In this very opening stanza, Krishna points out three conditions that are absolutely necessary in order that devotion unto the Lord may yield its promised dividend. Generally, there is a feeling that the ‘Path-of-Devotion’ is very easy. It is equally true to say that no chosen ‘Path’ is difficult for the seeker who has chosen it. ‘Paths’ are different only because of the vehicles employed; in a boat we can never travel through the grand-trunk road, nor can we sail over the waves in a plane, nor on a cycle dash at 60-miles an hour! There are limitations to each vehicle. But progress is assured to the intelligent and the careful even with any such vehicle. Similarly, for self-development, each type of seeker, according to the vehicle available, chooses either the ‘Path-of-Devotion’ or the ‘Path-of-Action’ or the ‘Path-of-Knowledge.’ To each one of them, his ‘Path’ is the easiest.
FIXING THEIR THOUGHTS ON ME — Thought is the content of our subtle body. Both the mind and intellect are nothing but thoughts. It is not sufficient if they leisurely wander around the concept of the Lord, but they have actually to penetrate, delve into, merge, and ultimately dissolve themselves to become the very ideal perfection which the Lord represents. The word that is being used here in the stanza (Aveshya) indicates not merely a “THOUGHT CONTACT” but an actual “THOUGHT PENETRATION.” In fact, human thought takes the form of, gathers the fragrance of, and even puts on the glow of the qualities in the objects of its contemplation. Thus, when a devotee’s thoughts gush forward in sincerity, in a newly found urge of irrepressible love towards the Lord, the devotee, as a personality, ends for the time being, and himself acquires the glow and beauty of the Lord-of-his-heart.
EVER SELF-CONTROLLED, WORSHIP ME — The second condition necessary for a devotee to accomplish his evolution through the ‘Path-of-Devotion’ is that he must have sufficient balance in himself to exercise regular self-control while worshipping the Lord. The mind, by its very nature, will always try to run wild from its objects of contemplation, and the art of keeping the thoughts balanced at its point-of-concentration is called self-control. The Sanskrit term Upasana though it can be translated as ‘worship’, should not be misunderstood by the superficial suggestion that automatically comes to us when we hear the word ‘worship.’ True Upasana is an inward act of attunement with the Higher Principle so as to get ourselves completely merged with It.
WITH SUPREME FAITH — Faith is generally understood as “blind belief”… blind belief is not Shraddha. Shraddha is “MY BELEIF IN SOMETHING I DO NOT KNOW, SO THAT I MAY COME TO KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE IN.” Without this faculty developed in him, a devotee may not succeed sufficiently in bringing about a self-divinisation in himself even after years of practice.
Thus, three main conditions are enumerated in this stanza as essential and unavoidable for one to become a true devotee, viz., (1) Perfect faith, (2) Ever steadfast in worship and (3) One’s mind totally merged with the concept of the Lord. If these are accomplished in anyone, he is considered as the most steadfast devotee by the Lord.
THEN, ARE NOT THE OTHERS YOGIS? “WAIT; HEAR NOW WHAT I HAVE TO SAY REGARDING THEM”:
