SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
‘In the way they resort to Me (prapadyante1) in that way do I serve to them. All men (of My ways) Pārtha2! go after Me in every way.’
Not only, by the method of Incarnations, in the forms of devas, men etc., I am saviour to those who seek Me as their Refuge, but any other method or form3 which it may be their pleasing option to select4. Whatever that is, to that I adapt Myself. By whatever conception5 they choose to seek Me, I manifest Myself to them in that mode6.
Bhajāmi is literally ‘I serve (in love).’ Here it means, ‘I appear to them’ (darśayāmi).
In short, albeit My nature is such as even Yogis (exclusively God-devoted men) find it to be transcending thought and speech, yet to all who are of My ways, I suit Myself in a manner that I am, to them, not only a Visible Demonstration, but they may enjoy Me by every one of their sense-faculties, and in all diverse ways.
Bringing now to a close, the digressive topic (of Avatāras), the subject of karma-yoga is resumed. Before presenting the jñāna-aspect of karma-yoga, it is first shown how rare are the persons who practise that kind of karma-yoga.
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- This word has a special sense indicating the method of ‘Prapatti‘. ↩
- Epithet of Arjuna, being a descendant of Pṛithu-Chakravarti. ↩
- This verse is a wonderful proof of the catholicity of the religion of Gita. It affords freedom of worship to all in any manner. As such, the verse is an authority for image-worship (Read, Bh: GI: VII-21, IX-23 and 25., also Bhāgavata, XI-3-52. ↩
- Vide: Śri Bhāgavata, III-24-30: Tāny eva te bhirūpāṇi etc. ↩
- This verse is a wonderful proof of the catholicity of the religion of Gita. It affords freedom of worship to all in any manner. As such, the verse is an authority for image-worship (Read, Bh: GI: VII-21, IX-23 and 25., also Bhāgavata, XI-3-52. ↩
- This verse is a wonderful proof of the catholicity of the religion of Gita. It affords freedom of worship to all in any manner. As such, the verse is an authority for image-worship (Read, Bh: GI: VII-21, IX-23 and 25., also Bhāgavata, XI-3-52. ↩