12.1
Arjuna said, “Which devotees practice the more perfect yoga, those who worship you as a personal God, or those who seek to know your unmanifested nature?”
12.2
Lord Krishna said:
Those whose mind is fixed on My Divine Form, who worship Me always with sincerity and faith, are more successful in yoga.
12.3 / 12.4
But those who earnestly seek to know the Unmanifested that lies beyond the senses, the imperishable, indefinable, all-pervading, unthinkable, unchanging, immovable Absolute Truth, by restraining the senses, by viewing all things with an equal eye, and by finding joy in the happiness of others — these too will find Me.
12.5
However, for those whose minds are fixed on the unmanifested, impersonal aspect of the Supreme, the path to Self-Realization is more troublesome. It is difficult for embodied souls to envision and devote themselves to that which has no image.
12.6 / 12.7
But for those who worship Me, who surrender all actions to Me, who are devoted to Me without wavering, who meditate upon Me with one-pointed focus, who regard Me as the supreme goal — these souls I shall swiftly rescue from the turbulent ocean of mortal life and death.
12.8
Fix your mind upon Me alone. Surrender your thoughts to Me, and there is no doubt you will come to live in Me.
12.9
If you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then faithfully practice bhakti yoga — the yoga of devotion. In this way you will develop the desire to come to Me.
12.10
If you are unable to follow the practices of bhakti yoga, then dedicate all your actions to Me. Let this be your devotional method and you shall attain spiritual perfection.
12.11
If you are not capable of working for Me in devotion, then at least try to be self-controlled and give up the fruits of your actions.
12.12
With renunciation of the fruits of action comes peace of mind. If your practice is only mechanical, however, it is better to seek knowledge. Better yet, focus on meditation.
12.13 / 12.14
Indeed, one who is a friend to all beings, who hates no one, who claims nothing as his, who is free of false ego, who is forgiving, who remains equally poised in both pleasure and pain, who is resolute, content, self-controlled, steady in meditation, and whose mind and intellect are fixed firmly on Me — such a one is a devotee, and is dear to Me.
12.15
He who neither disturbs the world nor is disturbed by it — who is free of envy, fear, anxiety and elation — he is dear to Me.
12.16
He who is self-sufficient, who expects nothing, who is pure, skillful, indifferent, untroubled, and free of self-interest in all undertakings — he is dear to Me.
12.17
He who neither rejoices nor grieves, nor despairs nor desires, who is equally unmoved by both auspicious and inauspicious fortunes, is dear to Me.
12.18 / 12.19
One who is compassionate to friend and foe, who is equally poised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, who is unattached to the things of the world, who enjoys silence, who when being praised or censured remains the same, who is content with anything or nothing, who is at home wherever he is, who has a steady mind filled with devotion — such a one is very dear to Me.
12.20
Truly, those who follow righteously the immortal dharma of devotion, who are imbued with earnestness and faith, who focus with one-pointed intent on Me as the supreme goal, such as these are very, very dear to Me.