arjuna uvāca evam satatayuktā ye bhaktāstvām paryupāsate | ye cāpyaksaramavyaktam tesām ke yogavittamāh ||12.1|| Arjuna said: In this manner, (there are) those devotees who, abidingly committed, meditate upon you and also (there are) those who seek you as one who is not subject to decline and not available for objectification. Who among them are the greatest knowers of yoga?
This chapter put the entire sequence of spiritual pursuit together. A lot of knowledge for moksa pursuit have been given to us from the beginning of Gītā, such as ātmā-jñānam, upāsana (meditation), karma-yoga, saguna-Īśvara (Īśvara with form) and nirguna-Īśvara (Īśvara without form). But it seems like we are still confused about how all these put together to help us move towards the right direction. Therefore this twelfth chapter is helping us.
tesām ke yogavittamāh - among them who are the greatest knowers of yoga? Arjuna wants to know between a karma-yogī who meditates on Īśvara with form (saguna-bhaktā) and a jñānī who meditates on Īśvara without form (nirguna-bhaktā), which one is closer to moksa. He might still linger in the thought that he should take up his karma to fight the war of dharma, or he should just take the life of a renunciate focuses totally in ātmā-jñānam.
evam - in this manner, reveals a connection to what was said earlier in verse 11.55 matkarmakrt - the karma-yogī who are satatayuktā - constantly engage in actions for Īśvara, now they meditate upon him - paryupāsate as one who is everything as shown in viśvarūpam - cosmic form. It is a big jump from physical activities to mental activities. This transition is important for a karma-yogī who has been working on the purity of the mind, now he/she is working on the composure of the mind which is important to make the mind available to dwell on self-knowledge. This is one group. Another group, are those who pursue Brahman that is not subject to change - aksaram, and not available as an object - avyaktam, which is the nature of ātmā.
Throughout the Gītā, Brahman is described as aksaram - that which is not subject to decline/mutate, and avyakta - that which not manifest, free from all upādhi, has no attributes, and not available for objectification by any means/instrument of knowing. But in 10th and 11th chapter, it was described as having attributes. In this case, do we have two Brahman? No, we have only one Brahman whose svarūpa (nature) is nirguna - free from attibutes. It becomes saguna - with attributes because of māyā upādhi. Saguna-brahman is seen, nirguna-brahman is not, this is the difference. Only because of māyā upādi, the un-manifest becomes manifest as though.
The question is between jñanī who are seeing nirguna-brahman and karma-yogī who meditate upon saguna-brahman, which path is better? What Arjuna wants to know is which will bring him nearer to moksa. This comparison is not valid, because comparison is there only if one has to choose between two. In this case, there is no question for comparison, because without saguna-bhakti (devotion in the form of meditation on Īśvara with forms), nirguna-bhakti (devotion in the form of meditation on Īśvara without forms) is impossible, and without nirguna-bhakti, saguna-bhakti is incomplete. They are in the matter of stages of sādhana, where each sādhana is only prescribed to suit each stage of spiritual pursuit. Even though the question was wrong, but Lord Krsna didn't say that Arjuna is wrong, instead he gave an answer in a peculiar manner.
śrībhagavān uvāca mayyāveśya mano ye mām nityayuktā upāsate | śraddhayā parayopetāste me yuktatamā matāh ||12.2|| Śrībhagavān said: Endowed with unflinching faith, their minds committed to Me, being ever united (with me), those who meditate upon Me are considered by Me as the most exalted. First Lord Krsna talked about the karma-yogī who meditates upon saguna-brahman. With the mind keeping moksa in view, they always committed to Īśvara, doing karma only for the purity of the mind, so they become qualified to reach Īśvara. They meditate with the upmost śraddhā - śraddhayā parayā. Śraddhā is commitment to śruti. Whether they understand the teaching or not, they give credence to śruti. And this śraddhā is unflinching, because of this, they can do their karma properly, keeping their likes and dislikes aside. Lord Krsna addresses them as the most exalted because in the stage of spiritual pursuit for Arjuna, this is the most suitable stage. Without this stage he will not reach the end. Therefore they are definitely the most exalted - yuktatamāh for Arjuna.
Now, the second group is described.
ye tvaksaram anirdeśyam avyaktam paryupāsate |
sarvatragamacintyam ca kūtastham acalam dhruvam ||12.3|| However, those who contemplate upon that which is not subject to decline, indefinable, not available for objectification, all pervasive, not an object of thought, which abides in māyā, does not move and is eternal...
sanniyamyendriyagrāmam sarvatra samabuddhayah | te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarvabhūtahite ratāh ||12.4||
...those who have complete mastery over the group of sense organs, who are always equal minded and take delight in the welfare of all beings, gain Me.
Lord Krsna is answering the second part of this question. He piles up all these words just to show that sannyāsa is not a matter of choice, it is something to be understood. When they understand the meaning of these words they discover Īśvara is not separated from them. The word sannyāsa is used here to remind us that renunciation of the world and its possessions and attachment is not by choice (not the formal renunciation), but because of one's understanding that the only satyam is oneself and everything else - mithya depend upon this self, therefore where is the place for possessions and attachment?
The word upāsana derived from upa - near and āsanam - sitting, so upa-āsanam is sitting near. What is sitting near? The mind - manah. Near what? Whatever is the object of meditation - upāsya. It is purely mental activity. Mentally sitting near or dwelling upon the object of meditation is upāsana.
ye paryupāsate - those who contemplate upon nirguna-brahman. But how do they meditate upon nirguna-brahman where it has no attribute and cant' be objectified even by the mind. The sannyāsī who has understood the oneness between Brahman, the world and the self, sees Brahman in oneself in any given thought. The contemplation of sannyāsī is aham brahma asmi - I am that Brahman. For him/her, the mind dwells upon Brahman by vicāra - examination. Brahman is not an object of meditation to focus on, but to understand. Understanding that ātmā - me is Brahman, and the world as the one and the same. Here paryupārsate has an entirely different meaning from meditation that we have known of. It is seeing again and again what has been shown through the words of śāstra. Understanding of the śāstra is śravanam. To eliminate any doubt is mananam, and to remove habitual error/opposite attitude is nididhyāsanam. The word upāsana is used here for all three of these which we usually called them as the means for self-knowledge.
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