Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 47

Chapter 6 – Dhyana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

योगिनामपि सर्वेषां मद्गतेनान्तरात्मना ।
श्रद्धावान्भजते यो मां स मे युक्ततमो मतः ॥

Transliteration

yogināmapi sarveṣāṃ madgatenāntarātmanā .
śraddhāvānbhajate yo māṃ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ ॥

Meaning

And of all yogis, the one who worships Me with faith, his innermost self absorbed in Me, is regarded by Me as the most perfectly united in yoga.

Word meanings

योगिनाम् – of yogis
अपि – even
सर्वेषाम् – of all
मद्गतेन – absorbed in Me, gone to Me
अन्तरात्मना – with the inner self
श्रद्धावान् – endowed with faith
भजते – worships, adores
यः – who
माम् – Me
सः – he
मे – by Me
युक्ततमः – the most united, the highest yogi
मतः – is considered

Anvaya (word order)

सर्वेषाम् अपि योगिनां यः श्रद्धावान् मद्गतेन अन्तरात्मना मां भजते, सः मे युक्ततमः मतः ।

Explanation

This is the last and most important verse of the sixth chapter. It is not only the summit of this chapter but also the close of the Gita's first six chapters, often called the section on action, and the doorway to the next six, the section on devotion. In the previous verse Krishna declared the yogi superior to the ascetic, the scholar and the ritualist. Now he says that even among all yogis, the highest is the one who worships Him with faith, his inner self absorbed in Him.

Yoginam api sarvesham — among all kinds of yogis. Yogis are of many kinds: some meditate on the Self, some on the vital breath, some on the formless Absolute, some on various deities. Shankara says that here, compared with yogis who meditate on deities such as Rudra or the Adityas, the one whose mind is fixed on the Lord Vasudeva is declared supreme.

This highest yogi has three marks. First, shraddhavan — he has deep faith. Without faith practice becomes mechanical; faith breathes life into it. Second, mad-gatenantaratmana — his inner self has gone into the Lord. This is not about outer worship alone; mind, intellect and heart — the whole inner being — flow toward the Lord. Third, bhajate mam — he worships Me. The root bhaj means to serve, to love, to take refuge in, to share in. Bhajana is a loving, surrendered relationship.

Ramanuja attaches great importance to this verse. He says that such a devotee cannot live for a moment without the Lord; the Lord is supremely dear to him, and because of this undivided love he is yuktatama, the most united. In his reading the verse shows that even the meditative yoga of Self-realisation reaches its fulfilment only as a limb of devotion to the Lord. Madhva too regards devotion to Lord Vishnu as the highest means.

The verse makes the Gita's path clear: karma yoga purifies the mind, dhyana yoga steadies it, and bhakti joins that steady, pure mind lovingly to the Lord. The final goal of meditation is not a void but a living, loving Supreme. That is why the next chapter begins with the words mayy asakta-manah — with mind attached to Me — and Krishna begins to reveal knowledge of His complete nature.

Context

In 6.46 Krishna declared the yogi supreme and commanded Arjuna to become one. This verse says that among yogis the devoted yogi is the highest, and with it the sixth chapter closes. The seventh chapter (7.1) takes up this very thread and begins the teaching of knowledge and realisation of the Lord's complete nature.

Life lesson

Meditation, service and knowledge become complete only when they are filled with love and faith. Do not let your practice remain mere technique; put your heart into it. In whatever form you conceive of the Divine, build a living, loving relationship with it — that is the highest yoga.

Key terms

Yuktatama: the most united in yoga, the highest yogi
Shraddhavan: endowed with deep faith
Mad-gata antaratma: the inner self absorbed in the Lord
Bhajana: loving service, worship and surrender