Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verse 8

English Translation

Fix the mind on Me alone; in Me alone rest the intellect. There is no doubt that hereafter you will dwell in Me alone. [For the sake of metre, eva and atah (in the second line of the verse) are not joined together (to form evatah).]

Detailed Commentary

।।12.8।। Commentary – ‘Mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya’ – According to Bhagavān, those alone are supreme yogīs (uttama yogavettā) who have experienced their eternal union (nitya yoga) with Bhagavān. To enable all aspirants to become supreme yogīs, Bhagavān, using Arjuna as a medium, instructs: fix your intellect (buddhi) upon Me, considering Me as the highest (Parama Śreṣṭha) and the ultimate attainable (Parama Prāpaṇīya); and fix your mind (mana) upon Me, considering Me as your Supreme Beloved (Parama Priyatama). Our natural state (nitya yoga) is in Bhagavān, but due to our mind and intellect not being absorbed in Bhagavān, we do not experience our natural, eternal relationship with Him. This is why Bhagavān says: fix your mind and intellect in Me; then you will dwell in Me (which is already the case), meaning you will experience the natural state of your being. To fix the mind and intellect means that the mind, with which a person repeatedly contemplates the world due to attachment (mamatā), infatuation (āsakti), desire for enjoyment (sukha bhoga kī icchā), and hope, and the intellect, with which one determines good and bad in the world, should now be withdrawn from the world and fixed in Bhagavān. One should firmly resolve with the intellect: 'I belong only to Bhagavān, and Bhagavān alone is mine. For me, Bhagavān alone is paramount, the highest, and the ultimate attainable.' Such a firm resolution will end worldly contemplation and its perceived importance, leaving only the relationship with Bhagavān. This is what it means to fix the mind and intellect in Bhagavān. In fixing the mind and intellect, the fixing of the intellect is primary. In any matter, first the intellect makes a determination, and then the mind accepts that determination. In spiritual practice (sādhanā) too, the intellect is primary in setting the goal, and then the mind becomes primary. Even for individuals whose goal is not the attainment of Bhagavān, their mind and intellect can be directed towards whatever they wish. By directing the mind and intellect in that direction, they may achieve siddhis (supernatural powers), but without the goal of attaining Bhagavān, Bhagavān cannot be attained. Therefore, the aspirant should firmly resolve with the intellect that the attainment of Bhagavān is the sole objective. There is great power in this resolve. The biggest obstacle to such a resolute intellect (niścayātmikā buddhi) is the pleasure derived from enjoyment (bhoga) and accumulation (saṅgraha). It is the hope of pleasure that drives human tendencies to seek wealth, honor, and praise, thus making the intellect multi-faceted (Gītā 2.41). However, if there is a singular resolve for Bhagavān’s attainment, such a resolve possesses such purity and power that Bhagavān is willing to consider even the most wicked person a saint. The resolve ‘I belong to Bhagavān alone, and Bhagavān alone is mine’ appears to occur in the intellect (from the aspirant’s perspective), but this is not truly the case. Even when such a resolve manifests in the intellect, the aspirant may not know that they are themselves already situated in Bhagavān. Even if they do not know this, it remains the reality. The sign of being ‘oneself’ situated in Bhagavān is that this relationship is never forgotten. If it were merely a matter of the intellect, it could be forgotten, but the aspirant never forgets the matter of ‘I’ (svayam). For example, ‘I am married’ is a resolve of ‘my being’ (maipana), not just the intellect. Therefore, one never forgets this fact. If someone resolves that ‘I am the disciple of a certain Guru,’ this resolve remains steadfast within them even without any practice to maintain this connection. The illuminator and foundation of ‘I’ (one’s true nature, svarūpa) is consciousness (chetan) and eternal (nitya). Therefore, the self has no connection with the perishable, inert world. The self has an inherently established (svataḥsiddha) connection with Bhagavān. Recognizing this connection is experiencing the reality of ‘I’. Upon recognizing this connection, the mind and intellect will spontaneously become absorbed in Bhagavān. ‘Nivasiṣyasi mayyeva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ’ – Here, ‘ata ūrdhvam’ implies that the moment the mind and intellect are completely absorbed in Bhagavān—that is, when nothing of 'mine' (āpanāpana) remains in the mind and intellect—at that very moment, Bhagavān’s attainment will occur. It is not that there will be any delay in time after the mind and intellect are fully absorbed for Bhagavān’s attainment. Bhagavān says, “O Arjuna! By fixing your mind and intellect in Me, you will dwell in Me; there is no doubt about this.” Beyond fixing the mind and intellect in Bhagavān, there is no other duty for the aspirant. By fixing the mind in Bhagavān, worldly thoughts will