Gita for Youth - Moksha Yoga (Yoga of Emancipation) - Brahmavid

The Knower of Brahman - One who has achieved Perfection

Sri Krishna then describes the one who is eligible for renouncing all forms of actions. One who is unattached to everything, who has won over the self, i.e. has realized the Self, one who is above all passions and desires, obtains perfection in inaction through renunciation (of actions).

Sri Krishna further says, “Hear from Me now in brief,  Oh Arjuna, how such a perfect person, realizes the supreme being or the Brahman, which is the summum bonum of all knowledge. “

By means of pure intelligence and by controlling self with the aid of fortitude (i.e. by practicing the Sama, Dama etc.), by renouncing all objects of senses like sound etc. and by giving up on the passions like attachment and aversion one is able to progress along that path. He is also the one who has retired to a secluded spot, is moderate in food intake, controlled in speech, body and mind (i.e. never gives in to temptations and passions, not even in mind), firmly entrenched in the yoga of meditation (Chapter 6) and is possessed of dispassion. He has relinquished Ego, vanities (of power), pride, lust, anger, possessions, has become devoid of all possessiveness (“I” and “Mine”) and is tranquil. Such a person is established in the knowledge of the Brahman.

Such a tranquil soul, who has verily become like Brahman himself (as the saying goes, a knower of Brahman is Brahman itself), i.e. is above body consciousness and above the qualities of nature, neither has any sorrow, nor any desire. He is equal-minded to all beings, i.e. see the Self in every being and every being established in the Self of Brahman. He thus obtains the greatest devotion to the Lord.

This is a pivotal statement. A person who is established in Atman or the knowledge of Brahman obtaining the greatest devotion implies that devotion and knowledge, though fundamentally different paths, lead to the same outcome and one who is established in knowledge is also established in supreme devotion or para bhakti and vice versa. This is also the assertion of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. So far we have seen that Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga lead to the same result (Chapter 4 & 5). And now we know that Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga lead to the same outcome, thus unifying all these different paths into a harmonious one.  A true Jnani is also a Bhakta. A true selfless worker will come to possess both knowledge and devotion in the end.

“Through intense devotion, he is able to know Me (the Lord), just as I am, in the truest form. Thus knowing Me truly, He becomes assimilated in Me.”

Only a devotee of highest form can know the Lord truly. He reveals Himself to His devotee only, because with the devotee He shares a unique relationship. Brahman is devoid of attribute or form, while the Iswara, the Lord God is with attribute, but can be formless or with form depending on the devotee’s inclination. A devotee would like to enjoy the company of His personal God and therefore would like to see His form. Devotion is based on love and one cannot love the formless unless one can conjure an image or a symbol. Those symbols, in case of religions which do not believe in the forms or idols, are incarnations or great prophets, churches or mosques or synagogues, crosses, crescent moons and stars and so on. Only the devotee is able to understand the God in its entirety because a mere jnani will not understand how a formless god can assume forms. Since only a devotee is able to see the form he can get assimilated into his chosen form or Ishta through intense devotion.

“Even while performing all actions, by taking refuge in Me, he obtains the eternal and immutable place (in Me) through My grace.”

By obtaining the Lord, the devotee attains the supreme status. However a pure devotee never wants to become united with the Lord as he wants to keep a difference, merely for the sake of enjoying that relationship between him and the Lord. In the language of Sri Ramakrishna, a devotee does not want to become sugar, he wants to enjoy sugar (i.e. the sweetness of the nectar of love). In reality the devotee and the Lord are the same entity, the Lord only becomes His devotee to show the world the sweetness of the path of devotion. This is the eternal principle underlying the relationship between Krishna and Radha and other Gopis, who are the greatest devotees of Krishna.