Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verse 6

Chapter 12 – Bhakti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्परः ।
अनन्येनैव योगेन मां ध्यायन्त उपासते ॥

Transliteration

ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi saṃnyasya matparaḥ .
ananyenaiva yogena māṃ dhyāyanta upāsate ॥

Meaning

But those who, offering all actions to Me and regarding Me as the supreme goal, worship Me meditating with undivided yoga,

Word meanings

ये तु – but those who
सर्वाणि कर्माणि – all actions
मयि – in Me
संन्यस्य – having surrendered
मत्पराः – regarding Me as the supreme goal
अनन्येन एव योगेन – by undivided yoga alone
माम् – Me
ध्यायन्तः – meditating
उपासते – worship

Anvaya (word order)

ये तु मयि सर्वाणि कर्माणि संन्यस्य मत्पराः अनन्येन एव योगेन मां ध्यायन्तः उपासते —

Explanation

Now the Lord states the path of devotion in its full form, and the promise follows in the next verse. "But those who, offering all actions to Me and regarding Me as the supreme goal, worship Me, meditating on Me with unswerving yoga." The sentence is completed in 12.7: "For them, O Partha, I become before long the deliverer from the ocean of death and samsara, as their minds are absorbed in Me."

Three expressions summarise the discipline. Sarvani karmani mayi sannyasya: laying all actions down at the Lord's feet; every task becomes an offering rather than a burden. Mat-parah: holding Him as the supreme object, so that all other aims serve that one. Ananyena yogena: by yoga that goes nowhere else, with undivided attention. The effort here is not to abandon the world but to dedicate it.

What makes this path distinctive is that nothing needs to be left out. The seeker retains his work, family and responsibilities, but he performs them as acts of worship. A shopkeeper weighs the grain honestly because it is an offering; a mother nurtures her children in the same spirit; a clerk does his files with care. The seemingly ordinary day becomes a continuous worship, and the Lord says that the one who lives like this has already begun the crossing.

Shankara describes this as the person devoted to the Lord, who renounces actions in the sense of dedicating them, and he admits that for those who worship the Lord, as for the knowers of Brahman, there is deliverance. Ramanuja stresses that this is the supreme bhakti-yoga, consisting of performing all duties as service to the Lord and meditating on Him continuously. Madhva also teaches that surrender of actions to Vishnu, with full knowledge of His greatness, is the means for deliverance.

An ordinary life is not an obstacle but a field. People often postpone spiritual life until retirement or until circumstances are calmer. The Gita says that the work in front of you today, done as an offering, is already spiritual practice. Even a small habit, such as pausing before starting the day and mentally dedicating it, makes this verse real.

Compare 3.30, 9.27 and 18.57, where the same offering of actions is taught, and 11.55, the verse many consider the essence of the Gita: one who does work for Me, who has Me as the supreme goal, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment and without hatred toward any being, comes to Me.

Context

Verse 12.5 stated the difficulty of the nirguna path. From here the path of saguna devotion begins; the sentence completes in 12.7, where the Lord gives his promise to lift the devotee.

Life lesson

Doing all your actions with the feeling that they are for God lightens the burden of life. The works remain the same, but the attitude of the doer changes and every task becomes worship.

Key terms

सर्वकर्मसंन्यास: offering all actions to the Lord
मत्पर: one for whom I am the supreme refuge and goal
अनन्य योग: undivided yoga of devotion