cease, and by fixing the intellect in Bhagavān, the aspirant will be free from dependence on the world. With no worldly thoughts or dependence of any kind, there will be only contemplation of Bhagavān and reliance on Bhagavān, which will lead to the attainment of Bhagavān. Here, along with the mind (manas), the 'Chitta' and along with the intellect (buddhi), the 'Aham' (ego) should also be understood; because without the Chitta and Aham being absorbed in Bhagavān, the statement 'you will dwell in Me' would not be meaningful. This Jīvātmā is the direct (sākṣāt) part of the one and only Lord (Paramātmā) of the entire creation. Yet, it considers a trivial part of this creation (body, senses, mind, intellect, etc.) as its own and draws them towards itself (Gītā 15.7), meaning it becomes their master. It (the Jīvātmā) completely forgets that these mind, intellect, etc., are also parts of the collective creation (samaṣṭi sṛṣṭi) of that very Paramātmā. Forgetting that 'I am a part of that Paramātmā and eternally situated in Him,' it begins to assume a separate existence. For example, a foolish son of a millionaire, separating from his father, asserts ownership over one or two rooms of his vast mansion and considers it his progress. But when he realizes his mistake, he finds no difficulty in becoming the heir of the millionaire. With this aim, Bhagavān says: 'When you offer these individual (vyaṣṭi) mind and intellect to Me (which are inherently Mine, as I am the master of the collective mind and intellect), you will spontaneously be freed from them (and, being truly a part of Me and situated in Me from the very beginning) you will undoubtedly dwell in Me.' In the seventh chapter, verse four, Bhagavān described His lower (aparā) nature (prakṛti) as divided into eight parts: the five great elements, mind, intellect, and ego. In the fifth verse, He described His higher (parā) nature, the Jīvabhūtā, as distinct from this. Bhagavān referred to both these natures as His own; thus, Bhagavān is the master of both. Among these two, the 'aparā prakṛti,' being a product of inert nature, is inferior, while the 'parā prakṛti,' being a part of the conscious Paramātmā, is superior (Gītā 15.7). However, the parā prakṛti (Jīva) mistakenly considers the aparā prakṛti as its own and for its own sake, thereby becoming bound to it and entering the cycle of birth and death (Gītā 13.21). Therefore, in this verse, Bhagavān is saying: remove your sense of ownership from the aparā prakṛti in the form of mind and intellect, and consider them as Mine, which they truly are. By thus offering the mind and intellect to Me, the mistakenly assumed connection with them will be severed, and you will experience your natural, eternal relationship with Me. Special Note Regarding the Attainment of Bhagavān The attainment of Bhagavān does not occur through any specific means (sādhanas). The reason is that practices like meditation (dhyāna) rely on the body, mind, intellect, and senses. The body, mind, intellect, senses, etc., being products of Prakṛti, are inert objects. Conscious Bhagavān cannot be purchased by inert objects; because all the substances of Prakṛti combined can never be equal to the conscious Paramātmā. Worldly objects are obtained only by performing actions (karma, puruṣārtha); therefore, the aspirant naturally assumes that the attainment of Bhagavān also comes through actions. Hence, regarding Bhagavān's attainment, they think that Bhagavān will be attained through the sādhanas performed by them. Reading and hearing stories in Itihāsa and Purāṇas—such as Manu-Śatarūpā, Pārvatī, etc., attaining their chosen deity (Iṣṭa) through penance (tapasya)—leaves an impression on the aspirant's inner being that Bhagavān is attained only through sādhanas, and this belief gradually strengthens. However, it is not actually the case that Bhagavān is attained only through sādhanas. Where Bhagavān appears to be attained through sādhanas like tapasya, it is also due to the complete severance of the assumed connection with inertness, and not by the sādhanas themselves. The meaningfulness of sādhanas lies only in abandoning what is not sādhan (the assumed connection with inertness). Bhagavān is spontaneously attained by everyone, always; but His direct experience (pratyakṣa anubhūti) occurs only when the assumed connection with inertness is completely relinquished. Therefore, the attainment of Bhagavān is not through inertness, but rather through the renunciation of inertness (severance of connection). Hence, those aspirants who believe in attaining Bhagavān through the power of their sādhanas are greatly mistaken. Not understanding this secret—that the meaningfulness of sādhanas lies only in causing the renunciation of inertness—and becoming attached to sādhanas and relying on them, keeps the aspirant's connection with inertness intact. As long as there is even the slightest reverence for inertness in the heart, the attainment of Bhagavān is difficult. Therefore, the aspirant should completely sever the connection with inertness with the help of sādhanas. The connection with inertness is easily broken by sādhanas performed with the sole aim of attaining Bhagavān.