Verse-65
Chapter 18 — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga
Verse 65
🕉 Original Sanskrit Shloka
manmanā bhava madbhakto madyājī māṁ namaskuru
māmevaiṣyasi satyam te pratijāne priyo'si me
🕉 English Translation
Ho bhakt mera, lagaa mujh mein mann,
Kar puja meri mujhe hee naman.
Tu pyara mera payega mujhko hee,
Hai pratigya sacchi yeh tujhse meri.
📜 Translation
English
Become My mind, become My devotee, be My adorer, bow yourself to Me. By doing this you shall come to Me; this is My true pledge to you as you are extremely dear to Me.
This is the extremely enamouring flower spreading its fragrance all around in the fragrant and beautiful garden of the Gita! So loving and so divine, whose fragrance has never waned and will never wane ever. How is it possible also, where the Lord Himself has infused His divine and inexhaustible love in each and every word of the verse. Experience this divine fragrance.
The Blessed Lord's overflowing love for the being! Observe this wondrous expression of Lord Shri Krishna. It immerses one totally in His intense emotions. To read the verses of the Gita is another thing but to see the Lord reflected in the verses itself and in accordance with emotions expressed in the verses to feel the emotional expressions of the Lord, is the state of joy. Feel this and then the Gita will become effortlessly the song of life. In this verse, it is felt as if the Lord desires to make His absolute intimacy felt by the being. O Being! You are mine, live as mine and dedicate your mind to Me, offer your adorations to Me and prostrate before Me.
The being in any case belongs to the Lord, due to ignorance and delusion he considers himself as belonging to the world. He has maintained the relationship of me and mine with the world. One has to do away with this belief born of ignorance. I am of the Lord and He is mine–this spirit should be maintained firmly and this means becoming the Lord's devotee.
This belief should not be a superficial one. Nothing can be accomplished by simply uttering these words that I am of the Lord and He is mine! One has to expel from the mind all egoism and clingings. In the inmost self this faith should be firmly entrenched and there should be no place for any other thought. Everywhere and always, constantly one should dwell in the Divine spirit! This is what is implied by fixing the mind on the Lord. The mind is not a separate organ by itself; it is just a flow of thoughts. In the thoughts there should not be any place for desire, wrath, greed, attachment, egoism, jealousy, malice and useless worries. The sole dweller in the thought should be the Lord.
If the Lord is constantly in our thoughts then in the actions, his influence will naturally be felt. All actions should be done in the Divine spirit–this is the true worship of the Lord. To do service of the Lord's idol in the form of worship, beautification, salutations with a lighted fire lamp and food offerings to Him, and by invoking the Supreme by one's emotions, to seat Him on the throne of the heart, to perform mental worship feelingfully by adoration with a lighted lamp and food offerings is good, this too is the worship of the Supreme, but in the inspiration from the Gita the worship of the Lord is all-embracing. By keeping the actions free from arrogance, yearnings and desire for fruit, by accepting the Divine power as the very foundation of action and by accepting as the Lord's grace whatever is gained, all actions become the worship of the Divine. The spirit of 'madhyaji' should be made part of the life in this manner.
The simple meaning of 'mam namaskuru' is this–to offer adoration to the Lord by bowing down before Him or prostrating before Him. It is essential too. To bow is the means to gain, to bow down or to offer salutations is faith; it is an expression of gratefulness and duty too. By saluting one's greatness is not diminished but it grows. To offer adoration at the feet of the Divine, the feet of the teacher or even towards the divine scriptures is an essential tradition in conformity with it to bring and accept their essence in life is the spiritual aspect. One should be conscious that salutation should not just become a mere outward show or formality. It should be with full dedication, full faith and total surrender of ego, 'I' am nothing, there is nothing which is 'mine'.
If all these are present, then the Lord gives a straightforward assurance 'mamevaisyasi' i.e. I will be attained. This assurance also is so exhilarating–'satyam te pratijane priyo'si me'. This truly do I promise to you, as you are most dear to Me. So sweet, inspiring and full of intimacy is this indication! That the devotee should consider the Lord to be dear to him is good. What delight it would be when the Lord calls the devotee to be extremely dear to Him. Develop the dedication to bring this sweet imagination into your life and also pray that this belief may come true in your life.