(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

The Divine Sees His Selfless Disciples As Himself, Bound By Their Devotion And Love

उदारा: सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् |
आस्थित: स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् || 7.18||

udārāḥ sarva evaite jñānī tvātmaiva me matam
āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā mām evānuttamāṁ gatim|| 7.18||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 7- Ver. 18:

Those who devote their lives to Me are truly noble. But those who are wise, who have a steady mind, whose intellect is merged with Mine, and who have made Me their sole purpose, I see as My very self.

Explanation

Shree Krishna indicated in the previous verse that devotees who are situated in knowledge, are the highest. However, He clarifies in this verse that all of His followers are privileged, regardless of the basis for their devotion; even the other three types are blessed souls. The devotees who are seated in wisdom, on the other hand, adore God without expecting anything in return. As a result, God is bound by the unconditional love of such selfless devotees.
The need for self-gratification drives worldly love. There is a give-and-take attitude, with the hope of receiving something from the beloved in exchange. heavenly love, is a quite different matter. It is filled with a desire to see the Divine Beloved happy and to make sacrifices in His service. Divine love encourages selfless giving without expecting anything in return.

Verse & what we can learn

As the most unique form of devotee, the wise one. This is due to the fact that the wise devotee does not seek Ishvara for any other reason. He approaches Ishvara with the intention of obtaining just Ishvara. Shri Krishna provides another reason for Shri Krishna’s special treatment of the wise devotee. Ishvara is regarded by the intelligent devotee as his own self, not as an entity.

When we expect something from God, we are treating him as if he were someone other than ourselves. Shri Krishna states that we should treat him as if he were our own self. The ultimate sort of devotion is one in which the seeker roots himself in Ishvara day after day and melts his life into Ishvara’s cosmic existence. There is no duality between the devotee and Ishvara, which is also known as ekabhakti or advaita.

We should adore Ishvara “alone” according to Shri Krishna. This is not to say that Ishvara treats the other three sorts of devotees as second-class citizens. Those other devotees, according to Shri Krishna, are earnest. Ishvara adores each and every one of them.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verse, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna about the scarcity of wise devotees.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…