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'Detachment from All that is Material' 
A story from the Bhāgavatam [SB 11:9, 5-12]

(5) 'Once arrived at the house of a young girl 
that wished herself to be a wife 
and of whom all the relatives were gone to another place, 
a couple of men that she received with great hospitality. 
(6) Being alone did she, for her guests to eat, 
beat rice so that the conch shell bracelets 
on her forearms made a lot of noise. 
(7) She being shy ashamed of that [servant-] noise, 
thinking intelligently broke one by one the shell bracelets 
from her arms, leaving but two on each wrist. 
(8) Still was there of those two, with her husking the rice, 
the noise of course, so that, as she separated one from each of the two 
leaving one only, not a sound was heard. 
(9) Me wandering the places in search of the truth of the world, 
o subduer of the enemies, with my own eyes witnessed this girl's lesson. 
(10) In a place with many people will quarrels rise, 
even with two people alone conversing; 
for sure one should therefore live like the young girlś bracelet. 
(11) By detachment and a regulated practice [vairāgya and abhyāsa] 
should the mind be steadied, with care being fixed by having conquered 
one's breathing in sitting postures [see also B.G.6:10-15 and 6:46-47]. 
(12) Having obtained permanence in that position, 
step by step giving up the contamination of karma, 
achieves that very mind nirvāna by the having grown strong 
in sattva forsaking of the fuel of rajas and tamas 
[to the fire of material existence, see also B.G. 6:26 and 14:6-8].'

1 2a 2b 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18a 18b

Chapter 12 The Yoga of Devotion 'On fixing oneself on the ultimate of perfection'   Bhakti Yoga

More than the adherent of the path of karma, jñāna or yoga, the follower of the path of bhakti is declared fortunate and superior. He is better than the yogī, the sannyāsī, the jñānī and the sadhaka who takes up the discipline of karma. - Prasanthi Vahini, p. 76             " Listen to this chapter sung!  " [Slokas 8 to 20] " Listen to this spoken chapter in Audio "       Verse 1.  arjuna uvāca evam satatā-yukta ye bhaktās tvām paryupāsate ye cāpy aksharam avyaktām teshām ke yoga-vittamāh       Arjuna asked with a smile and a little tremor of the lips, "Lord! I realize that You are pleased with undeviating single-pointed devotion. But are You pleased with the worship of You-with-form or You-without-form? Do You prefer sakara upasana or nirakara upasana? Which melts You more and contributes to success in getting Your Blessings? Which is easier for the sadhaka and more welcome to You? Please tell me." - Gītā Vahini, p. 176  Verse 2. śrī bhagavān uvāca mayy āveśya mano ye mām nitya-yuktā upāsate śraddhayā parayopetās te me yuktatamā matāh       Krishna was happy that this question was asked. He said, "Arjuna! I do not make any distinction between the two. I am pleased, however I am worshiped, provided the mind is saturated with Me and there is steady faith in every act, word and thought." Arjuna intercepted with the query, "Krishna! Are mere purity of heart and steady faith enough? Do not sex or status as fixed by caste or the stage of life form obstacles to success?" Krishna chided Arjuna and replied, "I am surprised that you should ask such questions after going through all of this experience. Do you not realize that for those who have fixed their minds on God, who have reposed in Me, the Personification of Truth, eternal and pure, there will not be an iota of 'identification of the self with the body', (deha-bhranthi) ... if they have still the awareness of sex or caste or stage of life with all the attendant pride, humility, etc., it only reveals that they have not surrendered their minds to God. For those who have rid themselves of attachment to the body, there will not be the distraction of caste, status, etc.       "But the āśrama dharma and the varna dharma (the codes of conduct prescribed for the castes and for those in the four stages of life (student (brahmacāri), house-holder (grihastha), recluse (vānaprastha) and monk (sannyāsa)) do not hinder in any way the discipline of fixing the mind on God or of purifying the mind of evil or worshipping the Lord through all one's actions, words and thoughts. The distinctions of sex or caste or status or stage of life affect only those who live in the awareness of the body as reality and act as if the world is absolute and eternal." - Gītā Vahini, p. 176-7 Verse 3-4. ye tv aksharam anirdeśyam avyaktam paryupāsate sarvatra-gam acintyam ca kūthastham acalam dhruvam  sanniyamyendriya-grāmam sarvatra sama-buddhayah te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarva-bhūta-hite ratāh Verse 5. kleśo 'dhikataras teshām avyaktāsakta-cetasām avyaktā hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avāpyate      At this, Arjuna said, "Krishna! The contemplation of the formless characteristicless nirguna-nirakara is very difficult, is it not, for those with deha-bhranthi or identification of the self with the body? The worship of the form-ful aspect of God, which is in reach of the ordinary man, can this yield purity of mind, purity of inner instruments of consciousness? Please enlighten me.       "Arjuna! People think that the worship of God with form and attributes is quite enough. This discipline will only be of some help; it will guide the person along the road for a little while. For the Lord will not condescend to grant liberation for just this! For he who aims at liberation must first give up attachment to the body. Without that, the atmic stage cannot be attained. The identification with the body is the expression of ignorance. The ātmā must be recognized as distinct from the prakriti." - Gītā Vahini, p. 177-8 Verse 6-7. ye tu sarvāni karmāni mayi sannyāsya mat-parāh ananyenaiva yogena mām dhyāyanta upāsate teshām aham samuddhartā mrityu-samsāra-sāgarāt bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha mayy āveśita-cetasām       Dedicate all worship, all adoration, all Vedic rituals and other vows and vigils with all the fruits that may accrue, to Me. Take Me as the ultimate goal, as the final aim which transforms all acts into worship; fix your mind on Me, meditate on Me; I shall then shower My Grace and take you across the ocean of change, of samsāra; I shall favor you with the goal you seek. Arjuna! It is not an easy task to fix your mind steadily on Me. Not everyone can succeed in this. However long the practice, it is hard to keep the mind on Me, without deflecting it towards other things or ideas." - Gītā Vahini, p. 179 Verse 8. mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhim niveśaya nivasishyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvam na samśayah Verse 9. atha cittam samādhātum na śaknoshi mayi sthiram abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptum dhanañjaya       "You might therefore ask, 'Have we no other means?' My reply is, 'Yes, there iś. Even those who are eager to engage themselves in acts that please Me can get established in the atmic consciousness and gain liberation. By means of prayer, recitation of the name, adoration of the glory, worship, etc., the sins of the past can be destroyed, the inner consciousness purified of impulses and urges; then the light of wisdom will dawn, leading to liberation from darkness." - Gītā Vahini, p. 179 Verse 10. abhyāse 'py asamartho 'si mat-karma-paramo bhava mad-artham api karmāni kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi       Devotion to the Lord is only a form of discipline to reach the goal. The seeker should not stop with the acquisition of devotion; he should pay attention not so much to the devotion or love that he has toward the Lord, but to the love and grace that the Lord bestows on him! He must always be eager to find out which behavior of his, what acts of his, will be most pleasing to the Lord, will fill the Lord with anandam. Inquire about that, yearn for that, carry out the things that will secure that objective - be engaged in acts conducive to gain it - that is real bhakti.       But people generally do not follow this ideal of bhakti, nor do they think about the implication of that ideal. They pay attention only to the love that the devotee has to the Lord; and in the process, they do not pay much attention to the dharma and the karma that the Lord approves or appreciates! This is why Krishna says, "Karma that pleases the Lord is superior to the kama that fulfills the yearnings of the devotee." Whatever the devotee does or thinks or plans or observes, they should draw down the grace of God". They should not be subject to his own will; they should be in accordance with His Will. The devotee must test every thought and feeling on the touchstone of the Lord's declared preferences. - Gītā Vahini, p. 179-80. Verse 11. athaitad apy aśakto 'si kartum mad-yogam āśritah sarva-karma-phala-tyāgam tatah kuru yatātmavān       This is that path: Establish your mind and intelligence in Me. If you cannot accomplish this and find it difficult, give up your egoism and carry on activities that are moral and holy. If even this is too difficult, give up attachment to the fruits, the consequences of all your acts; offer them to Me as Krishna-arpanam. Offering your acts to Me should not be a mere vocal exercise. Take care that you do so, by word, by deed and by thought, mano-vak-kaya-karma, as they say.