Śrī Viśvanātha explains verses 12.8-12.12 of the Bhagavad Gītā, Part I

Verses 12.8 through 12.12 in the Gītā tend to be cryptic and difficult to understand. Without Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravarti’s commentary, they can be misunderstood as has been the case for many. One person recently told me that only after studying his commentary did she finally understand the verses, and that was after decades of first hearing them. Below, I examine Śrī Viśvanātha’s commentary on the verses. I will provide translations from Babaji – which are now freely available at Bhagavad Gita — Jiva Institute. Babaji’s translations of these verses are generally consistent with Śrī Viśvanātha’s commentary.

As the commentaries are rather long, I have translated them for the first three verses, which go together, here, and will present the rest in part II.

Verse 12.8

Verse 12.8 goes as follows:

mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya | nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ || 12.8||

Fix your mind exclusively on Me, and let your intelligence be absorbed in Me. Thereafter, you will live only in Me. There is no doubt about this.

Śrī Viśvanātha comments:

yasmān mad-bhaktir eva śreṣṭhā tasmāt tvaṁ bhaktim eva kurv iti tām upadiśati mayy eveti tribhiḥ |

“Because My bhakti alone is the topmost, you perform bhakti alone”. Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructs Arjuna in this way in three verses.

Here, we see the purpose behind the three verses 12.8 to 12.10 explained. The purpose is to instruct bhakti.

Śrī Viśvanātha then examines the meaning of the words mayy eva. The word ‘eva’ restricts the meaning to the word ‘mayi’, “in Me” —

eva-kāreṇa nirviśeṣa-vyāvṛttiḥ | mayi śyāmasundare pītāmbare vanamālini mana ādhatsva mat-smaraṇaṁ kurv ity arthaḥ |

The word ‘eva’ excludes qualityless [Brahman]. The meaning is, “perform My smaraṇa (mana ādhatsva), who am Śyāmasundara, wearing a yellow cloth, and a forest garland.”

Here, I did not translate the word smaraṇa because here, it carries the technical sense as a type of ‘sādhana’. It’s simple meaning is ‘remembrance’. For example, recalling Bhagavān’s names in the mind would qualify as nāmā-smaraṇa. And here, the instruction would be to specifically remember Śrī Kṛṣna’s names (mayi eva).

In addition to smaraṇa of Bhagavān Śyāmasundara, there is another instruction in the first line of 12.8. Śrī Viśvanātha explains —

tathā buddhiṁ vivekavatīṁ niveśaya man-mananaṁ kurv ity arthaḥ | tac ca mananaṁ dhyāna-pratipādaka-śāstra-vākyānuśīlanam |

“And absorb your discriminating intellect [in Me]”. The meaning is, “perform My manana”. And that manana implies following the statements of the śāstras that describe the method of meditation (dhyāna).

Manana in this context means contemplation on the methods taught in the śāstras of dhyāna or meditation on Bhagavān. Thus, smaraṇa is performed with the appropriate methods of meditation. If one does this successfully, the outcome is that one attains Bhagavān —

tataś ca mayy eva nivasiṣyasīti chāndasam | mat-samīpa eva nivāsaṁ prāpnoṣīty arthaḥ ||8||

Doing this, you will reside in Me, meaning you will attain a residence that is close to Me.

Verse 12.9

Suppose one is not able to perform the sādhana described in verse 12.8. Śrī Kṛṣṇa provides an alternative in the next verse:

atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram | abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptuṁ dhanaṁjaya ||

But if you cannot fix your mind steadily on Me, O Dhanañjaya, then seek to attain Me by repeated practice.

Śrī Viśvanātha begins by explaining the purpose of this verse —

sākṣāt smaraṇāsamarthaṁ prati tat-prāpty-upāyam āha atheti |

He presents the method of attainment [of Bhagavān] for one who is incapable of direct smaraṇa.

