क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति । कौन्तेय प्रति जानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति ॥
गीता – ९.३१
Meaning: One who practices unswerving devotion to Me, attains eternal peace without delay. O Arjuna, declare to all, with a solemn vow and absolute conviction, that My devotee never perishes (spiritual decline).
We need to contemplate on the final line of the above verse: “na me bhaktaH pranashyati – My devotee never perishes.” In the Gita, the Lord gives many assurances to His devotees. This is one such aforementioned assurance, and for its fulfillment, a specific condition is laid out. This condition is mentioned in the previous verse of the very same chapter (9.30). There, the Lord says, even if a person has been a great sinner earlier, but now begins to practice unswerving devotion (ananya-bhakti) to Me, then, because of the righteousness of that resolve, I consider him a saintly person. The meaning of verse 9.31 is given above. Such a devotee – who practices unswerving devotion to Me – never perishes (spiritual decline). He becomes a righteous being (dharmatma) and attains eternal peace. This is the fruit he receives. But to receive the fruit “na me bhaktaH pranashyati,” the Lord lays down the condition that he must practice unswerving devotion. Let us briefly reflect upon what this unswerving devotion is.
All Vedas, scriptures, Saint-authored literature, and the teachings of Rishis and Munis unanimously declare that realization of the Supreme Lord is impossible without devotion (bhakti). Adi Shankaracharya says: ‘मोक्षकारणसामग्र्यां भक्तिरेव गरीयसी।’ – Among all means to liberation and realization of the Supreme, devotion is indeed the most supreme. He also defines Bhakti as remaining in constant remembrance and contemplation of one’s true nature. What then is ananya-bhakti (unswerving devotion)?
The Master of Devotion (Bhakti) Shri Narada says: अन्याश्रयाणां त्यागोऽनन्यता। (नारद भक्तिसूत्र १०) – Giving up all supports other than the Supreme (Paramatma) is called unswerving devotion (Ananyata) (Bhakti-sutra 10).
The very nature of the jIva is to live by taking refuge in something or someone. Under the influence of beginningless ignorance, the jIva has taken refuge in the body and constantly asserts, “देहोऽहं – I am this body.” But this exclusive identification with the body is opposite to Jiva’s true nature (Vijatiya), rooted in ignorance, and perilous. It leads to suffering, because the body and all associated things are non-Self (Anatma), unreal (Asat), inert (Jada), and sorrowful in nature. “Body and associated things” includes the gross and subtle body, spouse, children, power, wealth, etc. According to the science of devotion, when the jIva renounces all these worldly supports and holds a firm conviction that “Only that Supreme Self (Paramatman) is my refuge,” that is called ananyata.
A well-recognized verse from the Bhagavad Gita describes the true nature of such ananyata:
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जना: पर्युपासते । तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम्॥ (9.22)
Those devotees who contemplate upon Me and worship Me alone in every way by renouncing all other supports, I carry the burden of their Yoga (the attainment of the unattained) and Kshema (the preservation of the attained).
In this verse, the words paryupasate and nityabhiyuktanam reveal the true nature of ananyata. Paryupasate implies seeing the Lord everywhere; there is nothing apart from Him. This indicates transcending the limitations of space (deSa-pariccheda). Nityabhiyuktanam signifies transcending the limitations of time (kāla-pariccheda). The word Ananya (exclusivity) indicates seeing the Divine in every object – that is, the absence of limitation by objects (vastu-pariccheda). Thus, contemplation that is free from the divisions of space, time, and objects is unswerving devotion (ananya-bhakti). However, a doubt may arise: if one practices such devotion, then how will his worldly life continue? The answer is given in the same verse: “योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् – I Myself carry the burden of his life”. The Lord takes care of his Yoga (the attainment of the unattained) and Kshema (the preservation of the attained).
Saint Tukaram Maharaj also declares:
त्याचा भार वाहे माथा। करी योगक्षेम चिंता॥
“He (the Lord) carries his burden on His head and takes care of his yoga and kshema.”
In this way, the devotee who has renounced all worldly supports and taken only the Supreme as his refuge is called ananya (unswerving). The Lord says that such an exclusive devotee never meets spiritual decline. Let us now look at the deeper, philosophical meaning of this statement.
“My devotee never perishes” – this is the assurance. The word pranashyati – “perishes” – can mean: to end, to cease being an object of experience, or to become imperceptible to the five senses, etc. One might infer that “the devotee does not perish” means that the Lord’s devotee does not die. But this is not what the Lord intends to say. That would go against the very laws of the creation that He Himself has established. The law is: ‘यत् दृष्ट तत्नष्टम्’ – Whatever is perceived, ends. Whatever is perceptible is destined to be destroyed. The body is clearly seen; therefore, it must end. Then what is the precise meaning of “न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति”? What does “the devotee does not perish” actually mean?
