Verse 7.18

Verse 7.18: “All these in sooth are men of lofty souls, but the man of knowledge is—such is my opinion—my very self; for he, with devoted self, has set Me alone as his Supreme Goal. (119)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

Anyone then may indeed try to cling fast to Me as my devotee with the object of securing his own end. But the man of knowledge alone, whose devotion claims Me entire, is the devotee I hold dear. Just see. Men tie the hind-legs of the cow, in order to secure her milk; but how is it that the young calf gets its share of the milk without such a rope? The truth is that the calf knows nothing except its mother, but feels “This is my mother” from the bottom of its heart as soon as it sees her. The cow likewise sees that the young one is helpless and supportless without herself, and loves it with all her soul, and thus the saying of the Lord of Lakshmi is all true. Let that pass. The Lord then went on “The other devotees that I mentioned are good in their own way and they are dear to Me. But those that lose everything including their (past) self after knowing Me, like a river ending with its approach to the sea—those whose entire love is as it were the Ganges moving into the ocean of realization of the Absolute Divine Self,—such devotees are none other but Myself. Why waste more words? Really speaking, whosoever attains knowledge, is My very sentience—My very soul. This in fact is not a matter of words, but I have uttered a truth this is unutterable.