Chapter 11 Shloka 55

मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो  मद्भक्त:   संगवर्जित:।

निर्वैर: सर्वभूतेषु य: स मामेति पाण्डव।।५५।।

Whosoever works for Me, depends on Me,

who is My devotee – devoid of attachment,

who is devoid of enmity towards all beings,

such a one attains Me.

Chapter 11 Shloka 55

मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो  मद्भक्त:   संगवर्जित:।

निर्वैर: सर्वभूतेषु य: स मामेति पाण्डव।।५५।।

Whosoever works for Me, depends on Me, who is My devotee – devoid of attachment, who is devoid of enmity towards all beings, such a one attains Me.

Expanding on the attributes of a devotee the Lord says,

1. Such a one is a servitor of Lord Ram – of the Supreme Lord.

2. All his actions are for the Lord.

3. He acts as the Lord Himself would have done, had He been in his place.

4. Such a servitor utilises those qualities, which are a proof of his Master.

5. He performs all deeds in the name of the Lord.

6. The attributes of the Supreme are predominant in his life.

7. Such a one has gifted his body to his Lord.

8. Now the Lord Himself reigns in the heart of such a one.

9. The Lord is witness to all his deeds.

10  The Lord is his sole support.

11. He is a devotee of the Lord and is ever attached to Him.

12. His faith rests only in the Lord.

13. Such a one will even sacrifice his life to ensure that he does not tarnish the name of his Lord.

14. The qualities of love, forgiveness, compassion, alleviation of another’s sorrow etc. form the support of the devotee’s existence, since these are the qualities of the Lord.

15. Simplicity and humility are his natural attributes.

16. Such a one ever adheres to his duty because that is where the Lord abides.

17. Yagya is the pith of such a one’s essential nature because:

­­–  his Beloved abides in yagya;

­­–  yagya is the nature of his divine Beloved;

­­–  the Lord Himself is the Sovereign of all deeds performed in the spirit of yagya.

And what else can such a one do when all he does is in the Lord’s name? His attachment is with the Lord, then how can any other attachment remain? The mind is only one. Only one can dwell therein. It is only when the Lord vacates such a one’s mind that anyone else can dwell within.

1. When the sadhak performs any deeds, his witness is the Lord.

2. When he meditates, only the Lord remains before him.

3. All his deeds are permeated with the thought of the Lord.

The body, which was once his own, is now ruled by his Lord. How can he become attached elsewhere? From where can he produce another mind, which could encompass anything other than the Lord?

What does the devotee know of rancour and hatred? Lord Ram never hated anyone and now He Himself is the owner of the devotee’s heart and mind – He is Love Itself. Where forgiveness, compassion, service, duty and yagya abound, where love flows in abundance, how can hostility ever flourish in such an atmosphere?

The Lord says, “Such a one attains Me.” In actual fact, the Lord Himself will take residence in the body of such a devotee.

The devoted sadhak’s attitude towards the Lord’s Cosmic Form

What should a sadhak’s attitude be towards the Lord’s Cosmic Form? What are the benefits of that universal form to the sadhak?

Little one, the Lord has Himself said earlier that, “Such exalted souls are extremely rare, who realise that ‘All this is Vaasudeva’.” It is only after many lifetimes that a sadhak attains such an elevated state. Revealing His cosmic form, the Lord says, “I am all this.” When He spoke of His divine manifestations in the Vibhuti Paad, the Lord had similarly proved that He Himself constituted all the qualities of the world.

For a sadhak who is truly filled with devotion:

1. The Lord’s words will ring true.

2. The Lord’s words will not remain mere rhetoric – they will become commandments.

3. It will be easy to believe the Lord’s words.

4. The entire creation will, upon hearing the Lord’s words, at once be transformed into a manifestation of the Lord Himself.

5. Thereafter, he will believe each one to be the Atma embodied and will hate nobody.

6. He will never harm anyone, even in thought.

7. The Lord has Himself stated, “He who knows Me to be Supreme, will perform all acts as My instrument and will become devoid of attachment with his own body. He will be free of enmity towards all beings.”

The practice that ensues upon knowing the Lord’s Cosmic Form

The attitude of such a sadhak towards the world will be one of love, compassion, magnanimity, and sympathy. He will ever endeavour to alleviate the sorrows of the other.

The sadhak will then no longer be egoistic about his superiority because if all is the Lord, then both the Monarch and his subject are equal. The learned Pandit and the lowly untouchable are equal for him. Such a one endures the pride of others as the Lord’s pride and tolerates it with an impartial mind. The sadhak does not consider himself to be superior to anybody because he knows that in the eyes of the Atma, all are one. All qualities also belong to the Lord, therefore all are one.

Perceiving the universe with this impartiality, such a one is established in equanimity. However, this equanimity does not breed a similarity in his interaction with different people. His behaviour is different in accordance with the different attributes of others, but all are equal in his eyes because all are part of That undifferentiated Atma.

All are forms of the Lord; practice this first in your own home. Your attachment and feelings of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ will be eradicated immediately and you will instantly give up any rights over others. However, you will give everyone rights over you, knowing that each one is a manifestation of the Lord Himself. You will thus continually love and serve your family.

When someone seeks your opinion, you will give the appropriate opinion fearlessly, knowing that the seeker is also a manifestation of the Supreme. Thereafter you will endure with impartiality whatsoever comes your way – fame or calumny, knowing these too to be a gift of that Divine One. If anyone defames you or inflicts injury on you, you may tell that person off in an unequivocal manner – yet, you will not let any grudge permeate your mind, knowing that each action of every being is indeed instigated by the Lord Himself.

Little one, Arjuna trembled fearfully when he witnessed the Lord’s fearsome form. The true sadhak is witness to that same terrifying situation, yet knowing it to be the Lord’s gift, he develops an unusual capacity to endure all negativity.

Little one, having become acquainted with this vast Cosmic Form of the Lord:

1. The sadhak begins to perceive the Lord in all.

2. The qualities of the divine begin to spring forth within the sadhak.

3. The sadhak becomes a gunatit and is unaffected by all qualities – his own as well as those of others. He accepts all as forms of the Lord and thus blames nobody.

4. How can one who perceives the Lord’s omnipresence, ever be influenced by his own qualities?

5. Such a person leaves his body self and indeed his entire existence to destiny. Knowing each being of the universe to be the Lord Himself, he serves all incessantly.

6. Knowing himself to be the poorest of the poor and knowing the other to be the Lord Himself – Narayana Himself, such a one serves the other. His service one day becomes his unswerving, selfless yagya.

This is selfless worship – this is the selfless glorification of the Lord, and indeed union with the Supreme is inherent in such an attitude.