya Bhava (the attitutde of the lover towards the beloved).
The devotee adopts these attitudes towards the Lord. The last (Madhurya Bhava) is the culmination of devotion. It is merging or absorption in the Lord. The devotee adores the Lord. He constantly remembers Him (Smarana). He sings His Name (Kirtana). He speaks of His glories. He repeats His Name. He chants His Mantra (Japa). He prays and prostrates himself. He hears His Lilas (divine plays). He does total, ungrudging and unconditional selfsurrender, obtains His grace, hols communion wih, and eventually gets absorbed in Him.
The devotee begins by worshipping the idols or the symbols of God. Then he performs internal worship of the Form. Ultimately he is led to the supreme worship of the allpervading Brahman (Para Puja). Thus As declared in the last verse of the previous chapter. Avyaktam The unmanifested, i.e., incomprehensible to the senses, transcending all limiting adjuncts. The unmanifested Brahman is beyond all limitations. That which is visible to the senses is called Vyakta or manifest. The hearts of the devotees are wholly fixed on Thee.
They worship Thee with all their heart and soul. There are others who worship the unmanifested Brahman which is beyond time, space and causation, which is attributeless, which is eternal and indefinable, which is beyond the reach of speech and mind. These are the wise sages. Of these two, the devotees and the men of knowledge -- who are the better knowers of Yoga (Cf.XI.55)