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Study a Verse
Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 14.26
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥ २६ ॥
māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Full devotional service, steady in all circumstances, immediately lifts one beyond the modes of material nature to the level of Brahman.
Prabhupāda explains that the devotee shares Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual qualities but remains an individual, exchanging love with Him.
Rather than being disturbed by material nature’s activities, focus on acting for Kṛṣṇa with steady determination.
Answers to the third question — By pure devotional service one can transcend and achieve Brahman liberation
Suggested solution for transcending the modes — Transfer your consciousness to Krishna activities called “Bhakti-yoga” and not disturb your consciousness by activities of the three modes
Transfer to any form — This includes not only Krishna, but all His plenary expansions. Service to any of these forms is transcendental
All the forms are equipotent — All the forms of Krishna are omnipotent, omniscient, transcendental and sac-cid-ananda
Power of service — Service with unfailing determination to any form helps to overcome the modes (Ref. Bg. 7.14)
Qualification to serve — To be in Krishna consciousness implies acquiring qualitative equality with Krishna (sac-cid-ananda)
Analogy: Gold mine and a particle of gold
Analogy: To be a personal assistant to the king one must acquire the qualifications
Qualification to serve Krishna is “to become Brahman”
To become Brahman implies to be freed from material contamination
Ref. Vedic literature – One can attain the Supreme Brahman by becoming Brahman, but not losing eternal individual identity
Individuality in service is an eternal fact — Bhakti-yoga means individuality is maintained eternally
– Bhakti-yoga means:
3 things – The lord, the devotee, The process of bhakti (All 3 must be there)
LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 14.26 & 14.27 — One may ask after reading 14.26 why one in full devotional service will attain Brahman. After all, his desire is not Brahman realization but Krishna’s service. Krishna therefore expands His answer for clarification and ends the chapter by describing His own relationship to Brahman. He thus again stresses bhakti.
Hope for transcendence
One transcends all the modes by knowing the following two points:
All within this world takes place under the modes
Krishna’s activities are transcendental to the modes
Krishna explains that one can transcend the modes by engaging unfailingly in full devotional service
One will then come to Brahman platform of which Krishna is the source
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Three modes
Unfailing bhakti transcends the modes.
Devotional service
Unfailing devotional service transcends the modes.
Liberation
Devotional service transcends the modes.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
Am I only trying to optimize my circumstances, or transcend material conditioning?
Strengthen a steady devotional habit regardless of changing moods.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.