महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिता: |
भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम् || 13||
mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛitim āśhritāḥ
bhajantyananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
mahā-ātmānaḥ—the great souls; tu—but; mām—Me; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; daivīm prakṛitim—divine energy; āśhritāḥ—take shelter of; bhajanti—engage in devotion; ananya-manasaḥ—with mind fixed exclusively; jñātvā—knowing; bhūta—all creation; ādim—the origin; avyayam—imperishable
Translation:
But the great-souled men, Ο Pārtha, who are endowed with the divine nature, worship Me with undisturbed minds, knowing that I am immutable and the origin of all beings.
Commentary:
In the 16th Discourse, Asura Prakriti and Daivi Prakriti are explained in full detail.
Those who take refuge in Divine nature are described as great souls (mahatmanah). They worship the Lord with unswerving minds, because they identify the Lord with two great attributes. (1) The Lord is the final cause of all beings. (2) He is imperishable. These two attributes are not to be found in any other thing or person. The Lord is the Ancient, beyond birth and death, and universal. Thus the great souls distinguish the Lord from all other material or superficial things. They are able to see clearly how everything is going through a process of change, whereas the eternal Lord remains changeless. Therefore their mind is ever contemplating the Lord with unswerving devotion.
Ananyamanasah: When the mind stops its wandering habit and rests in the Self, it is declared as unswerving mind (ananyamanasah). When the mind fully understands the transitoriness of the world and the eternal bliss of Atma, it ceases to run out towards sense objects. That is why the word knowing (Jnatva) is used here. One has faith in that which he knows. Then only the mind comes to rest there. It is dispassion (Vairagya). It is single-minded devotion to the Lord.
Whoever takes refuge in the Divine nature and understands the Lord as the imperishable, final cause and is devoted to him, is a mahatma (great soul). The title mahatma has no reference to caste, race or religion. Those who yield to the undivine and asuric nature are alpatmas (little souls).
Generally, the mind of the common man is like a fly which sits on pure sweetmeats for some time and then settles on some other filthy objects. The mind should be trained to sustain itself on Divine thoughts always. Mind thus being purified, takes the form of ‘chit’ (knowledge). That state is Moksha.
Question: How do those people who follow divine nature act?
Answer: Knowing the Lord to be imperishable and the final cause of all objects and beings, they worship Him with single-minded devotion.
Question: What is the nature of Paramatma?
Answer: (1) Imperishable, (2) final cause of all objects and beings.
Question: Who is a Mahatma?
Answer: He who takes refuge in Divine nature, understands the Lord’s state, and worships Him, is a Mahatma.
Question: How can one cultivate single-minded devotion to God?
Answer: By understanding His real nature – that He is the origin of all beings, the imperishable. He develops faith in Him as the only Reality, and by such faith his mind naturally comes to rest in Him only.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9 🔻 (34 Verses)
