CHAPTER XII-BHAKTI YOGA(YOGA OF DEVOTION)

After revealing His Universal form to Arjuna, Sree Bhagavan concluded ChapterXI with an assurance that any one who is devoted to Him and performs all actions on His behalf, without attachment and is free from enmity or malice towards any being; such a person will surely attain Him.On hearing these words, Arjuna's mind gets slightly confused as whether he should worship the Lord in His manifest form with all other attributes or in the un-manifest form of Supreme Reality without attributes.In order to clear this confusion Arjuna asks :-

Oh! Lord! There are devotees like me who keep their minds constantly fixed in You and worship You as Supreme God, having a form and other divine attributes .There are yet others who prefer to worship You as the indestructible, un-manifest Supreme Reality.Of these, who, according to You has a better understanding of Yoga(union with You)? (XII-1)
Sree Bhagavan said:-Arjuna! Those devotees who constantly abide in Me with their minds solely reposed in Me and worship Me with ardent faith and love; they according to Me are definitely the best among Yogis.(XII-2)
However, such of the devotees who keep their senses fully under control, seeing Me present in all beings ,view every one on an equal footing, and worships Me as the indestructible, indefinable, un-manifest,omnipresent , changeless and immovable Supreme Reality; they too will come to me(XII-3,4)
But they who seek to worship the un-manifest Reality will have to bear greater strain because it is very difficult for body-conscious people to conceive or realise the Unmanifest.(XII-5)

On the other hand, in the case of devotees who depending solely on Me and surrendering all their actions unto Me,worship Me and constantly meditate on Me with single pointed devotion, with their minds totally absorbed in Me ; I Myself come down quickly and uplift them from the fathomless ocean of birth, death and miseries.(XII-6,7)

Therefore, concentrate your mind exclusively on Me, and fix your intellect also in Me; you will thereafter, abide in Me only at all times. There is no doubt about it.If, however, you find it difficult to concentrate your mind on Me constantly, try to do it by repeated practice.If you find yourself unable to pursue regular practice, then leave it and start working for Me. This is very easy to follow. Just think of Me before starting any work that you do in your daily life. Even by doing work for Me, you can attain perfection. If, however, you feel that it would be difficult to think of Me always at the time starting a work, there is still another method which is the easiest. Just do your work and relinquish your claim on its result forthwith; not even think that there is a result for your action and you are its claimant.This renunciation, does not involve any special effort on your part. You must attune your mind at least to follow this simple method. Having a basic knowledge of the Self is always better than mechanical practice of concentration; practice, backed by knowledge will make concentration more effective and lead to successful meditation . But renunciation of the fruits of all actions is superior to meditation because , it brings immediate peace into your spirit.(XII-8 to12)
One who does not hate any living creature; is friendly and compassionate to all creatures; is free from the delusions of 'I' and 'mine'; accepts pleasure and pain with equanimity; is forgiving by nature; ever-contented, self-controlled and constantly united with Me in meditation; has a firm resolve to reach Me;and has dedicated his mind and intellect to Me; such a devotee is dear to Me.(XI-13 ,14)
One who neither causes any disturbance to the world nor allows himself to be disturbed by the world; is free from joy,envy, fear and anxiety; that devotee is dear to Me.(XI-15)
One who is free from wants, is pure in body and spirit, is competent to tackle any situation, indifferent to all distractions, free from all worries, and has no feeling of doer-ship in whatever he does; such a devotee is dear to Me(XII-16)
One who does not rejoice in what is favourable nor hate what is unfavourable; neither grieves nor desires, refrains from doing evil actions and renounces the results of good actions; such a devotee is dear to Me.(XII-17)
One who is friend of all and enemy to none; indifferent to honour and insult, heat and cold , pleasure and pain: free from attachment;takes praise and blame equally;controls his speech; is content with whatever he gets; his home is everywhere and nowhere; his mind is constantly fixed in Me and his heart is full of devotion; such a devotee is dear to Me.(XII-18,19)
This nectar of pious wisdom that I have taught you will lead everyone who partakes of it to immortality.Those who practise this with utmost faith and devotion, taking Me as their highest aim of life and reposing their heart and soul in Me ; they are the devotees who are exceedingly dear to Me.(XII-20)
Thus ends the Twelfth Chapter of Sreemad Bhagavad Gita entitled Bhakti Yoga(Yoga of Devotion)