Verses 13.8-12

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verses 13.8-12:

अमानित्वम् अदम्भित्वम् अहिंसा क्षान्तिर् आर्जवम् ।
आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यम् आत्म-विनिग्रहः ॥ ८ ॥
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यम् अनहङ्कार एव च ।
जन्म-मृत्यु-जरा-व्याधि-दुःख-दोषानुदर्शनम् ॥ ९ ॥
असक्तिर् अनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्र-दार-गृहादिषु नित्यं ।
च सम-चित्तत्वम् इष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥ १० ॥
मयि चानन्य-योगेन भक्तिर् अव्यभिचारिणी ।
विविक्त-देश-सेवित्वम् अरतिर् जन-संसदि ॥ ११ ॥
अध्यात्म-ज्ञान-नित्यत्वं तत्त्व-ज्ञानार्थ-दर्शनम् ।
एतज् ज्ञानम् इति प्रोक्तम् अज्ञानं यद् अतोऽन्यथा ॥ १२ ॥

amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṃsā kṣāntir ārjavam |
ācāryopāsanaṃ śaucaṃ sthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ || 8 ||
indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam anahaṅkāra eva ca |
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam || 9 ||
asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu nityaṃ |
ca sama-cittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu || 10 ||
mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī |
vivikta-deśa-sevitvam aratir jana-saṃsadi || 11 ||
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṃ tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam |
etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṃ yad ato'nyathā || 12 ||

amānitvam–being without desire for honour; adambhitvam–without pride; ahiṃsā–non-violence; kṣāntiḥ–forgiveness; ārjavam–simplicity; ācārya-upāsanam–worship of a spiritual preceptor who teaches by example; śaucam–cleanliness (internal and external); sthairyam–steadiness (of mind); ātma-vinigrahaḥ–control over the body and senses; indriya-artheṣu–from sense objects such as sound and touch; vairāgyam–detachment; anahaṅkāraḥ–freedom from false ego; eva ca–and also; janma–of birth; mṛtyu–death; jarā–old age; vyādhi–and disease; duḥkha-doṣa–the bad consequences due to sufferings; anudarśanam–considering repeatedly the statements of revealed scriptures, the saints and spiritual preceptors; asaktiḥ–detachment (from sense pleasures); anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ–freedom from absorption; putra–sons; dāra–wife; gṛha–home; ādiṣu–etc.; nityam–always; ca–and; sama-cittatvam–having an equipoised mind; iṣṭa-aniṣṭa–desirable and undesirable; upapattiṣu–amidst occurrences; mayi–to Me; ca–and; ananya-yogena–with exclusive connection; bhaktiḥ–devotional service; avyabhicāriṇī–undeviating; vivikta-deśa–in solitary places; sevitvam–residing; a-ratiḥ–being without attachment; jana-saṃsadi–the association of sense-enjoyers; adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvam–of the eternal nature of the truths concerning the Supreme Soul and the minute spirit souls (with the objective of freedom from repeated birth and death); tattva-jñāna–the principles of self-realization; artha-darśanam–investigating the (inner) purpose; etat–that; jñānam–knowledge; iti–thus; proktam–spoken; ajñānam–ignorance; yat–what; ataḥ–thus; anyathā–otherwise.

Devoid of a desire for honour; freedom from pride; possessing the qualities of non-violence; forbearance; simplicity; service to a qualified guru; both internal and external purity; steadiness of mind; control of the body and senses; detachment from sense objects such as sound and touch; absence of false ego; constantly perceiving the misery of birth, death, old age and disease; renouncing attachment to wife, children, home etc.; not being absorbed in the happiness and misery of others; equanimity in attaining either desirable or undesirable circumstances; one-pointed, steadfast and unswerving bhakti to Me; a liking for solitude; a distaste for the association of materialistic people; and constant deliberation on knowledge of the self and on the purpose of tattva-jñāna, that is, liberation–I consider all these to be knowledge. Everything else is ignorance.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

In the above five verses, Śrī Bhagavān is explaining twenty practices to be cultivated, such as freedom from the desire to be honoured. He also elaborately explains the qualities of the jīvātmā and Paramātmā, who are the kṣetra-jñas, those who know the field of the body. They are to be known as separate from the previously mentioned characteristics of the material body, or kṣetra. Seventeen of these qualities apply to both the jñānīs, or persons in search of knowledge, and the bhaktas, or devotees. However, according to the statement of Bhagavān, mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī, in order to experience Him, the devotees’ only duty is to endeavour to perform exclusive devotion to Him. This is because the seventeen qualities, such as humility, manifest naturally within such devotees who practise avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti, chaste devotion. They have no need to endeavour separately to acquire these qualities. The last two qualities, however, are unique to the jñānīs. This is the opinion of the disciplic lineage of devotees, the bhakta sampradāya.

