Verse 22

In plain words

But those who want nothing, who see clearly —

For those who hold nothing else in mind — who have gone entirely to the supreme deity Nārāyaṇa, holding him as their own very Self, and think only of Me, worshipping fully, as renunciates who see reality as it truly is, constantly given over to this, unwaveringly engaged — for them, I Myself carry their yogakṣema. Yoga here means bringing them what they don't yet have; kṣema means protecting what they've already gained. Both of these, I carry Myself. And why? Because I've already said elsewhere: 'The one who truly knows is, to My mind, none other than My own Self,' and 'that one is dear to Me.' That's exactly why they have become My very Self — and why they are so dear to Me.

But wait — doesn't the Lord carry the yogakṣema of other devotees too, not just these? Yes, that's true, he does. But here's the real distinction: ordinary devotees still make their own effort toward their own welfare, seeking it for themselves. Those who see nothing but the Lord don't do that — they make no such effort on their own account, because they genuinely have no craving left, whether for living or for dying. Their whole reliance rests on the Lord alone, nothing else. That is exactly why it is the Lord himself, and no one else, who carries what they need.

Close to the Sanskrit

But those who are free of desire, who see rightly —

Those people, [being] renunciates, who, having no other [object of thought], [that is,] not become separate [from him], having gone to the supreme deity Nārāyaṇa as [their own] Self, [and] meditating on Me, worship [Me] fully — for them, [who are] seers of the ultimate reality, constantly devoted, perpetually engaged, I [Myself] carry, [that is,] bring about, their yogakṣema — [where] 'yoga' [means] the obtaining of what has not [yet] been obtained, [and] 'kṣema' [means] the protecting of that [already obtained] — that pair, I [carry]; since [it has been said]: 'The knower is indeed My very Self, [such is] My opinion' (Bhagavad Gītā 7.18), and 'he is dear to Me' (Bhagavad Gītā 7.17) — therefore they have become My very Self, and [they are] dear [to Me] as well.

[Objection:] But surely the Blessed Lord does indeed carry the yogakṣema of other devotees too? [Reply:] True, he does indeed carry it; but this is the distinction — other devotees, who are [still ordinary] devotees, themselves also strive for their own yogakṣema for their own sake; but those who see nothing else do not strive for yogakṣema for their own sake; for indeed they do not, regarding life or death, exhibit craving for themselves; they have the Blessed Lord alone, exclusively, as their refuge; therefore it is the Blessed Lord alone who carries their yogakṣema — thus [it is explained].

In plain words

“Those supreme devotees who let no other thought come near, who do all karmas with the attitude of offering them to Īśvara, who constantly meditate on Me alone, serve Me, worship Me and remember Me — their citta collected at all times — their yoga-kṣema I Myself look after, in person. Did you hear?” So says Kṛṣṇa, patting Arjuna on the back and putting courage into him.

Because they do not rightly understand this matter of looking after yoga-kṣema, this word of the Paramātma, everyone from the scholar to the unlettered man fails to grasp the true meaning of this saying of the Gītā. Even commentators on the Gītā are propagating it in many different ways. But they are without experience.

This supremely holy phrase is like the navel of the Gītā's svarūpa. Just as the navel of Viṣṇu is the birthplace of Brahmā the Creator, so for sādhakas who recite and propagate the Gītā and long to attain Brahmajñāna, this place, “yogakṣemaṃ vahāmyahaṃ”, is like a birthplace. Whoever follows it will understand the Gītā fully.

Many kinds of laughable propagation about this holy phrase are going on in the world. Let me relate one as a sample. A most eminent pandit used to give discourses on the Gītā in the presence of a great king. One day he was expounding this holy śloka in many ways (that is, “Those who, with no other, think of Me and worship Me in every way — for them, ever steadfast, I carry the yoga-kṣema”). The king listened, and would not accept the meanings the pandit gave; he kept on objecting, “That is not what this means.” Poor man! The pandit had in the past received the highest titles from many kings and had won the name of a great scholar; so for the king to reject his discourse and argue before the whole assembly that he was not giving the right meaning of this śloka was, for the pandit, a humiliation as great as having his head cut off. So he thought it over carefully once more and offered the various meanings of the word ‘yoga’ and of the word ‘kṣema’, with examples. But the king did not agree to that either. “Learn the meaning of this śloka properly and come back tomorrow,” he said, and rose and left.