In the hierarchy of sādhanas described in these verses, smaraṇa ranks highest. But it involves a deep meditation which is difficult for those whose minds are not steady. For such persons, Bhagavān provides the alternative —

abhyāsa-yogenānyatrānyatra gatam api manaḥ punaḥ pratyāhṛtya mad-rūpa eva sthāpanam abhyāsaḥ | sa eva yogas tena  | prākṛtatvād iti kutsita-rūpa-rasādiṣu calantyā manonadyās teṣu calanaṁ nirudhya atisubhadreṣu madīya-rūpa-rasādiṣu tac-calanaṁ śanaiḥ śanaiḥ sampādayety arthaḥ | he dhanañjayeti bahūn śatrūn jitvā dhanam āhṛtavatā tvayā mano’pi jitvā dhyāna-dhanaṁ grahītuṁ śakyam eveti bhāvaḥ ||9||

The word ‘abhyāsa’ in abhyāsa-yogena refers to establishment of the mind in My form alone, withdrawing it from wherever it has gone. That abhyāsa itself is the yoga; [so] abhyāsa-yogena means by abhyāsa. Because of being material, the rivers of the mind flow among despicable forms, tastes and so on. Interrupting their flow, gradually establish their flow in My form. O Dhanañjaya. You are capable to conquering the mind and collecting the wealth of dhyāna, meditation, just as conquering many enemies, you confiscated their wealth.

The alternative for those who are unable to perform smaraṇa, is to practice meditation on Bhagavān, bringing it back from wherever it wanders.

Verse 12.10

The third verse is for those who cannot practice the meditation recommended above. For them, Śrī Kṛṣṇa offers the alternative of performing devotional activities. Verse 12.10 is as follows:

abhyāse’py asamartho’si mat-karma-paramo bhava | mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi ||12.10||

If, however, you are unable even to practice steadily in this manner, then be devoted to working for Me. Even by engagement in actions for My sake, you will attain perfection.

Śrī Viśvanātha writes —

viśvanāthaḥ : abhyāse’pīti yathā pitta-dūṣitā rasanā matsyaṇḍikāṁ necchati | tathaivāvidyā-dūṣitaṁ manas tad-rūpādikaṁ madhuram api na gṛhṇātīty atas tena durgraheṇa mahā-prabalena manasā saha yoddhuṁ mayā naiva śakyata iti manyase ced iti bhāvaḥ | mat-karmāṇi paramāṇi yasya saḥ | karmāṇi madīya-śravaṇa-kīrtana-vandanārcana-man-mandira-mārjanābhyukṣaṇa-puṣpāharaṇādi-paricaraṇādi kurvan vināpi mat-smaraṇaṁ siddhiṁ premavat-pārṣadatva-lakṣaṇāṁ prāpsyatīti ||10||

“As the tongue afflicted with jaundice does not desire sugarcane juice, the mind polluted by avidyā does not even accept His beautiful form. Therefore, I cannot fight with this mind, which is extremely strong and uncontrollable.” If you are thinking like this, then [do the sādhana recommended in this verse] – this is the sense. The word mat-karma-paramaḥ means he, for whom My activities are topmost. The activities (karma), here, refer to hearing (śravaṇa), singing (kīrtana), praise (vandana), worship (arcana), cleaning of the temple, sprinkling of water, offering flowers, serving etc. Doing these, you will attain perfection of being My loving associate, even without My smaraṇa.

I will take up verses 12.11 and 12.12 in the next article.

Summary

The hierarchy of sādhana described in verses 12.8 – 12.10 is as follows:

smaraṇa and manana (12.8) >> abhyāsa, consisting of repeatedly bringing the mind back to Bhagavān’s form, for one unable to perform direct smaraṇa (12.9) >> external acts of bhakti such as śravaṇa, kīrtana, vandana, arcana and service (12.10)

The outcome of any of these forms of sādhana bhakti is perfection as Bhagavān’s loving associate.