Summary :

The way of bhakti is not different from the way of efforts : 

Friends, in a way we have today reached the end of the Gita. In the Fifteenth Chapter, all the ideas put forward in the Gita reach their consummation. Chapters 16 and 17 are in the nature of appendices, and there is the summing-up in the Chapter 18. Hence the Lord has termed this Fifteenth Chapter ‘a shastra’ (science).”इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रं इदमुक्तं मयानघ“(‘O blameless one, I have told you this most secret shastra.’), says the Lord at the end of this Chapter.

So far,the elaboration of the principles of life and the revelation of the spiritual wisdom is complete here. The essence of the Vedas is in this Chapter. The very function of the Vedas is to make man aware of the realm of spirituality. This has been done in this Chapter and it has therefore earned the title, ‘the essence of the Vedas.’ 

In the Thirteenth Chapter we saw that the Self should be separated from the body. In the Fourteenth Chapter we saw how efforts could be made in this regard. Rajas and tamas should be resolutely forsaken, sattva should be developed and attachment to it should be overcome. The fruit received because of it should be renounced. Efforts should be continued in this way. In the end, we were told that Self-realization is indispensable for those efforts to be wholly successful. And Self-realization is possible only through bhakti. But the way of bhakti is not something different from the way of making efforts. To suggest this, the samsara has been compared, at the beginning of the Fifteenth Chapter, to a great tree. This tree has enormous branches that are nourished by the three gunas. It is said right at the beginning that this tree should be cut down with the axe of detachment and dispassion.     

Bhakti makes the effort easier 

We cannot cut up life.We just cannot conceive that karma, jnana and bhakti are disconnected from each other; it is just not true.  Jnana, bhakti and karma—that is, ceaseless effort—are the three legs of the tripod of life. Life should be built on these three pillars. Logically, you may take jnana, bhakti and karma as different things, but they cannot be separated from each other in practice. The three together make one great entity. While doing some ‘work’ ( karma),we need to have ‘knowledge’( jnana) how to do it and we need to do it with ‘passion ( bhakti)’.Only then that work becomes great.

To say that the way of bhakti is easy means that work does not appear burdensome because of bhakti. Work loses its strenuousness. No matter how much work we do, we feel as if we have done nothing.

Bhakti makes sadhana easy. But without Self-knowledge, there is no hope of going beyond the three gunas permanently. How could one have Self-knowledge? The only means is the way of bhakti which involves doing sattvic actions continuously, assimilating sattva thereby, and overcoming pride for it and attachment to its fruit. Only by continuous unremitting efforts on these lines one can reach the goal of Self-realization.

The triad of service

The bhakta is the servant, while the Lord is the one who should be served. The rest of the creation is the means of worship.This is the triad of service. This is the teaching in this Chapter.But normally a devotee worshiping an image does not look upon everything in the world as the means of worship. He picks and chooses a few things. He goes to a garden and fetches a few flowers, brings a few incense sticks, and prepares some food-offerings. This is not in keeping with the teaching in this Chapter. All the means of doing penance, the means of doing karma constitute the means for the Lord’s service. The idea is to make all the actions the articles of worship in this way. Nothing exists in the world except these three : the worshiper, the Lord and the means of worship.

Akshar purusha is such a lifelong servant. He says, “The Lord is ever there and I, the servant, too exist for ever. If He is deathless, so am I, the servant. Let us see whether He gets tired of my service or I get tired of serving Him! I shall follow Him in all His incarnations. If He comes in the form of Rama, I shall be Hanuman. If He comes in the form of Krishna, I shall be Uddhava. Every time He comes into being, I too shall be there.” Let that be the spirit. Akshar purusha, the imperishable person, serves the Lord in this way age after age. 

The Lord who is to be served is Purushottam and jiva, the servant, is the akshar purusha. Both are imperishable, but the creation around us, which provides the means for service, is perishable. And its perishability has profound significance. It is not a defect; it is its glory. It is because of this that the creation is ever new. Yesterday’s flowers will not do for today’s worship; everyday you can have fresh flowers. That the creation is perishable is a great blessing. It adds to the glory and splendor of service. ‘Just as I use fresh flowers daily for worship, I shall also put on new bodies and serve the Lord. I shall go on giving new forms to my means of worship.’—That is what the bhakta aspires for. Beauty is because of perishability.

It is its mutability that makes the creation perennial. The nature of the creation is like a gently flowing stream. If a stream stops flowing, it would become a stagnant pool. The water of the river flows in an unbroken stream. It is forever changing. One finds joy in something if there is newness, freshness in it.If the means of service are ever new, the enthusiasm for service grows and the spirit of service gets developed.

Bhakti means service without any sense of ‘I’

All our actions should thus become acts of worship. While sweeping the village roads, I should feel that I am serving the Lord in the form of my neighbors. The Gita wishes to imprint this attitude on us. It wants all the actions to become acts of worship. Worshiping for half an hour or so does not satisfy it. The holy text yearns to see the whole life charged with the Lord’s presence, with the spirit of worship.

The mark of jnana : Seeing the Purusha everywhere  

Karma and bhakti are one and the same; there is thus no question of combining bhakti with karma. The same is true about jnana. How can we have jnana? The Gita says, “You will have it when you see Purusha everywhere.” The eternal servant is Purusha; the Lord, the recipient of service, the Purushottam, is also Purusha and the creation which flows continuously, takes different forms and provides different things for worship, is also Purusha—all are different forms of Purusha only. 

The Gita has finally brought us to the path of service that is full of advaita (non-duality). There are three forms of Purusha in the whole of the creation, and it is the Purushottam who takes all these forms. These three together constitute one single Purusha. Nowhere is there any duality, any distinctions. This is the pinnacle of spirituality where the Gita has brought us. Here, karma, bhakti and jnana fuse together and become one. Jiva (the lower self), Shiva (the Absolute, or the Supreme Self) and the creation become one. There is then no conflict, no contradiction between karma, bhakti and jnana.This is what Purushottam Yoga is.

The essence of all the Vedas is in the palm of my hands

What is the point in asking, “Where is the Veda?” The Veda is not somewhere else; all of us have received it when we are born. We are the living embodiment of the Veda. We are the consummation of a long tradition. We are the fruit of the tree that has sprouted from the Veda-seed.Within this fruit, there are seeds of innumerable Vedas. The Vedas have grown many times within us.

In short, the essence of the Vedas is in our hands; it is for us to realize it. It means that life has to be built on the foundation of service, love and knowledge. 

The Lord is saying here, ‘The Vedas know Me only; I am the Purushottam, the essence of all the Vedas.’ Would it not be wonderful if we could assimilate this Purushottam Yoga in our lives! The Gita is suggesting here that the Vedas express themselves in every action of the person who assimilates Purushottama Yoga. This Chapter contains the essence of the Gita. The Gita’s teaching is fully revealed here. Everybody should strive to follow this ceaselessly. What else can one say?

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