Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 18 — Bhakti Yoga
Sanskrit
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः | शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ||१२-१८||
Transliteration
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ . śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅgavivarjitaḥ ||12-18||
Hindi Meaning
Swami Tejomayananda did not comment on this sloka
English Meaning
One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, who is free from attachment and remains steady in situations of gain or loss.
Commentary
A devotee is always free from all bad association. Sometimes one is praised and sometimes one is defamed; that is the nature of human society. But a devotee is always transcendental to artificial fame and infamy, distress or happiness. He is very patient. He does not speak of anything but the topics about Kṛṣṇa; therefore he is called silent. Silent does not mean that one should not speak; silent means that one should not speak nonsense. One should speak only of essentials, and the most essential speech for the devotee is to speak for the sake of the Supreme Lord. A devotee is happy in all conditions; sometimes he may get very palatable foodstuffs, sometimes not, but he is satisfied. Nor does he care for any residential facility. He may sometimes live underneath a tree, and he may sometimes live in a very palatial building; he is attracted to neither. He is called fixed because he is fixed in his determination and knowledge. We may find some repetition in the descriptions of the qualifications of a devotee, but this is just to emphasize the fact that a devotee must acquire all these qualifications. Without good qualifications, one cannot be a pure devotee. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ: one who is not a devotee has no good qualification. One who wants to be recognized as a devotee should develop the good qualifications. Of course he does not extraneously endeavor to acquire these qualifications, but engagement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service automatically helps him develop them.
Hinglish Commentary
Ek bhakta hamesha sabhi bure sambandhon se door rehta hai. Kabhi kabhi logon ki tareef hoti hai, aur kabhi kabhi unki burai; yeh insani samaj ka swabhav hai. Lekin ek bhakta hamesha in sab cheezon se pare hota hai, chahe wo naam ho ya badnaami, dukh ho ya khushi. Wo bahut dhairyashil hota hai. Wo sirf Kṛṣṇa ke vishayon par hi baat karta hai, isliye usse chup rehne wala kaha jata hai. Chup rehna ka matlab yeh nahi hai ki wo kuch nahi bolta; chup rehna ka matlab hai ki wo bekaar ki baatein nahi karta. Ek bhakta ko sirf zaroori baatein karni chahiye, aur sabse zaroori baat hai Bhagwan ke liye bolna. Ek bhakta har halat mein khush rehta hai; kabhi usse bahut tasty khana milta hai, kabhi nahi, lekin wo hamesha satisfied hota hai. Wo kisi bhi rehne ki jagah ki parwah nahi karta. Kabhi wo ek ped ke neeche rehta hai, aur kabhi kisi shandar building mein; usse in sab se koi farak nahi padta. Wo isliye fixed hai kyunki uski determination aur knowledge pakki hai. Hum bhakt ke gunon ka varnan baar-baar dekhte hain, lekin yeh isliye hai taaki yeh baat samajh aaye ki ek bhakta ko yeh sab gun prapt karne chahiye. Bina achhe gunon ke, koi bhi shuddh bhakta nahi ban sakta. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ: jo bhakta nahi hai uske paas koi achhe gun nahi hote. Jo bhi bhakta ke roop mein pehchana jaana chahta hai, usse achhe gun viksit karne chahiye. Lekin, wo in gunon ko prapt karne ke liye bahar se koi koshish nahi karta, balki Kṛṣṇa chetna aur bhakti sewa mein lagne se yeh gun khud hi viksit hote hain.