This summary is about all twenty verses of the twelfth chapter of the Gita (Gita 12.1–20). It is the first stop on the path of devotion.

The question is this: how can one who wishes to go towards the Lord go, and what should one do whose mind will not stay?

The answer in one sentence

There is a way, and it is for a person in every condition. If the mind stays, there is the direct way. If it does not, the Lord comes down like a ladder, one step at a time, and tells what can be done today. And at the end there is the picture of the devotee dear to Him, who hates no one and of whom no one is afraid.

The three parts

The chapter has three parts.

The first part is verses 12.1 to 12.5. The question is which way is better. The answer is that the one who fixes his mind on the Lord is best. The way of the unmanifest also reaches Him, but it is hard. A piece on this is Devotion or the Unmanifest.

The second part is verses 12.6 to 12.12. The question is what to do if the mind will not stay. The answer is four steps, and after the lightest step, peace at once. A piece on this is The Ladder of Devotion.

The third part is verses 12.13 to 12.20. The question is who is dear to the Lord. The answer is the one who is free of hatred, friendly and compassionate, even and content. A piece on this is The Devotee Dear to the Lord.

Why it comes after chapter 11

In the eleventh chapter it was said that the vision is not won by the Vedas, austerity, giving or sacrifice (Gita 11.53), and that only by undivided devotion can the Lord be known, seen and entered (Gita 11.54). Verse 11.55 gave the summary of the chapter: work for Me, hold Me as supreme, be My devotee, free from attachment and free from enmity (Gita 11.55).

Arjuna's question rises from here. If devotion has been called so high, who is better, the devotee or the worshipper of the unmanifest (Gita 12.1)?

The twelfth chapter is not a wholly new teaching. It is the unfolding of the summary in verse 11.55. "Hold Me as supreme" spreads out into verses 12.6 and 12.20. "Work for Me" into verse 12.10. "Free from enmity" into verse 12.13. And "free from attachment" into verse 12.18.

Part one: Arjuna's question and the answer

Arjuna speaks of two seekers. One is always engaged with the Lord and worships the form. The other worships the imperishable formless Brahman. The question is who knows yoga best (Gita 12.1).

The answer is in verse 12.2: the one who fixes his mind on Me, ever steadfast, and worships with supreme faith, is the best yogi. The sixth chapter says the same: the one who has set his inner self on the Lord with faith and worships with love is the highest (Gita 6.47).

The other way is not rejected (Gita 12.3–4). Those who worship the imperishable, unmanifest, all-pervading, unmoving, eternal and indefinable Brahman, who control the senses, stay even everywhere and are engaged in the good of all, also reach the Lord Himself.

The difference is one of difficulty. For those who fix their mind on the unmanifest the trouble is far greater, and for an embodied being the way of the unmanifest is reached with great difficulty (Gita 12.5).

Part two: Four steps if the mind will not stay

First there is a promise. For the one who offers all actions to Me, holds Me as the goal and meditates on Me with undivided devotion, I quickly become the one who lifts him out of the ocean of death and worldly life (Gita 12.6–7). The work of taking across is taken by the Lord upon Himself.

Then come the four steps.

The first step is in verse 12.8: fix your mind and intellect on Me alone. This is for one whose mind can stay.

The second step is in verse 12.9: if the mind will not stay, return it again and again by practice. This is for one whose mind wanders.

The third step is in verse 12.10: if even practice is hard, act for Me. This is for one for whom sitting is hard, but who can work.

The fourth step is in verse 12.11: if even this cannot be done, keep the mind and senses controlled and give up the fruit of all actions. This is for one for whom everything seems hard.

Verse 12.12 says that knowledge is better than practice without understanding, meditation is better than knowledge, giving up the fruit of action is better than meditation, and peace follows at once after giving up (Gita 12.12).

The fourth step seems the lightest, yet it is the one placed highest. One stream of commentators takes this as the true order. The other takes it as praise of the easiest step, so that nobody thinks it small. What both agree on is that the last step is not the step of the weak. Its fruit is peace, and at once.

These four steps are not tests but supports for walking. The devotee does not try to cross alone. Companion verses say that the Lord carries what the devotee needs and protects what he has (Gita 9.22), and that by His grace every difficulty is crossed (Gita 18.58).

The third step is the same as in verse 3.30: offering all actions to Me, giving up hope and the sense of mine, without anxiety. The first step is the same as in verse 9.34: fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship, bow (Gita 3.30, Gita 9.34). The full account is in The Ladder of Devotion.

Part three: The devotee dear to the Lord

This part is eight verses long. In it Arjuna asks no question. The Lord Himself tells. And the list is one of conduct, not a count of acts of worship.

The "mind and intellect offered" of verse 12.14 is the same as what was commanded in verse 12.8. The first teaches how to walk, and the second shows what a person becomes by walking. The word "dear" returns in verses 12.14 to 12.17 and 12.19, and in verse 12.20 comes "exceedingly dear".

The marks can be seen in four groups.

Towards others, he hates no being and is a friend to all and full of compassion (Gita 12.13). He by whom no one is troubled and who is not troubled by anyone (Gita 12.15).

