Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 22

Chapter 9 – Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥

Transliteration

ananyāścintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate .
teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmyaham ॥

Meaning

Those who, with undivided devotion, meditate on Me and worship Me in every way, who are ever united with Me: for them I Myself carry what they lack and preserve what they have.

Word meanings

अनन्याः – having no other refuge
चिन्तयन्तः – meditating on
माम् – Me
ये – who
जनाः – people, devotees
पर्युपासते – worship fully, in every way
तेषाम् – of them
नित्याभियुक्तानाम् – of those ever devoted
योगक्षेमम् – acquisition of what is lacking and preservation of what is had
वहामि – I carry
अहम् – I

Anvaya (word order)

ये जनाः अनन्याः (सन्तः) मां चिन्तयन्तः पर्युपासते, तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमम् अहं वहामि ।

Explanation

This is one of the most beloved and consoling verses of the Gita. In the two previous verses Krishna explained that those who perform rituals for reward reach heaven but must return, because their happiness rests on their own limited merit. Now, in complete contrast, He makes a divine promise to His exclusive devotees: yoga-kshemam vahamy aham, ‘I carry their welfare.’

First, who are these devotees? Ananyah: they have no refuge other than the Lord. Chintayanto mam: they think of Him continually. Paryupasate: the prefix pari means ‘all around’; they worship Him completely, in every part of life. Nityabhiyuktah: they are always united with Him, without any holiday from devotion. Such devotees stop worrying about themselves, because their minds are wholly absorbed in God.

Now the meaning of yoga and kshema. Traditionally, yoga is the securing of what one does not yet have, and kshema the protecting of what one already has. Shankara explains that exclusive devotees make no effort for their own yoga and kshema, having no attachment even to life itself, and so the Lord takes that burden upon Himself. Ramanuja offers a beautiful further reading: yoga is attaining the Lord, and kshema is never returning to samsara. The Lord both grants Himself to the devotee and keeps the devotee safe forever.

Notice the verb vahami. Krishna does not say ‘I give’ but ‘I carry’, as on one’s own shoulders. The word holds a mother’s tenderness, carrying the weight of her child herself. A well-known traditional story tells of a scholar who doubted this word: why would God personally carry anything? That very day a boy arrived at his door bearing provisions, with marks of injury on his back, and the scholar understood that the Lord truly carries His devotee’s burden.

This verse does not license idleness. The devotee performs every duty sincerely but leaves the anxiety over results to God. Giving up worry is not giving up work. The mind that once burned itself in anxiety now rests in remembrance of the Lord, and that is the greatest transformation of all.

Context

Verses 20 and 21 described the endless coming and going of those who perform rituals for reward. In contrast, this verse is the Lord’s promise to His exclusive devotees. In the next verse He explains that even those who worship other gods are in fact worshipping Him, though not in the proper way.

Life lesson

When we do our duty while trusting God completely, He takes the weight of life upon Himself. Drop the worry, not the work. Turn the energy wasted on anxiety into remembrance and service of the Lord.

Key terms

Ananya: one with no refuge other than the Lord
Paryupasana: complete worship in every way
Nityabhiyukta: ever united with the Lord
Yoga: securing what is lacking (Ramanuja: attaining the Lord)
Kshema: preserving what is gained (Ramanuja: never returning to samsara)