In this verse, the meaning of the series of words beginning with amānitvam is quite clear. In the Smṛtis‚ śaucam (cleanliness) is explained in this way: “Cleanliness is of two types, internal and external. External cleanliness is achieved by the use of earth, water, etc., and the cleanliness of consciousness, or desire, is called cleanliness of the mind.” Ātma-vinigrahaḥ means ‘control of the body’. To see the miseries of birth, death, etc., means to be constantly aware of them as a source of suffering. Asaktiḥ means ‘to give up attachment to son, family, etc.,’ and anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ means ‘not becoming absorbed in the happiness or misery of others’. For example, “When my son or relative is happy, I am happy, and when they are miserable, then I am also miserable.” Iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu means ‘to remain equipoised upon receiving material objects, whether pleasurable or not pleasurable’.

Mayi means ‘in Me, in My Śyāmasundara form’, and ananya-yogena means ‘bhakti that is not mixed with jñāna-yoga, tapa-yoga, etc.’ The word ca (also) indicates pradhānī-bhūtā-bhakti, bhakti that is mixed with yet predominant over jñāna, etc. Devotees only perform the first type of bhakti (ananyā-bhakti). Jñānīs adopt the second type, pradhānī-bhūtā-bhakti, wherein jñāna is predominated by bhakti. Some devotees say, “Just as exclusive devotion is the means to attain pure love for Śrī Bhagavān, it also helps to give an experience of Paramātmā.” The confidential glories of unwavering bhakti (avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti) have been described in this final set of six chapters.

Jñānīs, however, have a different opinion about ananya-yogena, saying that it means ‘to see the self everywhere’ and that avyabhicāriṇī means ‘to perform that yoga every day’. According to Śrīpāda Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, the word avyabhicāriṇī means ‘that which cannot be checked by anything’. The word adhyātma-jñāna refers to the knowledge that is situated in the self. In order to purify the self, adhyātma-jñāna should be practised constantly. Tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam means ‘to see liberation, or mokṣa, as the goal of tattva-jñāna, to deliberate upon it and to discuss it, considering it to be one’s cherished desire’. These twenty types of knowledge are the general means to attain jñāna‚ basic knowledge of the jīvātmā and Paramātmā. Specific knowledge of the Paramātmā will be explained later. In contrast to these are symptoms of ignorance, such as the desire for honour.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “Humility; lack of false pride; non-violence; forgiveness;simplicity; service to the spiritual master; cleanliness; stability; control of the body and mind; detachment from sense objects; lack of false ego;realization of the miseries of birth, death, old age and disease; lack of attachment to son, family, etc., and indifference to their happiness and distress;even-mindedness under all circumstances; avyabhicāriṇi-bhakti (unalloyed and unswerving bhakti unto Me); residence in a solitary place; no interest in crowded places; firm belief that spiritual knowledge is eternal and the perception that mokṣa is the real purpose of tattva-jñāna–all are considered by the ignorant to be twenty transformations of kṣetra (the material body). In reality, they comprise knowledge, which destroys the transformations of kṣetra. One attains the supremely pure Absolute Truth by taking shelter of them. They are not the transformations of the field of the body; rather, they are the remedies that can destroy those transformations. Of these twenty, a person should adopt exclusive and undeviating devotion to Me (ananya-avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti). The other nineteen characteristics are secondary fruits of bhakti. They purify the impure kṣetra (body) of the jīva and ultimately help him attain his eternal, perfect kṣetra. These nineteen characteristics, which are like the throne of Bhaktī-devī, the goddess of devotion, should be understood as true knowledge. Everything else is ajñāna‚ ignorance.

Ananya-avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti is prominent among all other practices, or types of sādhana. The above qualities naturally manifest upon taking shelter of bhakti. Therefore, pure devotees only accept ananyā-bhakti, which is the intrinsic characteristic of the jīva. The qualities that are marginal characteristics then manifest concomitantly.

This is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.18.12):

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ

All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as jñāna and religiosity, always reside in the heart of those who have selfless devotion to Śrī Bhagavān. On the other hand, how can one who is not a devotee of Bhagavān possess any of the good qualities of a perfected mahā-puruṣa? Such a person is always hankering for petty worldly sense objects only.

Jñānīs practise the good qualities of saintly behaviour, non-violence, control of the mind and ego and so forth, but they do not endeavour for exclusive, unwavering devotion to Śrī Bhagavān. Their slight performance of bhakti is solely to attain perfection in jñāna, which is liberation. Therefore, it should be understood that their practice of devotion is guṇī-bhūtā-bhakti, bhakti that is predominated by jñāna and karma; it is not svarūpa-siddhā-bhakti, or pure devotion. Impersonalists, or advaitavādīs, fall into this category.