Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 14 — Aksara Brahma Yoga
Sanskrit
अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः | तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ||८-१४||
Transliteration
ananyacetāḥ satataṃ yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ . tasyāhaṃ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ ||8-14||
Hindi Meaning
।।8.14।। हे पार्थ ! जो अनन्यचित्त वाला पुरुष मेरा स्मरण करता है, उस नित्ययुक्त योगी के लिए मैं सुलभ हूँ अर्थात् सहज ही प्राप्त हो जाता हूँ।।
English Meaning
For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.
Commentary
This verse especially describes the final destination attained by the unalloyed devotees who serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead in bhakti-yoga. Previous verses have mentioned four different kinds of devotees – the distressed, the inquisitive, those who seek material gain, and the speculative philosophers. Different processes of liberation have also been described: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and haṭha-yoga. The principles of these yoga systems have some bhakti added, but this verse particularly mentions pure bhakti-yoga, without any mixture of jñāna, karma or haṭha. As indicated by the word ananya-cetāḥ, in pure bhakti-yoga the devotee desires nothing but Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee does not desire promotion to heavenly planets, nor does he seek oneness with the brahma-jyotir or salvation or liberation from material entanglement. A pure devotee does not desire anything. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the pure devotee is called niṣkāma, which means he has no desire for self-interest. Perfect peace belongs to him alone, not to them who strive for personal gain. Whereas a jñāna-yogī, karma-yogī or haṭha-yogī has his own selfish interests, a perfect devotee has no desire other than to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord says that for anyone who is unflinchingly devoted to Him, He is easy to attain. A pure devotee always engages in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa in one of His various personal features. Kṛṣṇa has various plenary expansions and incarnations, such as Rāma and Nṛsiṁha, and a devotee can choose to fix his mind in loving service to any of these transcendental forms of the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee meets with none of the problems that plague the practitioners of other yogas. Bhakti-yoga is very simple and pure and easy to perform. One can begin simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The Lord is merciful to all, but as we have already explained, He is especially inclined toward those who always serve Him without deviation. The Lord helps such devotees in various ways. As stated in the Vedas ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23), yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas/ tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanuṁ svām: one who is fully surrendered and engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord can understand the Supreme Lord as He is. And as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10) , dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam: the Lord gives such a devotee sufficient intelligence so that ultimately the devotee can attain Him in His spiritual kingdom. The special qualification of the pure devotee is that he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa without deviation and without considering the time or place. There should be no impediments. He should be able to carry out his service anywhere and at any time. Some say that the devotee should remain in holy places like Vṛndāvana or some holy town where the Lord lived, but a pure devotee can live anywhere and create the atmosphere of Vṛndāvana by his devotional service. It was Śrī Advaita who told Lord Caitanya, “Wherever You are, O Lord – there is Vṛndāvana.” As indicated by the words satatam and nityaśaḥ, which mean “always,” “regularly,” or “every day,” a pure devotee constantly remembers Kṛṣṇa and meditates upon Him. These are qualifications of the pure devotee, for whom the Lord is most easily attainable. Bhakti-yoga is the system that the Gītā recommends above all others. Generally, the bhakti-yogīs are engaged in five different ways: (1) śānta-bhakta, engaged in devotional service in neutrality; (2) dāsya-bhakta, engaged in devotional service as servant; (3) sakhya-bhakta, engaged as friend; (4) vātsalya-bhakta, engaged as parent; and (5) mādhurya-bhakta, engaged as conjugal lover of the Supreme Lord. In any of these ways, the pure devotee is always constantly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord and cannot forget the Supreme Lord, and so for him the Lord is easily attained. A pure devotee cannot forget the Supreme Lord for a moment, and similarly the Supreme Lord cannot forget His pure devotee for a moment. This is the great blessing of the Kṛṣṇa conscious process of chanting the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Hinglish Commentary
