Shri Krishna Speaks: Attaining Liberation

Shri Krishna Speaks: Attaining Liberation

*|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||*🌷🙏*

*॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 14.26॥*

_मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।_

_स गुणान्समतीत्येतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते॥_

*भावार्थ :* 

जो मनुष्य हर परिस्थिति में बिना विचलित हुए अनन्य-भाव से मेरी भक्ति में स्थिर रहता है, वह भक्त प्रकृति के तीनों गुणों को अति-शीघ्र पार करके ब्रह्म-पद पर स्थित हो जाता है। (२६)

*Meaning*:

And he who worships me with the unwavering yoga of devotion, having gone beyond these gunas, becomes fit for attaining brahman.

*Explanation*:

Since this chapter is coming to an end, let us do a quick recap. We learned that this entire universe, including our mind and body, is nothing but the play of the three gunas of Prakriti - sattva, rajas and tamas. Only when we learn to stand apart from the gunas, when we separate ourselves from the gunas, can we attain liberation from the endless cycle of sorrow known as samsaara. For most of us, such a high degree of discrimination is extremely difficult. Moreover, such discrimination needs to be combined with dispassion as well as total control of the mind and the sense organs.

 

Knowing the impediments of fulfilling all these requirements, Arjuna wanted to know whether there was a straightforward way of releasing oneself from the influence of the gunas. Shri Krishna says that yes, it is possible. The answer is the yoga of unwavering devotion, which was the topic of chapters seven to twelve. In a nutshell, we detach ourselves from the gunas by attaching ourselves to something higher, which is Ishvara. It is like the child who gives up his toys because he loves poetry now that he is a teenager.

 

This yoga of devotion is not completely without effort, however. Shri Krishna adds an adjective that we need to bear in mind - avyabhichaarena or unwavering. We cannot keep Ishvara as our goal from 7 am to 8 am and then start thinking about how to demolish our competitors from 8 am to 11 am. The one and only goal should be Ishvara. If all our goals are within the scope of our svadharma, our prescribed role in this world, they very naturally are part and parcel of our devotion towards Ishvara.

 

Having made Ishvara our only goal, and having maintained such an awareness throughout our life, we become fit to attain brahman. How does that happen? The next and last shloka of this chapter addresses this topic.

*Continuously Chant The mantra you have faith in ||*🌹