Sunday, September 9, 2012

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 10

teshaam satatayuktaanaam bhajataam preetipoorvakam |
dadaami buddhiyogam tam yena maamupayaanti te || 10 ||

 
Those who are constantly engaged (in me) and worship with devotion, I endow them with the yoga of intellect by which they attain me.
 
teshaam : those
satatayuktaanaam : constantly engaged
bhajataam : worship
preetipoorvakam : with devotion
dadaami : I endow
buddhiyogam : yoga of intellect
tam : that
yena : by which
maam : me
upayaanti : attain
te : they
 
Earlier we saw that dedicated, serious devotees of Ishvara find joy only in conversing and immersing themselves in Ishvara. Such a high degree of “preetipurvaka bhajan” or worship with joy and devotion can only yield a wonderful result. Those who display such ardent devotion as termed “sataya yuktaanam” by Shri Krishna because they are constantly connected to Ishvara. He says that Ishvara rewards such devotees with “buddhi yoga”, a superior form of intellect and understanding.
 
Typically, we would have expected Ishvara to reward his ardent devotees with material prosperity. This is a given, since we have already heard Shri Krishna say that Ishvara will carry the material burden of his devotees in the previous chapter. But that is a lower form of blessing or reward. The highest type of blessing that can be given to a devotee is not material, it is intellectual. No object, wealth, social status or possession can stand in front of the knowledge of the true nature of things.
 
What is the result of this intellectual understanding? It is the ability to see Ishvara in everything, and everything in Ishvara. If someone tells us that the necklace we had lost is actually around our neck, we do not have to do anything or go anywhere in order to find it. We know where to look for it. Similarly, this vision given to us by Ishvara enables us to see him everywhere and in everything. It is the vision of equanimity mentioned in the sixth chapter.
 
So then, what is the main obstacle that Ishvara removes with this knowledge? Shri Krishna explains in the next shloka.

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