Verse 14.26

Verse 14.26: “Further, who serves Me by the Path of unswerving Devotion: he, having fully transcended these Gunas, becomes qualified to realise his oneness of essence with the Brahman. (371)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

One who renders service unto me with unswerving mind and devotion is alone able to bum the Gunas. It is now necessary to make it clear to you who I am, what is the nature of devotion to me, and what is unswerving devotion. So hear, Oh Partha, I am in this universe in the way the gem and its brilliance are one; or (I am) what is liquidity is water or what is cavity is the sky or what is sweetness is the sugar or as flames mean fire or the petals mean lotus or the branches and the fruit mean the tree: or the massing together of snow means the Himalaya or the curdled milk means curds, in all these ways what is called universe is all only myself.

It is not necessary to peal off the Moondisc (in order to see the Moon); or getting frozen on the part of clarified butter does not make it lose its quality (of clarified butter); or a wristlet of gold, even if not melted, remains all gold as it is; or a piece of cloth even without being unravelled is all yarn; or an earthen jar even without being dissolved (into its original state) is all earth. Therefore, it is not stipulated that one should set aside the phenomenal world to be able to secure me, since I am all-inclusive (of all this). To know in this way is the only “unswerving devotion to me”. To make any deviation from this or allow any drawback to creep into it, is. swerving devotion.

Therefore, dropping all distinctions, you should view me along with yourself. Were a small speck (ṭika) of gold soldered to another piece of gold (both these do no more remain separate), in that way it is not proper (for one) to take himself to be distinct from the universe. A streak or a band of splendour emanating from and coming back to get extinguished into the (same) splendour, is called a ray; the same is the aspect of the Self and the universe. There are atoms at the core of the earth or particles of snow in the Himalaya, in that way there is “Self’ (ahaṃ) in me. A ripple, however small, is not distinct from the (mass of the) sea; in that way, the ‘Self is not distinct from the Supreme God. The enlightened and joyous state of vision, emanating from this consciousness of full identity, is what we call devotion.

The essence of knowledge and the entirely of the Yoga, constitute this enlightened and joyous vision. This enlightened and joyous state (of vision) abides, Oh Warrior, like the uninterrupted showers descending from the clouds to the sea (leaving no gap between them). There is no joint (as such) connecting the mouth of a well with the sky, but they both are one without any such joint; of that type is the oneness between a man of knowledge and the Supreme God. Light is stretched out straight between the Sun and his reflection (in water), in that way the notion, “I am myself Supreme Brahman” is stretched outside (filling the cavity) between the individual soul and the Supreme Self. With such a notion once formed reciprocally, he (the man of knowledge) automatically gets merged into Supreme Spirit along with that notion.

When a crystal of salt is once dissolved in the sea (water), its property (act) of dissolution ceases to exist, Oh Son of Pandu: or the fire gets extinguished with the reducing of dry grass to ashes: in that way once all sense of distinction is destroyed through knowledge, that knowledge itself ceases to exist. The idea that I am on the yonder side, while the devotee is on this side (of the sea in the form of mundane existence) ceases to exist and there remains behind only the original eternal union between the two.

With such an embrace, in the form of this union, all talk, Oh Kiriti, of conquering the Gunas ceases to exist. In short, such a state is the Brahmic state, Oh Knower of essence, and this is attained only by such a one as worships Me. I further proclaim that to one who is my devotee in this universe, this Brahmic state will serve as a loyal and faithful wife. The water making the rippling noise and flowing along the bed of the Ganges has no other (final) place but the sea. In that way one rendering me service, Oh Kiriti, with the vision of knowledge becomes the gem in the diadem of the Brahmic state. Oh Partha, this Brahmic state (state of Supreme Brahman) is what is called “Sayujya” (sāyujya—the absorption of the soul into the state of Supreme Brahman) and it is (also named emancipation) the fourth of the four principal objects of human life (puruṣārtha). But my worship is the path (stair) leading to the Brahmic state; but do not hold (Me) as only a “means”. The Brahman is not anything distinct from Me (I tell you), since such a misconception (of my being only a means) might possibly spread in your heart.