Chapter 10 Shloka 11

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तम:।

नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता।।११।।

In order to shower My grace upon them,

I personally dwell in their innermost Self

and eradicate the darkness of ignorance

from within them with the

luminescent flame of knowledge.

Chapter 10 Shloka 11

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तम:।

नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता।।११।।

The Lord describes the one who possesses buddhi yoga:

In order to shower My grace upon them, I personally dwell in their innermost Self and eradicate the darkness of ignorance from within them with the luminescent flame of knowledge.

Look little one, I personally bestow My grace upon those who have dedicated even their life breath unto Me; to them I impart buddhi yoga.

The Lord’s compassion upon His devotees

That compassionate guardian of His devotees – the Lord Himself says, “I abide in the very self of those devotees and light within them the flame of knowledge to destroy the darkness of ignorance from within them.”

One could say that the Lord thus:

a) personally accepts and embraces His devotees;

b) Himself points out the path for them to follow;

c) personally leads them away from ignorance;

d) personally establishes them in knowledge.

However, little one, before the Lord can bestow buddhi yoga upon His beloved devotee and light the flame of knowledge within him, it is essential that He is first welcomed into the heart of that devotee. It is imperative that the devotee first establishes that supreme love for the Lord within his heart; only then can the Lord endow His special gift of buddhi yoga upon such a one. The Lord proclaims “I personally make such a devotee My own.”

The state of one who possesses exclusive devotion

Look my love! First understand the state of one who possesses such exclusive devotion.

1. The ‘I’ of such a devotee is ever absorbed in That Supreme One.

2. His mind is fixed irrevocably in Him alone.

3. His mind is completely silent towards the world.

4. He no longer has the leisure to indulge in the vagaries of the mind.

5. He does not care whether he receives recognition or brickbats – his concentration is ever focused on the Lord.

6. He is ever satiated and seeks nothing further from the world.

7. He is imbued with a selfless attitude, since he seeks nothing from anybody.

8. Devotion to the Lord replaces attachment to the world and the material realm.

9. How can the mind be disturbed by clamour when all the mental tendencies are engaged in constant praise of the Lord?

10. How can the intellect remain subservient to the body when the mind itself is engaged elsewhere?

11. No matter where his body roams, no matter what it does, no matter if physical solitude is achieved or not, such a one abides in complete solitude within, since his mind-stuff is focused on the Supreme.

12. He has given his body to the world which sought only his bodily potential. He himself has no need for the physical body since he seeks to attain nothing through it.

One ever absorbed in Samadhi in the Supreme

a) Such a one is ever united with the Lord.

b) Such a one, ever established in Supreme Yoga, is completely absorbed in that Supreme Lord.

c) He who is thus detached from his body self, is also eternally satiated.

With regard to such a one, the Lord says:

1. I shall personally light the flame of knowledge within such a one.

2. I shall irradiate the inner self of that devotee as the earthen lamps illuminate the darkness during the festival of Diwali.

3. I shall personally come to perform the last rites of the ‘I’ of that devotee imbued with exclusive devotion.

For such a one, the Lord:

a) dons the form of a humble servitor – a yaksha;

b) dons the form of Yamraj, the God of Death;

c) takes the form of Uma, the Goddess of Knowledge;

d) takes different divine forms and comes to light the inner realms of His devotee’s mind with the flame of knowledge.

One must remember however, that the Lord has said, “Established in the deepest recesses of the devotee’s heart, I light the flame of knowledge.” Evidently that Supreme One does not impart a physical vision of Himself – this is an internal phenomenon. If his life becomes akin to the Divine Shiva Himself, Ganga will inevitably flow from the forehead of that devotee. Assuming the form of the eternal flow of divine knowledge, it will wash away the unmanifest latencies and the sanskars of many a birth. One who is able to trace his path towards Shiva along the banks of this purifying Ganga of knowledge, will indeed become like Shiva Himself – he will belong to that Supreme Shiva.

The knowledge that springs forth thus from within the heart is a sanctified gift of the Lord Himself. It is a divine language of the soul and will ensure the well-being of whosoever bathes in that purified flow. It is a token of the Lord’s grace, His tender love and His warm compassion.