In plain words

The pandit began again, “ananyāś cintayanto māṃ,” and went through the meaning of each word one by one. Hearing this, his wife laughed. “My lord! What fruit comes of merely learning to give the meanings of words? First tell me why you went to the king at all. For what purpose did you seek the king's shelter?” The pandit snapped back, “Must the household not be kept going? Our food and drink, our clothes and such — where am I to get them from? It was to provide for this household that I sought his shelter; otherwise, what business would I have with him?” Hearing this, his dharmapatnī said, “My lord! Had you rightly understood what Kṛṣṇa Paramātma says in this śloka, you would never have gone to the king. In this very śloka the Paramātma Himself has said that He will Himself look after the yoga-kṣema of those who worship Him with thought of no other, who take refuge in Him alone, and who keep the Manas ever fixed on Him alone. Yet you, without doing these three things, went to the king so that the king would look after your yoga-kṣema. Think for yourself how contrary that is to the meaning of this śloka! That is why the king did not accept your meaning.” When his good wife said this, the famed pandit reflected a while and saw his mistake for himself. The next day he did not go to the king's court; he stayed at home, immersed in the worship of Kṛṣṇa. When the king asked after him, the servants told him the pandit had not come. The king sent another servant to the pandit's house to learn the reason, and the pandit sent back word: “I need not come to anyone. Kṛṣṇa Himself will look after my yoga-kṣema. All this time I did not understand, and because I went no further than the meanings of words, this humiliation came upon me. If I take refuge in the Paramātma alone, give no room to any other thought and stay immersed in His worship constantly, He Himself will look after my all.” Seeing the message he sent, the king rejoiced. He walked to the pandit's house himself, bowed to him and said, “Svāmī! My heartfelt salutations to you for making known today, in the form of experience, the meaning of yesterday's śloka.” And declaring that propagation not in the form of experience is only a show of faith, not the real essence, he took his leave.

In plain words

Mere reading brings no benefit. If men and sādhakas would lay claim to the Lord's sacred vow, His dīkṣā-kaṅkaṇa, “I carry yoga and kṣema”, then as for the complaint that He has not looked after the protection of His devotees, that is, their “yogakṣema”, as He said He would: it is easily settled if one asks, of the method Paramātma set out before that, ‘Are we practising it, or not?’ Sādhakas do not ask this. When they take only what they need and do not look into what comes before and after it, harm follows.

The head, “I carry yoga and kṣema”, has value when it is joined to these three limbs: “Those people who, with no other, think of Me and worship Me in every way; of them, ever united”. Without legs, belly and shoulders, what is the use of clinging tight to a head alone? It is like saying, 'Never mind if thieves have carried off the iron safe; the keys are at my waist!' Is it not for the things in the safe that the keys are needed? When the things are gone, what use is it to have the keys? In the same way, to have no thought of none other, to perform no upāsana of Him, to take no refuge in Him alone, and then to say, 'But He has not looked after my yogakṣema!': what Ajñāna! How is He to look after the yogakṣema of one who takes refuge in others, serves others, and dwells with thoughts of others? Well then, if one at least holds the feeling of Paramātma in others too and thinks that all karmas are offered to God, Paramātma will bestow His grace. To rely on others and to hope for the result from Paramātma: how can this be thought of none other? Servants at a king's side rely on the king, but what they cherish is their families. When what one cherishes and what one relies on become one and the same, that is called Śaraṇāgati.

In the form of the Gītā, the śloka “Ananyāś cintayanto mām” is like the navel. When Vyāsa wove the Lord's flowers of speech into the garland called “the Gītā”, he set this śloka as the central tassel that adorns the garland. So in the jewelled necklace of the Gītā this śloka has been set as the central cluster of gems. There is also another meaning: that bringing the attainment of what has not yet been attained is ‘yoga’, and guarding what has so been attained is ‘kṣema’. The sādhanas for such guarding are the thoughts of none other. Through such thought of Paramātma the impurity of the Manas falls away. To have a Manas free of that impurity is the mark of the devotee. When his looks, his play, his songs and his words all become full of God, those are the signs of a devotee. Such people need not grieve, “We could not specially perform yajñas, yāgas and the like, or dāna, dharma and the like, or pilgrimages to holy places; we could not satisfy Paramātma through such sacred karmas; and Paramātma did not even grant us the strength and ability to do them!” Paramātma never asked for these. If one has a pure Manas, then whatever one offers, He can receive it with joy.