- Gītā Vahini, p. 187. Verse 12. śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānam viśishyate dhyānat karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram       Take note of this. The aspirant for grace must have before his mind the act and not its consequence, beneficial or otherwise. That is the reason why Gopala said that jñāna is superior to abhyāsā, dhyāna is superior to jñāna, and the giving up of attachment to the consequences of your acts is superior to dhyāna. Such nonattachment, Krishna said, will confer śāntih. - Gītā Vahini, p. 187       The Gītā says, śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj. Abhyāsā or practice is the crux of the problem. Through that, victory can be won. Concentration can be mastered in dhyāna and this will lead to disinterestedness in the results of one's actions, for the actions are not one's own, but God's. The results too are not one's; they are God's. When you become detached from the fruits of your actions, though intent on action (offering to the Lord your skill and energy), then, you attain peace of mind, prasanthi. If, however, you cultivate attachment to the things of the world, land and houses, bank balances and insignia of power, then attachment towards God weakens and concentration in dhyāna fails - Sathya Sai Speaks VII, p. 407 Verse 13-14. adveshthā sarva-bhūtānām maitrah karuna eva ca nirmamo nirahankārah sama-duhkha-sukhah kshamī santushthah satatam yogī yatātmā dridha-niścayah mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktah sa me priyah        See God in every being; and then, true sneha (affection, tenderness, love) will blossom. This type of true sneha can come only when you follow the advice of Krishna: "He who has no trace of hatred towards any creature, who is friendly towards all and compassionate, who is free from the bondage of 'I' and 'Mine', who takes pleasure and pain as equally welcome, and who is forbearing in spite of provocation ... "       These are the signs of true sneha, and it is only when you are on the godward journey along the nine stages of bhakti that you can attain this divine ideal of true friendship - Sanathana Sarathi, Sept. 1979, p. 167       "That is to say, you will have to rid yourself of the feelings of 'Mine' and 'I'. They are not distinct; the first springs from the second and both arise from ajñāna, the ignorance of the fundamental truth. For, once rid of ajñāna, the sense of 'I' and 'Mine' will not give trouble; they have no place in him. Hence, it is laid down that the aspirant for bhakti must possess santushthah satatam, contentment always. What does this mean? It implies contentment under all conditions, good health or illness, loss or profit, grief or joy. Whether one's wish is fulfilled or not, the mind should not lose equanimity and poise. - Gītā Vahini, p. 189       The Gītā says you must be adveshthā sarva-bhūtānām, without hatred to all beings; but, that is not enough. A wall has no hatred towards any being! But, is that the ideal? No. You must positively love all beings, actively love, actively engage yourself in acts of love. That alone can win the grace you crave for. - Sathya Sai Speaks VII, pp. 465-6 Verse 15. yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate ca yah harshāmarsha-bhayodvegair mukto yah sa ca me priyah       The mind loses balance if the slightest obstacle arises in the path it frames for itself. It is so fickle. Why, if the cup of coffee is not forthcoming in time, if you miss seeing two films in one week, if you could not squat before the radio both in the morning and the evening for long hours; if many such trifles are denied or disturbed, you feel overshadowed by discontent. Santushthah is the state of mind that is unaffected by the achievement or non-achievement of any wish, the happening or nonhappening of any event; the mind must be undisturbed, without excitement or disappointment - Gītā Vahini, p. 189-90 Verse 16. anapekshah śucir daksha udāsīno gata-vyathah sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktah sa me priyah Verse 17. yo na hrishyati na dveshthi na śocati na kānkshati śubhāśubha-parityāgī bhaktimān yah sa me priyah       The Gītā declares that though a person may have deep devotion to the Lord, he cannot be called a bhakta if he lives without regard to the commands of the Lord; that is, the dharma laid down in the śāstras, which embody His orders, revealed to saints and seers. It is in this sense that Krishna uses the word bhaktimān, when He declares in the Gītā, 'bhaktimān yah sa me priyah'. - Gītā Vahini, p. 180 Verse 18-19. samah śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoh śītoshna-sukha-duhkheshu samah sanga-vivarjitah  tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santushtho yena kenacit aniketah sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo narah Verse 20. ye tu dharmyāmritam idam yathoktam paryupāsate śraddadhānā mat-paramā bhaktās te 'tīva me priyāh       What a grand idea this sloka conveys! This is the concluding sloka of the series that gives the qualities one has to develop. It calls the entire group dharmyāmritam, the dharmic way to immortality! The Lord has declared therein that those who have these qualities, those who trust in Him as the only ultimate goal, those who are attached to Him single-mindedly are dearest and nearest to Him.       Note the expression dharmyāmritam used here. Ponder over it and draw inspiration from it. The nectar of the Lord's grace is deserved only by those who adhere to the Lord's dharma. Simple folk believe they have bhakti towards the Lord; but they do not pause to inquire whether the Lord has love towards them! People who pine to discover this are rather rare. That is really the true measure of spiritual success. - Dharma Vahini, p. 18           Contents|Links|Preface