श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते।
ध्यानात्कर्मफलत्यागस्त्यागाच्छान्तिरनन्तरम्।।12.12।।
।।12.12।।अभ्याससे शास्त्रज्ञान श्रेष्ठ है? शास्त्रज्ञानसे ध्यान श्रेष्ठ है और ध्यानसे भी सब कर्मोंके फलका त्याग श्रेष्ठ है। कर्मफलत्यागसे तत्काल ही परमशान्ति प्राप्त हो जाती है।
4 5 If the performance of activities for the Supreme Lord is merely an exercise ordered by the mind for the body to enact then in no way can it be considered bhakti or exclusive loving devotion as it being merely a dictate of the mind has no connection to the heart and without passing through the heart there is no possibility of accessing the consciousness of the atma or eternal soul. The mind however great it may be has no qualification or eligibility to access the atma. Thus it would behove an aspirant to pursue the next alternative and attempt to develop atma tattva or soul realisation as instructed by Lord Krishna in verses III. IV and V of this chapter. If after prolonged practice and attempts if atna tattva does not arise because of a lack of inner spiritual development or due to an unstable mind easily distracted or because of weakness in controlling the senses then one should adopt themselves to the contemplation and reflection of the atma as delineated in chapter two as the next alternative. If even this is to difficult to execute with regularity then one should perform activities that please the Supreme Lord and renounce the desire for rewards for it. Such activities are associating with His devotees and rendering service to them, celebrating the appearance days of Him and His avatars or incarnations and fasting from all grains on ekadasi which is the 11th day of the waxing and waning moon. Performing activities in this way without any interest in receiving rewards and benefits will result in the absence of all reactions and thus the cessation of all sins. Thereafter one will achieve peace of mind and from there one becomes a candidate for practising contemplation of the atma. In conclusion aspirants who are inept at performing bhakti are encouraged to perform simpler methods which will step by step gradually bring one up to that platform. Thus alternative methods applicable for the inept who wish to evolve themselves have been succinctly enumerated.
