Bg. 9.34

BG 9.34
Srila Prabhupada 500+

Devanagari

मन्मना भव मद्भ‍क्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु । मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायण: ॥ ३४ ॥

Verse text

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

Synonyms

mat-manāḥ always thinking of Me ; bhava become ; mat My ; bhaktaḥ devotee ; mat My ; yājī worshiper ; mām unto Me ; namas-kuru offer obeisances ; mām unto Me ; eva completely ; eṣyasi you will come ; yuktvā being absorbed ; evam thus ; ātmānam your soul ; mat-parāyaṇaḥ devoted to Me.

Translation

Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

34. Concentrate your mind on Me. Be My devotee. Worship Me. Offer respects to Me. Having absorbed your body and mind in Me, surrendering to Me, you will come to Me.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

34. Concentrate your mind on Me. Be My devotee. Worship Me. Offer respects to Me. Having absorbed your body and mind in Me, taking shelter only of Me, you will come to Me.

Purport

In this verse it is clearly indicated that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only means of being delivered from the clutches of this contaminated material world. Sometimes unscrupulous commentators distort the meaning of what is clearly stated here: that all devotional service should be offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Unfortunately, unscrupulous commentators divert the mind of the reader to that which is not at all feasible. Such commentators do not know that there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s mind and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not an ordinary human being; He is Absolute Truth. His body, His mind and He Himself are one and absolute. It is stated in the Kūrma Purāṇa, as it is quoted by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī in his Anubhāṣya comments on Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Fifth Chapter, Ādi-līlā, verses 41–48), deha-dehi-vibhedo ’yaṁ neśvare vidyate kvacit. This means that there is no difference in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, between Himself and His body. But because the commentators do not know this science of Kṛṣṇa, they hide Kṛṣṇa and divide His personality from His mind or from His body. Although this is sheer ignorance of the science of Kṛṣṇa, some men make profit out of misleading people. There are some who are demonic; they also think of Kṛṣṇa, but enviously, just like King Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa’s uncle. He was also thinking of Kṛṣṇa always, but he thought of Kṛṣṇa as his enemy. He was always in anxiety, wondering when Kṛṣṇa would come to kill him. That kind of thinking will not help us. One should be thinking of Kṛṣṇa in devotional love. That is bhakti. One should cultivate the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa continuously. What is that favorable cultivation? It is to learn from a bona fide teacher. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we have several times explained that His body is not material, but is eternal, blissful knowledge. This kind of talk about Kṛṣṇa will help one become a devotee. Understanding Kṛṣṇa otherwise, from the wrong source, will prove fruitless. One should therefore engage his mind in the eternal form, the primal form of Kṛṣṇa; with conviction in his heart that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, he should engage himself in worship. There are hundreds of thousands of temples in India for the worship of Kṛṣṇa, and devotional service is practiced there. When such practice is made, one has to offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa. One should lower his head before the Deity and engage his mind, his body, his activities – everything. That will make one fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa without deviation. This will help one transfer to Kṛṣṇaloka. One should not be deviated by unscrupulous commentators. One must engage in the nine different processes of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotional service is the highest achievement of human society. The Seventh and Eighth chapters of Bhagavad-gītā have explained pure devotional service to the Lord that is free from speculative knowledge, mystic yoga and fruitive activities. Those who are not purely sanctified may be attracted by different features of the Lord like the impersonal brahma-jyotir and localized Paramātmā, but a pure devotee directly takes to the service of the Supreme Lord. There is a beautiful poem about Kṛṣṇa in which it is clearly stated that any person who is engaged in the worship of demigods is most unintelligent and cannot achieve at any time the supreme award of Kṛṣṇa. The devotee, in the beginning, may sometimes fall from the standard, but still he should be considered superior to all other philosophers and yogīs. One who always engages in Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be understood to be a perfectly saintly person. His accidental nondevotional activities will diminish, and he will soon be situated without any doubt in complete perfection. The pure devotee has no actual chance to fall down, because the Supreme Godhead personally takes care of His pure devotees. Therefore, the intelligent person should take directly to the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and happily live in this material world. He will eventually receive the supreme award of Kṛṣṇa. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Ninth Chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of the Most Confidential Knowledge.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse the Lord concludes by describing the method of worship. Therefore, having absorbed your body and mind in Me (ātmānaṁ yukta), you will certainly come to Me. That supreme position of pure bhakti, the topmost secret, which does not discriminate between who is qualified or unqualified, and by its contact purifies all persons, has been described in this chapter. Here ends the commentaries on the ninth chapter of the Gītā for the pleasure of the devotees’ minds, by the mercy of the ācāryas.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

In this verse the Lord concludes by teaching the most desirable, pure bhakti to Arjuna, who was a pariniṣṭhita bhakta. [Note: The same verse is used at the end of the Gīta to illustrate the nirapekṣa devotee.] The person devoted to the king, the king’ṣ servant, because he thinks of his wife and other things, though he thinks of the king also, does not become a real devotee of the king, completely identifying with the king’s needs. But you should not be like that. You should be My devotee who thinks of Me at all times (man manā mad bhaktaḥ). Have your mind like an unbroken stream of honey constantly absorbed in Me, the son of Vasudeva, possessing qualities such as a complexion like a blue lotus, through understanding My lordship over you and My bestowal of the highest benefit to you. Then, be My worshipper, be absorbed in worshipping My form, the most dear object. Offer your respects to My form with intense prema. Having offered your mind and body (ātmānam yuktvā) to Me, taking shelter only of Me (mat parāyaṇaḥ), you will come to Me. By this statement it is understood that after offering these activities of bhakti to the Lord, one performs them. In this chapter, bhakti, like the Gaṅga, not considering who is suitable or unsuitable, and destroying all sins by its very touch, is alone considered to be the king of all secrets. Chapter 10

Surrender Unto Me

The first thing one should do is, not just work, work, and work for Krsna, but engage one's mind in always thinking of Krsna (man‑mana bhava mad‑bhakto) and become His devotee. Baladeva Vidyabhusana says: "the mind should be fixed on Krsna uninterruptedly like honey flows from a bottle." Srila Prabhupada explains in his Purport: "There is a beautiful poem about Krsna in which it is clearly stated that any person who is engaged in the worship of demigods is most unintelligent and cannot achieve at any time the supreme award of Krsna. The devotee, in the beginning, may sometimes fall from the standard, but still he should be considered superior t other philosophers and yogis. One who always engages in Krsna consciousness should be understood to be a perfectly sa person. His accidental nondevotional activities will diminish, and he will soon be situated without any doubt in complete perfection. The pure devotee has no actual chance to fall down, because the Supreme Godhead personally takes care of His pure devotees. Therefore, the intelligent person should take directly to the process of Krsna consciousness and happily live in this material world. He will eventually receive the supreme award of Krsna." This verse is the essence of all confidential knowledge. It is exactly in the middle of the Bhagavad‑gita. This is the 'most confidential knowledge.' THUS ENDS THE STUDY OF CHAPTER NINE.