Within himself, he is always content, self-controlled and firm in resolve, with mind and intellect given to the Lord (Gita 12.14). He is free from expectation, pure, skilful, impartial and free from anxiety (Gita 12.16).

In events, he neither rejoices overmuch, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires (Gita 12.17). He is the same to foe and friend, in honour and dishonour (Gita 12.18), and the same in blame and praise (Gita 12.19).

In his own needs, he is content with whatever comes, has no bond of "this is mine" to any place, and his understanding is steady (Gita 12.19).

"Dear" does not mean partiality. The Lord is equal in all, yet the devotee is in Him and He is in the devotee (Gita 9.29). This is a relation of nearness, not of partiality.

And verse 12.20 says that those who follow this "nectar of dharma" as it has been told, with faith, holding the Lord as the supreme goal, are exceedingly dear (Gita 12.20). This is taken up in The Devotee Dear to the Lord.

The marks in everyday moments

These marks can be tested in everyday moments. Not keeping hatred, and keeping friendliness (Gita 12.13). Not troubling others (Gita 12.15). Mending things skilfully while free from expectation and anxiety (Gita 12.16). Neither hating nor grieving at another's success (Gita 12.17). Staying even in praise and criticism (Gita 12.19). And being content with whatever comes (Gita 12.19).

One thing is common to all these moments: something inside grips, and the same grip comes out in behaviour. That is why the Lord lists the marks, and before them gives the steps.

Where else the Gita says this

The sixth chapter says that of all yogis the devotee is highest (Gita 6.47). The verdict of verse 12.2 comes from there.

The eighteenth chapter says that through devotion one knows the Lord in truth, and having known, enters (Gita 18.55). So devotion and knowledge do not clash. Devotion is itself the means of knowing.

The seventh chapter says that the wise one who is ever steadfast and devoted to the one Lord is exceedingly dear to Him, and He to him (Gita 7.17). A piece on this is Four Kinds of Devotees.

In the second and fourteenth chapters there is evenness in honour and dishonour, pleasure and pain, friend and foe. In the second chapter these are the marks of the person of steady wisdom, and in the fourteenth of one beyond the qualities (Gita 2.55–57, Gita 14.24–25). The picture is the same in all three places. Here it is seen from the side of love. A piece on this is Equanimity.

And the eighth chapter says: remember Me at all times, and do your duty too (Gita 8.7).

Three common misunderstandings

The first misunderstanding is that devotion means giving up action and knowledge. All four steps pass through action (Gita 12.6, Gita 12.10, Gita 12.11), knowledge is placed above practice without understanding (Gita 12.12), and in verse 8.7 duty goes along. The devotee has nothing to give up. He has to turn everything towards the Lord.

The second is that worship of the formless is wrong. They too reach the Lord (Gita 12.4), but the road is hard for embodied beings (Gita 12.5). It is a comparison of roads, not a condemnation.

The third is that being even means killing feelings. The same list begins with friendliness and compassion (Gita 12.13), and one who has compassion for all is not cold. The peace that comes is the peace of hatred, panic and demand, not of love.

How to read the chapter

The chapter can be read in three sittings. In the first, verses 12.1 to 12.5, ask where my mind stands today. In the second, verses 12.6 to 12.12, ask which of the four steps I can truly take today. In the third, verses 12.13 to 12.20, ask which mark is hardest for me.

Questions people ask

If worship of the form is better, how do those who worship the formless reach? Both are true. One who fixes his mind in worship is best (Gita 12.2), and worshippers of the unmanifest also reach Him (Gita 12.4). The basis of the ranking is not the goal but the ease of the road (Gita 12.5).

Are the four steps to be taken in order? They have been read in two ways. One is a choice according to ability. The other is the journey of one person, who is sometimes on one step and sometimes on another. In both, every step is real and none is small (Gita 12.8–12).

Is this like the list of the person of steady wisdom? To a large extent (Gita 2.55–57, Gita 14.24–25). The difference is in the start. Here the list begins with friendliness and compassion, so steadiness is seen to come out of love.

Can a person with a job and a home become such a devotee? Yes. The third and fourth steps happen in the middle of work (Gita 12.10–11). Among the marks are skill (Gita 12.16) and contentment with what comes (Gita 12.19). "No attachment to any place" means not leaving home, but not getting bound.

What comes next

After devotion the Gita turns to knowledge. In the thirteenth chapter Arjuna wishes to know the field, the knower of the field and knowledge (Gita 13.1). And for one whose wrongs feel heavy, there is the piece on the ninth chapter, Even the Worst Offender.

Explain it in thirty seconds

Chapter 12 answers one question: if the mind wishes to go towards the Lord but will not stay, what then? Arjuna asks whether the devotee of the form or the worshipper of the formless is better (Gita 12.1). The Lord says that the one who fixes his mind and worships is best, and the formless worshippers also reach but the road is hard (Gita 12.2–5). Then four steps, like a ladder: fix your mind, practise, act for the Lord, give up the fruit (Gita 12.8–11). Even the lightest step brings peace at once (Gita 12.12), because the one who takes us across is the Lord Himself (Gita 12.7). At the end is the picture of His dear devotee: who hates no one, of whom no one is afraid, and who is even, content and compassionate (Gita 12.13–20).