Is verse mein un bhakti-yogiyon ka ant samarthan kiya gaya hai jo bina kisi shart ke Bhagwan ki seva karte hain. Pehle ke verses mein alag-alag tarah ke bhakt ka zikr hua hai – jaise dukhi log, jinko gyaan chahiye, jo material labh ki talash mein hain, aur jo philosophical soch rakhte hain. Mukhtalif liberation ke tareeqe bhi bataye gaye hain: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga aur haṭha-yoga. In sab yogaon mein thoda bhakti ka milan hai, lekin yeh verse khaas taur par shuddh bhakti-yoga ki baat karta hai, bina kisi jñāna, karma ya haṭha ke. Ananya-cetāḥ shabd se yeh pata chalta hai ki shuddh bhakti-yog mein bhakt sirf Krishna ki hi ichha rakhta hai. Ek shuddh bhakt na to swarg ki taraf badhna chahta hai, na hi brahma-jyotir mein milne ki khwahish rakhta hai, aur na hi material bandhanon se mukti ki talash karta hai. Uska koi bhi swarth nahi hota. Caitanya-caritāmṛta mein shuddh bhakt ko niṣkāma kaha gaya hai, matlab uska koi personal interest nahi hota. Uski shanti sirf usi ko milti hai, jo apne liye nahi balki Bhagwan ki khushi ke liye jeeta hai. Jñāna-yogī, karma-yogī ya haṭha-yogī apne swarth ke liye kaam karte hain, lekin ek perfect devotee ki sirf ek hi ichha hoti hai – Bhagwan ko khush karna. Isliye Bhagwan kehte hain ki jo unke liye poori tarah se samarpit hai, unhe paa lena asaan hai. Ek shuddh bhakt hamesha Krishna ki seva karta hai, chahe wo kisi bhi roop mein ho, jaise Rāma ya Nṛsiṁha. Aise bhakt ko un sab samasyaon ka samna nahi karna padta jo doosre yogiyon ko hoti hain. Bhakti-yoga bahut hi asaan aur shuddh hai, aur iski shuruaat bas Hare Krishna ka jaap karke ki ja sakti hai. Bhagwan sab par daya rakhte hain, lekin jo bhakt bina kisi rukawat ke unki seva karte hain, unke liye Bhagwan khaas taur par sahayak hote hain. Vedas mein kaha gaya hai ki jo poori tarah se samarpit hai, wo Bhagwan ko unki asli roop mein samajh sakta hai. Bhagavad-gītā mein bhi kaha gaya hai ki aise bhakt ko Bhagwan samajhdaari dete hain, jisse wo unhe apne spiritual kingdom mein paa sake. Shuddh bhakt ki khaasiyat yeh hai ki wo hamesha Krishna ke baare mein sochta hai, bina kisi samay ya sthal ki parwaah kiye. Koi bhi rukawat nahi honi chahiye. Wo kahin bhi aur kabhi bhi apni seva kar sakta hai. Kuch log kehte hain ki bhakt ko holy jagah par rehna chahiye jaise Vṛndāvana, lekin ek shuddh bhakt kahin bhi rehkar bhi apni bhakti se Vṛndāvana ka mahol bana sakta hai. Śrī Advaita ne Lord Caitanya se kaha tha, “Jahan bhi aap hain, O Lord – wahi Vṛndāvana hai.” Satatam aur nityaśaḥ shabd yeh darshate hain ki ek shuddh bhakt hamesha Krishna ko yaad karta hai aur un par dhyaan lagata hai. Yeh sab shuddh bhakt ki khaasiyat hain, jinke liye Bhagwan aasani se prapt hote hain. Bhakti-yoga ko Gītā sabse upar rakhti hai. Aam taur par bhakti-yogī paanch tarikon se bhakti karte hain: (1) śānta-bhakta, jo neutrality mein bhakti karte hain; (2) dāsya-bhakta, jo sevak ki tarah bhakti karte hain; (3) sakhya-bhakta, jo dost ki tarah bhakti karte hain; (4) vātsalya-bhakta, jo mata-pita ki tarah bhakti karte hain; aur (5) mādhurya-bhakta, jo Bhagwan ke premika ki tarah bhakti karte hain. In kisi bhi tarike se, shuddh bhakt hamesha Bhagwan ki prem bhakti mein engaged rehta hai aur unhe bhool nahi sakta, aur isliye unke liye Bhagwan aasani se prapt hote hain. Ek shuddh bhakt ek pal ke liye bhi Bhagwan ko nahi bhool sakta, aur isi tarah Bhagwan bhi apne shuddh bhakt ko nahi bhool sakte. Yeh hai Krishna bhakti ka bada aashirwad, jo ki mahā-mantra ke jaap se milta hai – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Chinmaya Commentary
उस नित्ययुक्त योगी के लिए आत्मप्राप्ति सहज साध्य होती है जो मुझ चैतन्यस्वरूप आत्मा का अनन्यभाव से नित्यप्रतिदिन स्मरण करता है। पूर्व श्लोकों में कथित सिद्धान्त को ही यहाँ संक्षेप में किन्तु स्पष्ट एवं प्रभावशाली भाषा में कहा गया है।प्रार्थना कोई कीटनाशक दवाई नहीं कि जिसका यदकदा छिड़काव करना ही पर्याप्त है उसी प्रकार पूजागृह को स्नानगृह के समान नहीं समझना चाहिये जिसमें हम अशुद्ध प्रवेश करते हैं और फिर स्वच्छ होकर बाहर आते हैं यहाँ श्रीकष्ण अत्यन्त सावधानी से विशेष बल देकर आग्रह करते हैं कि यह आत्मानुसंधान या ईश्वर स्मरण नित्य निरन्तर और अखण्ड होना चाहिये।उपर्युक्त गुणों से सम्पन्न योगी को हे अर्जुन मैं सुलभ हूँ। भगवान् का यह कथन विशेष महत्व एवं अभिप्राय रखता है क्योंकि इन गुणों के अभाव में ध्यान में सफलता की आशा नहीं की जा सकती।आत्मप्राप्ति के लिए प्रयत्न क्यों किया जाय इस पर कहते हैं