Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 22

Chapter 8 – Akshara Brahma Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया ।
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ॥

Transliteration

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyastvananyayā .
yasyāntaḥsthāni bhūtāni yena sarvamidaṃ tatam ॥

Meaning

That Supreme Person, O Partha, within whom all beings abide and by whom all this is pervaded, can be attained only by exclusive devotion.

Word meanings

पुरुषः – the Person
सः परः – that Supreme
पार्थ – O Partha
भक्त्या – by devotion
लभ्यः – is attainable
तु – indeed
अनन्यया – exclusive, undivided
यस्य – in whom
अन्तःस्थानि – abide within
भूतानि – all beings
येन – by whom
इदम् सर्वम् – all this
ततम् – is pervaded

Anvaya (word order)

पार्थ, यस्य अन्तःस्थानि भूतानि, येन इदं सर्वं ततम्, सः परः पुरुषः तु अनन्यया भक्त्या लभ्यः ।

Explanation

The Lord now tells how this supreme Person is to be reached. "That Supreme Person, O Partha, is attainable by unswerving devotion; within Him all beings abide, and by Him all this is pervaded." The verse gives both the means, ananya bhakti, undivided devotion, and the nature of the one reached: He in whom all beings dwell, and who pervades the whole universe.

The word "ananyaya", not toward another, matters. Devotion to the Lord may be mixed with many other loyalties; the mind wanders to this goal and that. Ananya bhakti is love that does not split its centre: other relationships, work and pleasures continue, but they are lived in the light of a single supreme devotion. It is like the compass needle that moves when jostled but always returns to north.

The two descriptions of the Lord deserve a closer look. "Yasyantah-sthani bhutani": within whom beings stand. He is not distant, observing the world from a height; the beings abide in Him as waves in water. "Yena sarvam idam tatam": by whom all this is spread out, as a thread runs through beads, as space pervades everything. The Lord is simultaneously the container and the pervader of all existence. This takes the sting from loneliness: nobody lives outside Him.

Shankara explains that this supreme Purusha is attained by knowledge, which is characterised by exclusive devotion, and that He is the Self of all in which all beings are located, since the whole universe is pervaded by Him as space pervades pots. Ramanuja takes bhakti as a loving meditation, a state of deep and exclusive affection for the Lord, which is the only means of reaching Him. Madhva stresses that supreme devotion, born of knowledge of the Lord's greatness, wins His grace, by which He is reached.

How does one practise ananya bhakti in modern life? The first step is a clear decision about one's chief loyalty, then bringing everything, home, work, and ambitions, into relation with it. Daily remembrance, acts of service done as offerings and a trust that the Lord is present in all are practical forms. We also learn to see the divine in others: if all beings abide in Him, then each encounter is a meeting with someone who lives in the Lord. See 9.4 to 9.6 on beings abiding in Him like air in space, 11.38 on the universe pervaded, and 18.46 for worship through one's own work.

Context

Verse 8.21 described the supreme abode. Here exclusive devotion is given as the means to reach it. The next verses (8.23-26) describe the bright and dark paths at the time of leaving the body.

Life lesson

The way to God is not only intellectual; it needs surrender of the heart. Living with a love fixed at one centre brings both steadiness and breadth within.

Key terms

अनन्य भक्ति: exclusive devotion with no other refuge
पुरुष परः: the Supreme Person, God
अन्तःस्थानि भूतानि: beings abiding within him
ततम्: pervaded, spread through