Bg. 12.20

Concluding the description of bhakti yoga, the Lord speaks of the results of that bhakti. Those devotees who take full shelter (paryupāsate) of the sweet means to attain Me which has just been described, starting with mayy āveśya mano ye mām (BG 12.2; those who take shelter of the process to attain Me, just as they take shelter of Me, who am to be attained by the method; devotees who are faithful to bhakti and who are absorbed in Me (mat paramā), are very dear to Me. Kṛṣṇa is controlled by the persons devoted to Him alone, and by the persons devoted solely to the process of bhakti dedicated to Him. The most beautiful Kṛṣṇa is conquered completely by love. This has been explained in the twelfth chapter. Chapter 13 Bg 13.1, Bg 13.2, Bg 13.1-2 AJauRNa ovac Pa[k*-iTa& Pauṛz& cEv +ae}a& +ae}ajMaev c ) WTaŪeidTauiMaC^aiMa jaNa& jeYa& c ke-Xav )) 1 )) ī[q>aGavaNauvacwd& Xarqr& k-aENTaeYa +ae}aiMaTYai>aDaqYaTae ) WTaÛae veita Ta& Pa[ahu" +ae}aj wiTa TaiŪd" )) 2 )) arjuna uvāca prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetra-jṣam eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jṣānaṁ jṣeyaṁ ca keśava śrī-bhagavān uvāca idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣetra-jṣa iti tad-vidaḥ arjunaḥ uvāca—Arjuna said; prakṛtim—nature; puruṣam—the enjoyer; ca—also; eva—certainly; kṣetram—the field; kṣetra-jṣam—the knower of the field; eva—certainly; ca—also; etat—all this; veditum—to understand; icchāmi—I wish; jṣānam—knowledge; jṣeyam—the object of knowledge; ca—also; keśava—O Kṛṣṇa; śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Personality of Godhead said; idam—this; śarīram—body; kaunteya—O son of Kuntī; kṣetram—the field; iti—thus; abhidhīyate—is called; etat—this; yaḥ—one who; vetti—knows; tam—he; prāhuḥ—is called; kṣetra-jṣaḥ—the knower of the field; iti—thus; tat—vidaḥ—by those who know this. Arjuna said: O Keśava, I desire to know about prakṛti, puruṣa, the field and knower of the filed, as well as the process of knowing and the object of knowledge. [Note: This verse is omitted in some editions.] The precise natures of the jīva, the Lord and matter, which were discussed in the previous six chapters will be further explained in the last six chapters. Jnāna serves as the door to bhakti, which was just taught. In the thirteenth chapter the Lord will speak detailed knowledge of the body, the jīva and the Lord. The first six chapters described knowledge of the jīvātmā which is attained through niṣkāma karma yoga, and which is useful to attain knowledge of paramātmā. In the second six chapters worship of paramātmā, called bhakti, was taught along with a description of the Lord’s powers. Only pure bhakti however brings the Lord under control and lets one attain the Lord. This worship of paramātmā destroys the suffering of those worshippers desiring relief from distress, wealth or knowledge. By association with the exclusive devotees, such mixed devotees become pure, and that pure bhakti allows them to attain the Lord. When the bhakti process is mixed with jṣāna or yoga, one attains perception of the majestic form of the Lord and this yields liberation. This has already been described. Now, in the last six chapters, the universe caused by the combination of prakṛti and puruṣa, the forms of the Lord, and the essential natures of karma, bhakti and jṣāna will be explained. In order to clarify jṣāna, in the thirteenth chapter the real natures of the body, the jīva, the Supreme Lord will be delineated. The cause of relation of the body with the jīva, who is distinct from his body, and the method of making the distinction will be considered. The Lord begins to speak in order to explain these things. O son of Kuntī, the wise call this body, along with its senses and prāṇa, the field, because it causes growth of experiences of happiness and distress for the jīva, the enjoyer. Those who know (tad vidaḥ) the real nature of the field and the knower of the field, define “the knower of the field” (who is a knower different from the body which it knows), as a person who, while sleeping, eating and performing other activities, knows that this body is not the ātmā, though it is perceived by the ignorant as themselves (as deva, man or object), and knows that the body is the means of both enjoyment and liberation for the ātmā. Bhāgavatām explains that the body is a means for enjoyment and liberation: adanti caikaṁ phalam asya gṛdhnā grāmecarā ekam araṇya-vāsā| comhaṁsā ya ekaṁ bahu-rūpam ijyair māyā-mayaṁ veda sa veda vedam Those lusty after material enjoyment and dedicated to family life enjoy one of the tree’s fruits, and swanlike men in the renounced order of life enjoy the other fruit. One who with the help of the bona fide spiritual masters can understand this tree to be a manifestation of the potency of the one Supreme Truth appearing in many forms actually knows the meaning of the Vedic literature. (SB 11.12.23) Thus those who think that the body is the self are not knowers of the field, since they do not know that real nature and function of the body.