Chapter 12 verse 18-19
“Those, who are alike to friend and foe, equipoised in honor and dishonor, cold and heat, joy and sorrow, and are free from all unfavorable association; those who take praise and reproach alike, who are given to silent contemplation, content with what comes their way, without attachment to the place of residence, whose intellect is firmly fixed in Me, and who are full of devotion to Me, such persons are very dear to Me.”
Who are Bhagwan’s true devotees? Continuing on the qualities which mark true devotees from last few slokas:
25. Those don’t meet a single stranger, friend or foe since all beings are equal to them. Their sense of self does not arise from interactions with others. They realize the world provides experiences which are a projection of their own mind and intellect.
26. Those who don’t react to either honor or dishonor since it happens only to the body, mind and intellect and they have surrendered those instruments to the divine
27. They don’t let their bodily sufferings affect them. If afflicted by bodily disease, they take it in their stride as just part of what they need to go through as consequence of past karma. Countless examples of this state are Ramakrishna paramahamsa, ramana maharishi etc.,
28. They don’t react to joy or sorrow as well. Since their mind and intellect again are residing in divine not worldly vicissitudes.
29. They always engage in satsang- good company and shun bad company
30. They take praise and scorn alike since they realize that those are directed at the body, mind, intellect complex and identifies the person not the soul which is already dear to Krishna
31. They remain mostly in silent contemplation since words are not superior to silence to comprehend the Ultimate
32. They don’t pursue worldly things and are very content with what comes their way. Adi Shankara urged us to treat hunger as a disease and treat it. Kabir asked that he only get enough to satisfy his hunger and feed the sadhu who comes calling for alms-nothing more!
33. They are homeless since they consider their body as well as the material home they reside in as temporary existences and don’t attach themselves to both possessions. Several examples of true bhaktas exist in sanatana dharma history. Maharaja Bali, Kannapa nayanar, Ekalavya, Bhodendra swamigal etc., come to mind
34. Their buddhi-intellect is already surrendered to divine
35. Finally they are steadfast in their devotion to the Supreme
These are the 35 behaviors of those who are very dear to Krishna. They are the darling of Krishna and their true devotees.
No comments:
Post a Comment