Translation
In this
verse, Krishna tells Arjuna to be situated in yoga at all times. He asks Arjuna
to perform his duty (kuru karmani), abandon all attachments (sangam tyaktva) to
success (siddhi) and failure (asiddhi), and stay equipoised (samatvam) at all
times. This, he says, is called yoga.
The
various paths to Yoga.
Yoga is
essentially a union - a union of the jiva and the paramatma. In the Gita, Krishna
describes various ways to achieve this union – jnana yoga (through knowledge),
dhyana yoga (through meditation), karma yoga (through work), sanyasa yoga
(through renunciation of the fruits of action) and bhakti yoga (through unalloyed
devotion).
The paths
may be different, but the destination is the same. We have to choose the path according
to our capacity and our nature.
The story
of Uddhava and Gopikas from the Srimad Bhagavatham.
Krishna
knew that the Gopikas of Vrindavan yearned for him after his separation from
them. So, he sent his closest friend, Uddhava as a messenger of his well-being
to meet his parents and the Gopikas.
Uddhava
was highly learned and a master of philosophy and yoga. Seeing the yearning of the Gopikas, he
wanted to console them and explain to them about the eternal
nature of the Self and to make them understand that Krishna was always present
within them.
Union in
separation.
What Uddhava
saw was something beyond conventional wisdom. The abstract teachings that he
wanted to impart seemed too insignificant. The Gopikas did not want to understand
Krishna, they only wanted to be with Krishna. Every moment of their
lives was already absorbed in Him.
They were
so lost in his love that they saw Krishna everywhere. They spoke to the bees as
if it were Krishna’s messenger. They poured out their love, pain and surrender
to it as if it would convey the same to Krishna. They constantly remembered
Krishna’s childhood activities and cried and sang about them without shame.
They rejoiced in Krishna’s footprints that he had left all over Vraja – by the
rivers, on the hills, in the forests, and in every grain of sand in the
village. They remembered the sound of his flute and the cows that gathered at
his call.
Their
devotion was so intense that separation itself became a form of union – bhakti yoga. It is said that when they went out to sell milk and curds, they were so immersed in Krishna's thoughts, they called out, 'Buy Govinda, buy Damodhara, buy Madhava, instead of buy milk, buy curds!'
Vikretu kama kila gopa kanya, murari padarpita chitta vritti
dhadhyadikam moha vashad avochad, govinda damodhara madhaveti.
Uddhava surrenders at the Gopikas’ feet.
Uddhava bowed at their feet. He said, ‘These gopikas have perfected their lives with unalloyed love for Krishna. Lord Brahma, who created the world, obtained knowledge from Maha Vishnu himself, yet I consider him inferior to them. The Gopikas received more compassion from Krishna's embrace during the rasa lila, than the goddess of fortune, Mahalakshmi, who always resides on Krishna’s chest. I would consider myself most fortunate to take birth as even a bush or creeper that would sometimes be touched by the dust of these Gopikas’ lotus feet.’
Devotion has no parallel.
Of all forms of yoga, bhakti yoga or devotional service is the easiest and yet the most difficult to offer. It is said that in Kaliyuga, we have shorter attention spans, more distractions, and less discipline for complex spiritual practices. Neither can we perform long years of meditation as in Kritayuga, nor can we perform elaborate rituals (yajna) as in Tretayuga, nor be immersed in deity worship as in Dwaparayuga.
By simply chanting the name of Krishna, especially through practices like nama japa or kirtan, is enough to help us connect with the Supreme in Kaliyuga.
