Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 26 (BG 14.26) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

The Bhagavad Gita, being a practical scriptural text on dharma, does not merely expound principles. After the discussion of each principle, it describes the practice through which a seeker can attain perfection. One who serves Me through unwavering devotional yoga attains supreme love and devotion to the Divine. Our mind naturally becomes absorbed in what we cherish. Our entire nature is nourished by our thoughts. As the thought, so the mind—this is the law. Therefore, through one-pointed contemplation of the infinite nature of the atman, the limited and mortal ego dissolves, and one becomes established in one's true nature. It is true that unbroken contemplation of the Supreme Self cannot be sustained with equal steadiness and intensity at all times. In the condition in which we find ourselves today, we lack the capacity to hold the mind steady in meditation for extended periods. Knowing this limitation of seekers, the Lord reveals a means by which we can maintain remembrance of the Divine for long duration. And that means is service. In the Third Chapter, it has been explained that actions of service performed with the feeling of offering to the Divine become worship of the Divine. This makes clear that idol worship or chanting alone is insufficient. The Teacher of the Gita expects of His devotees that they do not confine their dharma merely to the prayer room or temples. They should follow dharma in their daily life, in their work, and in their dealings with people. Unbroken remembrance of the Divine and the practice of service remove the distractions of the mind and prepare it for the subtler practice of meditation. The qualities of darkness and passion diminish, and in that same measure, the quality of purity increases. Such a seeker, predominant in the quality of purity, becomes fit for the practice of meditation. For such a seeker, the experience of the atman is not far away. The highest aspirant, having experienced the nature of Brahman, becomes Brahman itself. Just as the dreamer, upon waking, becomes the waking person. Listen—how does this seeker become Brahman?