Chapter 36

“Arjuna said, ‘Of those worshippers who, constantly devoted, adore thee,and those who (meditate) on thee as the Immutable and Unmanifest, who arebest acquainted with devotion.’

“The Holy One said, ‘Fixing (their) mind on me, they that constantlyadore me, being endued (besides) with the highest faith, are deemed by meto be the most devoted. They, however, who worship the Immutable, theUnmanifest, the All-pervading, the Inconceivable, the Indifferent, theImmutable, the Eternal, who, restraining the entire group of the senses,are equal-minded in respect of all around and are engaged in the good ofall creatures, (also) attain to me. The trouble is the greater for thosewhose minds are fixed on the Unmanifest; for the path to the Unmanifestis hard to find by those that are embodied. They (again) who, reposingall action on me (and) regarding me as their highest object (ofattainment), worship me, meditating on me with devotion undirected toanything else, of them whose minds are (thus) fixed on me, I, withoutdelay, become the deliverer from the ocean of (this) mortal world. Fixthy heart on me alone, place thy understanding on me, Hereafter thenshalt thou dwell in me. (There is) no doubt (in this).[258] If however,thou art unable to fix thy heart steadily on me, then, O Dhananjaya,strive to obtain me by devotion (arising) from continuous application. Ifthou beest unequal to even (this) continuous application, then letactions performed for me be thy highest aim. Even performing all thy actsfor my sake, thou wilt obtain perfection. If even this thou art unable todo, then resorting to devotion in me, (and) subduing thy soul, abandonthe fruit of all actions. Knowledge is superior to application (indevotion); meditation is better than knowledge; the abandonment of thefruit of reaction (is better) than meditation, and tranquillity (results)immediately from abandonment. He who hath no hatred for any creature, whois friendly and compassionate also, who is free from egoism, who hath novanity, attachment, who is alike in pleasure and pain, who is forgiving,contented, always devoted, of subdued, soul, firm of purpose, with heartand understanding fixed on me, even he is dear to me. He through whom theworld is not troubled, (and) who is not troubled by the world, who isfree from joy, wrath, fear and anxieties, even he is dear to me. Thatdevotee of mine who is unconcerned, pure, diligent, unconnected (withworldly objects), and free from distress (of mind), and who renouncethevery action (for fruit), even he is dear to me.[259] He who hath no joy,no aversion, who neither grieveth nor desireth, who renounceth both goodand evil, (and) who is full of faith in me, even he is dear to me. He whois alike to friend and foe, as also in honour and dishonour, who is alikein cold and heat, (and pleasure and pain), who is free from attachment,to whom censure and praise are equal, who is taciturn, who is contentedwith anything that cometh (to him), who is homeless, of steady mind andfull of faith, even that man is dear to me. They who resort to thisrighteousness (leading to) immortality which hath been (already)declared,–those devotees full of faith and regarding me as the highestobject (of their acquisition) are the dearest to me.’