18.65 man-manā bhava mad-bhakto (Original)

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Chapter 18

<< Chapter 18 Verse 64

Simple

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me

‘Be thou of My thought, be My lover, My worshipper; do thou prostrate to Me. To Myself thou wilt come. In troth I promise (this) unto thee; (for) thou art sweet unto Me.'[1. Cp: Krishṇa giving this assurance to Draupadi: ‘Dyauh patet, pṛithivī śiryet, himavān śakati bhavet śushyet toyanidhiḥ Krishṇe! na me mogham vacho bhavet.’]

Manmanā bhava = ‘Be thou etc.,’ expresses a Divine Command embodied in such Vedanta texts as:

‘This Transcendent Purusha, of the radiance of the Sun, Who is beyond tamas (matter), I know by meditation. Knowing Him thus, one becomes here immortal. There exists no other Road for Immortality.’[2. Tait: Araṇ: III-12: ‘Vedāham etam etc.’]

Be thou of My thought: is with reference to one’s thought being of that kind which is implied by such expressions as vedana, dhyāna, upāsana etc., signifying an unbroken succession of memory, intensely made vivid, so much so as to approach the reality of a sensible experience; and this joined to deep devotion, —all directed to Me (as the Subject of this meditation.)

Mad-bhaktaḥ = My lover; inasmuch as I am to thee dear, make thy constant thought (or meditation) of Me intensely loving, (or full of the exuberance of thy emotional nature.)

Mad-yāji = My worshipper. Yajana=pūjana=ārādhanam=worship (and therefore not a mere dry formal observance of ceremonial ritual such as Jyotishṭhoma, —Tāt-chan.) ‘My worshipper,’ should be read with ‘My lover’, implying that the worship or services rendered to Me should be full of love. Worship means the carrying out of the entire round of services which are incumbent on a liege (to his Sovereign and Master).

Mām namas-kuru:, namas = namanam=bending, implying the utmost attitude of reverence, love and humility to Me. Prostrate to Me is thus not a mere physical genuflexion; but the physical is to constitute outwardly the sincere expression of the love etc., felt within, —Tāt-chan).

If thy conduct be like this, then wilt thou come to Myself. This is a Truth of which I give thee assurance; about which I make thee promise. It is not to be interpreted as a mere hollow persuasion addressed to thee, by reason that thou art My beloved. Was it not already stated thus?: ‘I am verily dear to the wise, and he too is dear to Me.’ (Gi: VII-17).

Where there is in his heart much love for Me, much love on My part there is for him; so much so that I should hardly bear separation from him; and therefore will join him to Myself. ‘Thou shalt come to Myself’: is then Truth, and nothing but Truth, for which I pledge and vouch in the most positive manner.

>> Chapter 18 Verse 66

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