Bhagavad Gita 14.26
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 26 of 27
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते । स गुणान् समतीत्यैतान् ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥
māṃ ca yo'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate | sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate ||
Whoever serves Me with unswerving avyabhicāriṇī bhakti transcends all three guṇas and becomes fit for Brahman.
Word by word (3)
- māṃ ca yaḥ avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate
- — whoever (yaḥ) serves (sevate) Me (māṃ) with avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yoga — avyabhicāra = non-straying, unswerving, exclusive; the devotion that never wavers toward any other object
- sa guṇān samatītya etān
- — he, having completely transcended (samatītya = thoroughly crossing over; sama + atī = fully beyond) these guṇas
- brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
- — becomes fit/ready (kalpate) for Brahman-becoming (brahma-bhūya = the state of becoming/being Brahman) — the highest possible destination
Whoever serves Me with unswerving, exclusive devotion (avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yoga) — that person, having transcended these three guṇas completely, becomes fit for becoming Brahman.
A modern analogy
avyabhicāriṇī bhakti is like a laser versus a scattered light bulb. The scattered bulb (ordinary devotion mixed with other desires) lights up the room a little. The laser (avyabhicāra — one-pointed) cuts through everything. This is why it transcends the guṇas: all energy of consciousness is directed toward the One without remainder — nothing left over for the guṇas to grab.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
And he who serves Me with unfailing Devotion of Love, he, crossing beyond those three guṇas, is fitted for becoming Brahman. [1]
And he who serves Me with unswerving devotion, he, going beyond the Gunas, is fitted for becoming Brahman. [4]
And he who worships me with unswerving devotion crosses over these qualities and is fit for assimilation with the Brahman. [9]
He who worships Me with unswerving devotion, he crosses over these qualities and is fit to become Brahman. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
Krishna declares: 'I am the ground of Brahman — the Immortal, the Immutable, eternal Dharma, and perfect Bliss.'
The Lord dwells in the heart of all beings — whirling all, as if mounted on a machine, by His māyā.
Which devotees are best in yoga — those who worship You with devotion, or those who worship the Imperishable Unmanifest?
Those who worship the Imperishable Unmanifest — all-pervading, inconceivable, kūṭastha, immovable, eternal, stable...
Arjuna asks: what are the signs of the guṇa-transcendent? What is his conduct? How does he cross all three?
Verse 26 of 27 · back to Chapter 14