Devanagari
भक्तियोगश्च योगश्च मया मानव्युदीरित: ।
ययोरेकतरेणैव पुरुष: पुरुषं व्रजेत् ॥ ३५ ॥
Verse text
bhakti-yogaś ca yogaś ca
mayā mānavy udīritaḥ
yayor ekatareṇaiva
puruṣaḥ puruṣaṁ vrajet
Synonyms
bhakti
—
yogaḥ — devotional service
;
ca
—
and
;
yogaḥ
—
mystic yoga
;
ca
—
also
;
mayā
—
by Me
;
mānavi
—
O daughter of Manu
;
udīritaḥ
—
described
;
yayoḥ
—
of which two
;
ekatareṇa
—
by either one
;
eva
—
alone
;
puruṣaḥ
—
a person
;
puruṣam
—
the Supreme Person
;
vrajet
—
can achieve .
Translation
My dear mother, O daughter of Manu, a devotee who applies the science of devotional service and mystic yoga in this way can achieve the abode of the Supreme Person simply by that devotional service.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I have explained bhakti-yoga and aṣṭāṅga-yoga, by which a person will attain the Supreme Lord as Bhagavān or as impersonal Brahman.
Kapila concludes the topic of bhakti-yoga, just explained, along with aṣṭāṅga-yoga that he had explained in the previous chapter. The person should attain the Supreme Lord. That means that he will directly meet the Lord’s form full of consciousness by bhakt-yoga. By aṣṭāṅga-yoga, he can directly experience the impersonal Brahman aspect of the Lord. Both of these accomplishments are indicated by the phrase “attaining me” according to the scriptures.
Purport
Herein the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kapiladeva perfectly explains that the mystic
yoga
system, consisting of eight different kinds of
yoga
activities, has to be performed with the aim of coming to the perfectional stage of
bhakti-yoga.
It is not acceptable for one to be satisfied simply by practicing the sitting postures and thinking himself complete. By meditation one must attain the stage of devotional service. As previously described, a
yogī
is advised to meditate on the form of Lord Viṣṇu from point to point, from the ankles to the legs to the knees to the thighs to the chest to the neck, and in this way gradually up to the face and then to the ornaments. There is no question of impersonal meditation.
When, by meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead in all detail, one comes to the point of love of God, that is the point of
bhakti-yoga,
and at that point he must actually render service to the Lord out of transcendental love. Anyone who practices
yoga
and comes to the point of devotional service can attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental abode. Here it is clearly stated,
puruṣaḥ puruṣaṁ vrajet:
the
puruṣa,
the living entity, goes to the Supreme Person. The Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entity are qualitatively one; both are defined as
puruṣa.
The quality of
puruṣa
exists both in the Supreme Godhead and in the living entity.
Puruṣa
means “enjoyer,” and the spirit of enjoyment is present both in the living entity and in the Supreme Lord. The difference is that the quantity of enjoyment is not equal. The living entity cannot experience the same quantity of enjoyment as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. An analogy may be made with a rich man and a poor man: the propensity for enjoyment is present in both, but the poor man cannot enjoy in the same quantity as the rich man. When the poor man dovetails his desires with those of the rich man, however, and when there is cooperation between the poor man and the rich man, or between the big and the small man, then the enjoyment is shared equally. That is like
bhakti-yoga.
Puruṣaḥ puruṣaṁ vrajet:
when the living entity enters into the kingdom of God and cooperates with the Supreme Lord by giving Him enjoyment, he enjoys the same facility or the same amount of pleasure as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
On the other hand, when the living entity wants to enjoy by imitating the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his desire is called
māyā,
and it puts him in the material atmosphere. A living entity who wants to enjoy on his personal account and not cooperate with the Supreme Lord is engaged in materialistic life. As soon as he dovetails his enjoyment with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is engaged in spiritual life. An example may be cited here: The different limbs of the body cannot enjoy life independently; they must cooperate with the whole body and supply food to the stomach. In so doing, all the different parts of the body enjoy equally in cooperation with the whole body. That is the philosophy of
acintya-bhedābheda,
simultaneous oneness and difference. The living entity cannot enjoy life in opposition to the Supreme Lord; he has to dovetail his activities with the Lord by practicing
bhakti-yoga.
It is said herein that one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead by either the
yoga
process or the
bhakti-yoga
process. This indicates that factually there is no difference between
yoga
and
bhakti-yoga
because the target of both is Viṣṇu. In the modern age, however, a
yoga
process has been manufactured which aims at something void and impersonal. Actually,
yoga
means meditation on the form of Lord Viṣṇu. If the
yoga
practice is actually performed according to the standard direction, there is no difference between
yoga
and
bhakti-yoga.