188. In Tune with Existence

Krishna says, “To whom praise and insult are the same, who is silent, content with anything, who is not attached to a place of stay, stable-minded -are dear to Me (12.19). Those devotees who follow this nectar of wisdom (dharma) declared here, endued with shraddha (trust), regarding Me as supreme -are exceedingly dear to Me” (12.20). At its core, the game of praise and insult is the play of ahankaar which gets elated with praise and hurt with insult. When we are centred in the self which Krishna earlier called atma-vaan, praise and insult lose their ability to affect us.

This concludes the 12th Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita titled ‘Bhakti Yoga’ (yoga of devotion). For easy adoption, a nine-fold path for bhakti is given in Ramayan by Lord Rama to his devotee Sabari. These include Satsang (company of saints), Katha (listening to stories of Paramatma), Sewa (service), Kirtan (singing), Japa (chanting) etc. These are relevant and practiced even today.

This chapter starts with the question of Arjuna as to whether formless devotion or devotion to form is more suitable. Krishna advises him to pursue the path of form as the path of formless is very tough for embodied beings. Then Krishna outlined a hierarchy to pursue this path. In the end, Krishna gives the attributes that are dear to Him which include dropping hatred by inculcating the divine quality of forgiveness (16.3), not getting agitated and not agitating others, maintaining equanimity, transcending polarities, being content etc.

In the lonely path of self-discovery, these attributes serve as milestones. Though, there is a chance that some of them are likely to be perceived as weaknesses, but in reality, it is about being in tune with the all-powerful existence. It is realising that these qualities are dear to Paramatma - and that their presence within us is a cause for celebration.