Qualities for a Devotee and Knowledge

Devotee Part-1

Krishna says, “Those devotees are very dear to Me who do not hate any being, who are friendly and compassionate, who are nir-mama (sans-I) and nir-ahankaar (sans -I am doer), who are balanced in pain and pleasure (sama-dukh-sukh) and forgiving (kshami), who are ever-content, self-controlled yogi, having firm conviction, and who have their mind and intellect dedicated to Me” (12.13 and 12.14).

At the outset, this appears to run contrary to Krishna’s earlier assurance that none is dweshya (hateful) and none is priya (dear) to Him (9.29). While His blessings are available to everyone like rain, possessing the aforementioned qualities is like keeping our bowl upright.

‘Not hating anyone’ is at the core of the Bhagavad Gita. Earlier Krishna advised to perform karmas (actions) by dropping hatred (5.3). When hatred becomes a part of us, shedding it becomes painful as it makes us lose a part of ourselves. It’s like removing a harmful cancerous tumor, the removal of which will still cause pain to us.

On the other hand, it is essential to drop hatred as it drives our behaviour and actions. ‘Forgiveness’ is the best antidote for hatred. Forgiveness requires courage and inculcating samatva (equanimity) provides that courage. Samatva is not merely treating people as equal but also realising that we too possess the same negative qualities like greed and anger suppressed within us. Our aversion arises not only from what we see in them, but from what we are unwilling to acknowledge in ourselves.

Krishna earlier said that nir-mama and nir-ahankaar is the path for peace (2.71). Similarly, ‘ever content’ is another foundational principle in the Gita. Essentially, when one quality is attained, others will follow automatically as they are interconnected. It’s about identifying one of these traits that suits us and mastering it at the existential level.

Devotee Part-2

Krishna says, “A devotee who doesn’t agitate (udveg) the world and who is not agitated by the world, who is free from pleasure, jealousy, fear and anxiety; who is free from expectations, pure, skillful, neutral to circumstances, free from selfishness in all undertakings –is dear to Me” (12.15 and 12.16). ‘Not getting agitated and not agitating others’ is the highest form of living.

Krishna earlier answered the question of why we get agitated. He said that the polarities of pain and pleasure (dukh-sukh) are generated in us when senses meet sense objects like when ears hear our praise or criticism. He advised us to learn to ignore them (polarities) as they are anitya (impermanent) (2.14). These polarities are nothing but the agitations we go through.

In our daily lives, agitation works like the game of ‘passing the buck’. For example, we receive agitation from a superior in the workplace and pass it on to some junior or to a family member at home. But Krishna says neither to take agitation nor give it. This is certainly a challenging task.

Krishna gave the example of the ocean and rivers and assured that one attains peace when one remains unmoved by desires or agitation, like an ocean that is unmoved by the rivers entering it (2.70). Though the ocean is not agitated with the rivers entering into it, it gives back this water as clouds which Krishna described as an unmotivated action (niswarth karma) of ‘yajna’. When we participate in the cycle of unmotivated actions, the agitation will not have any place in our lives.

While awareness helps us free ourselves from agitation, our compassion ensure that we don’t agitate others. That’s why it is said that awareness and compassion are two oars of the boat in the spiritual journey.

Devotee Part-3

Krishna says, “He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncer of good and evil, alike to friend and foe; to honour and dishonour, alike to experiences of warmth and chill, to pleasure (sukh) and suffering (dukh), free from attachment, he who is full of devotion is dear to me” (12.17 and 12.18). Essentially, it is witnessing these feelings and emotions rather than identifying with them.

A newborn is a ‘universal baby’ with many free neurons in the brain to take care of basic requirements and future challenges. During the formative years, many neural patterns are formed based on upbringing, family, society etc. These patterns label external situations and people as either good or bad. That’s why Krishna earlier suggested that endowed with intellect, one sheds both good and bad deeds (2.50), which implies that labelling is shed once we attain yoga of equanimity. The same is reflected here when Krishna says that those devotees are dear to Him who drop these identifications. Once these are dropped, there is neither honour (praise) nor dishonour (criticism), and one experiences warmth and chill alike.

Krishna earlier said that sthita-prajna (stoic) is the one who is neither excited by sukh nor agitated by dukh and is free from raag (attachment) (2.56). All of us seek pleasure but suffering inevitably comes to our lives as both of them exist in pairs of dwandwa (polarities). This is like bait to fish where the hook is hidden behind the bait. Life experiences give us awareness that when we seek one, the other is bound to follow - may be in a different shape and after a lapse of time. This awareness helps us transcend polarities and attain the state of equanimity (samatva). It’s like being an artist in a drama who displays intense emotions but doesn’t get attached to them.

Krishna says, “To whom praise and insult are the same, who is silent, content with anything, who is not attached to a place of stay, stable-minded -are dear to Me (12.19). Those devotees who follow this nectar of wisdom (dharma) declared here, endued with shraddha (trust), regarding Me as supreme -are exceedingly dear to Me” (12.20). At its core, the game of praise and insult is the play of ahankaar which gets elated with praise and hurt with insult. When we are centred in the self which Krishna earlier called atma-vaan, praise and insult lose their ability to affect us.

Knowledge

Krishna says, “Humility, simplicity, harmlessness, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the preceptor, purity, steadfastness, self-control (13.8); dispassion (vairagya) towards sense objects, absence of ahankaar (I am doer), perception of birth, death, old age and pain as flawed (13.9); non-attachment, non-infatuation with children, spouse or residences, eternal equanimity towards desirable and undesirable circumstances (13.10). Unwavering devotion to Me through yoga of devotion (bhakti), comfortable with self, away from gossip of crowds (13.11); perseverance in self-knowledge, perceiving the absolute truth (tatva jnana)- This is declared to be knowledge, what is opposed to this is ignorance” (13.12).

These can also be termed as virtues conducive to attain self-knowledge.