Then Arjuna asked Him again:
“Who is to be considered higher: the one who is properly engaged in Your devotional service or the one who worships impersonal Brahman?”
Sri Bhagavan said:
“He who fixes his mind on My personal form and is always engaged in worshiping Me with great transcendental faith, is certainly the most advanced. Even those who meditate and wish to attain the unmanifested Brahman come to Me, but their path is arduous. On the contrary, I quickly free my devotees from the ocean of births and deaths.
“Dear Arjuna, if you wish to fix your mind in Me without ever deviating, then follow the regulating principles of bhakti-yoga; in this way you will develop the desire to reach Me. But if you cannot do that either, then try to act for Me. If this too is difficult for you, then give up the results of your activities. And if even that seems impractical to you, cultivate transcendental knowledge.”
Arjuna asked:
“O Hrishikesha, explain to me what renunciation (tyaga) and the order of renunciation (sannyasa) are.”
The Supreme Personality of God said:
“The cessation of those activities which have the sole purpose of satisfying one’s material desires is what the scholars call the renunciation order; and the abandonment of the results that come from them is what the sages call renunciation (tyaga).
“Everything should be done as if it were an obligation, without attachment and without expecting any result. You must never refrain from performing your prescribed duties, as such renunciation is conditioned by the influence of ignorance; if you act in such consciousness you are not touched from the reactions of sin.
“Only through devotional service can you realize Me as I really am, that is, the Supreme Personality of God. And when you are in full consciousness of Me through such devotion, you will enter My transcendental realm.
“So I have told you about the most confidential aspects of knowledge, which should not be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or who are victims of envy. Reflect on everything I have told you and then act as you see fit. Abandon all dharma and submit to Me. I will free you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.
“He who studies this sacred conversation of ours reveres Me with his intelligence, and if he listens with faith and without envy he will free himself from sinful reactions and will reach the higher planets.”
Arjuna said:
“O Acyuta, my confusion has vanished. Thanks to your mercy, I have regained my peace and am now free of doubt and ready to act according to your instructions.”
After seeing all this, Sanjaya spoke as follows:
“So, O Dhritarastra, by the mercy of Vyasa I listened to the conversation between the two great souls, Krishna and Arjuna. It was so wonderful that I feel my hair standing on end and sensations of ecstasy pervade my body; when the sublime form of Lord Krishna reappears before my eyes, my joy is more and more intense.
“Wherever there is Krishna, the Lord of all mystics, and Arjuna, the supreme archer, there certainly is opulence, victory, superhuman power and morality. This is my opinion.”
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 2”.
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