Sri Krishn has preached in Bhagwad Geeta:
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advestā sarvabhūtānām maitrah karuna eva ca
nirmamo nirahankārah samaduhkhasukhas ksamī
santustah satatam yogī yatātmā drdhaniścayah
mayyarpitamanobuddhiryo madbhaktah sa me priyah
yasmānnodvijate loko lokānnodvijate ca yah
harsāmarsabhayodvegairmukto yah sa ca me priyah
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“The devotee who has malice towards none and loves all, who is compassionate and free from attachment and vanity, who views sorrow and joy equally and is forgiving, endowed with steady yog, contented alike with both profit and loss, restrained in mind, and dedicated to me with firm conviction, is dear to me.”
“The devotee who does not upset anyone, nor is upset by anyone, and who is free from the contradictions of joy, envy, and fear, is dear to me.”
Apart from these qualities, this worshipper is also one who neither agitates any being nor is agitated by any being, and who is free from joy, misery, fear, and all such distractions. Such a worshipper is beloved of Sri Krishn.
This verse is most salutary for worshippers, for they should so conduct themselves that they do not hurt anyone’s feeling. They have to be so, although others will not act in the same way. Being worldly-minded they cannot but indulge in venomous fulminations. However, whatever they say to denounce and hurt should not disturb and interrupt the seeker’s meditation. Whatever they do, his thoughts should be steadily and constantly set on the coveted God. It is his duty to protect himself from the onslaughts of men who are-as it were-intoxicated and out of their senses.
He says:
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anapeksah śucirdaksa udāsīno gatavyathah
sarvārambhaparityāgī yo madbhaktah sa me priyah
yo na hrsyati na dvesti na śocati na kānksati
śubhāśubhaparityāgī bhaktimānyah sa me priyah
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“The devotee who is emancipated from desire, pure, dexterous at his task, impartial, free from sorrow, and who has achieved the state of actionlessness, is dear to me.”
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That man is pure who is liberated from desire. “Dexterous” means that he is adept in worship and meditation, the one ordained action. He is unaffected by fortune and misfortune, free from sorrow, and one who has given up all undertakings because there is left no worthwhile enterprise on which he can embark.
“The devotee who is neither joyous nor envious, neither troubled nor concerned, and who has given up all good and evil actions, is dear to me.”
This is the crowning point of devotion when the worshipper is not wanting in anything that is worthy nor in possession of anything that is impious. The worshipper who has reached this stage is dear to Sri Krishn.
He further adds:
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samah śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoh
śītosnasukhaduhkhesu samah sangavivarjitah
tulyanindāstutirmaunī santusto yena kenacit
aniketah sthiramatirbhaktimānme priyo narah
ye tu dharmyāmrtamidam yathoktam paryupāsate
śraddadhānā matparamā bhaktāste’tīva me priyāh
“The steady worshipper, who regards friends and foes, honour and dishonour, cold and heat, happiness and sorrow, as equal, and who is detached from the world, indifferent to slander and praise, meditative, contented with any manner of physical sustenance, and free from infatuation for the place where he dwells, is dear to me.”
“And the devotees who rest in me and taste well the aforesaid nectar of dharm in a spirit of selflessness are the dearest to me.’’
In the concluding verse of the chapter,Sri Krishn adds that he loves those devotees most who take refuge in him and partake well of the aforesaid imperishable substance of dharm.
As expounded by Swami Adgadanand Paramhans,Most revered Gurudev.
Humble Wishes!!!