Due to the effect of beginningless ignorance, every jIva identifies itself with its body. It considers the body to be the ultimate truth. When the body perishes, it is commonly said that the person has died. However, the reality is quite different. The body is made of the five great elements. Since these elements are perishable by nature, the body is also bound to perish. This is why it is called Sharira (Shiryate iti Shariram) – that which decays is called the body. When a person dies, it is only the gross body that has perished. The jIva does not die. Along with its subtle body, it transmigrates to the next physical body. Because the state of being an individual soul (JivaBhava) is rooted in ignorance, as long as that ignorance persists, the jIva continues to exist. Bodies are born and die. The jIva goes from one body to another, according to its karma. The Katha Upanishad states this:
योनिमन्ये प्रपद्यन्ते शरीरत्वाय देहिनः। स्थाणुमन्येऽनुसंयन्ति यथाकर्म यथाश्रुतम्॥ (Katha 2.2.7)
Some souls enter the womb to be embodied (as humans, animals, etc.), while others enter into ‘motionless’ forms (like plants), according to their deeds (Karma) and according to their knowledge (Shrutam).
Once a Jiva (soul) attains a human body, it becomes eligible for Moksha (liberation). The Lord declares: if a jIva, having obtained a human body, practices unswerving devotion to Me, then this beginningless ignorance comes to an end effortlessly, and he attains knowledge. Through Divine Grace, the soul’s limited state (Jivadosha) is dissolved, and the individual soul becomes one with Me (Lord). Since I, the Lord am unborn (Aja), immortal (Amara), eternal (Nitya), enlightened (Buddha), and free (Mukta), the devotee—by uniting with Me—naturally experiences these same divine attributes. Since all these attributes belong to the imperishable Self (that can never be destroyed), My devotee never perishes. It is in this profound sense that the Lord has declared: ‘न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति’. This is the true, original nature of every living being. This nature is known by various names: Atman, Paramatman, Brahman, etc. Adi Shankaracharya expresses this truth in the statement: ‘जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः’ – The jIva is indeed Brahman and not different from it. The four Great Sentences (Mahavakyas) of the Vedas propound this very truth regarding the Brahman-nature of the JIva. Samartha Ramdas Swami likewise says with the same intent: ‘देहबुद्धी (जीवभाव) ते आत्मबुद्धी करावी.’ – Renounce the body-identification (jIva-nature) and realize the Atman nature.
There is yet another meaning to “My devotee never perishes.” Every jIva, for the sake of experiencing the fruits of his Karma, comes into contact with sense-objects. Driven by ignorance, the jIva misconstrues these sense-objects as sources of happiness and becomes attached to them. Attachment to sense-pleasures is a powerful bondage. Enslaved by this bondage, he performs various actions and consequently assumes numerous births to experience the fruits of those actions. In short:
Attachment to sense-objects → source of action → actions generate outcomes → to experience these outcomes, many births are taken.
This chain continues endlessly, and the jIva’s suffering never truly ends. The Lord explains that constant dwelling on sense-objects destroys the intellect. In the second chapter of the Gita (verses 2.62–63), this very chain of downfall is described. In brief, it is as follows:
Dwelling on objects (Vishaya-dhyana) → Leads to Attachment (Sanga) → From attachment arises Desire (Kama) → From frustrated desire arises Anger (Krodha) → From anger comes Delusion (Sammoha) → From delusion comes Loss of Memory about true nature (Smriti-vibhrama) → From loss of memory comes Destruction of Intellect (Buddhi-nasha) → From the destruction of intellect comes Complete Ruin (Pranashyati)
Such a great disaster occurs simply by dwelling on sensory objects. In these verses, “Delusion” causes a “Loss of Memory”—meaning it destroys the remembrance of one’s true nature (the memory that “I am the Atman”). Consequently, the intellect turns away from the Self and runs toward sensory objects in search of happiness. This turning away from the Truth is what is called the “Destruction of the Intellect.”
The Atman (Self), whose very nature is Bliss, is ever-present in one’s heart. Yet the intellect, ignoring this, runs outward toward objects in search of happiness. This is akin to killing the Self. The intellect has the capacity to recognize the Self and unite with it, yet, deluded by the contemplation of sense objects, it fails to do so. This failure to recognize the Self is what the Lord describes as the “killing of the self” and the “destruction of the intellect.” But My devotee, who practices unswerving devotion to Me, is never bound by attachment to sense-objects. Having become one with Me, for him, I alone exist everywhere. For him, all sense objects become forms of the Divine. Tukaram Maharaj says: ‘विषय तो त्यांचा झाला नारायण।’ – for them, the objects themselves have become the Divine. The antahkarana (especially the intellect) of My devotee never assumes the form of sense-objects; rather, it remains established in the Self. The intellect that has taken the form of the Self can never be destroyed, because the Self is indestructible. It is in this profound sense that the Lord gives the assurance: “न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति – My devotee never perishes.” Thus, by practicing unswerving devotion to the Lord, the devotee rejoices in the Bliss of the liberated state even while living in the body. He continually experiences, “That indestructible principle – the Self – is what I truly am.” Through this assurance, the Lord reveals the glory of devotion to all devotees. Let us pray that by the grace of the Lord, all devotees practicing such unswerving devotion attain the immediate experience of “न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति – My devotee never perishes.” This is the prayer offered at His holy feet.
|| Thus, blessings upon all ||
