Neha is twenty-six and has moved to Pune for her first job. It has been a month. Rent is due on the fifth, the flat is very quiet in the evenings, and the voices at home sound far away on the phone. At night, lying awake, her mind starts adding up tomorrow: money, work, being alone. One question keeps coming back: do I really have to carry all of this by myself?
The Gita has a promise that sits close to this question. For devotees who look to nothing else and stay joined to the Lord, he says that he will fill what they lack and keep what they have (Gita 9.22). The load is no longer theirs alone.
What does the Lord promise?
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥ ९.२२ ॥
To those who worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on Me alone, and who are ever steadfast, I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.
The verse names two things. One is what we do not yet have and need: its arriving. The other is what we already have: its staying. These are the two things that keep us awake at night, and the old name for them is yogakshema. To "carry" means that the Lord takes this load on himself.
The promise does come with a condition. The thought must be undivided, with no other support in the mind but the Lord, and the joining must be constant.
What do such devotees do?
In chapter 9 the Lord calls such people great souls: those who have taken shelter in the divine nature, and who worship him with an undivided mind, knowing him as the source of all beings (Gita 9.13). A great soul is not far away; he is known by what he does. The next verse names the acts.
नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते ॥ ९.१४ ॥
Always glorifying Me, striving with firm resolve, and bowing down to Me with devotion, these ever-steadfast devotees worship Me.
There are three. First, praising with the voice: saying aloud what is in the heart. Second, striving with firm resolve: doing the work in front of you with a steady mind. Third, bowing with devotion: lowering the head. Voice, effort and a bow are three small things that anyone can begin with.
What the promise does not say
It does not say to stop working. In the very verse that describes these devotees, striving is one of their acts. The right to act stays with us (Gita 2.47). The Lord carries the load that is not in our hands: the outcome, and its lasting.
It does not say no trouble will come. The promise is that what is lacking and what is had will be cared for. It does not describe an easy road.
It is not only for saints. The great soul is known by his shelter and his undivided mind, not by birth or dress. The Gita goes so far as to say that even a person of very bad conduct who worships with undivided devotion is to be counted righteous (Gita 9.30–31).
What Neha does that evening
Take Neha again. One evening she first does what lies in her hands. She goes through the month's accounts, phones the landlord to fix the date for the rent, and sends a message to her mother. Then she sits on the balcony for two minutes. She says the Lord's name in one sentence, bows her head and says inwardly, "What was in my hands, I have done. What is not in my hands is in yours."
The rent still has to be paid, and the flat is still quiet. But that night Neha does not go over the accounts again and again. The load has not vanished; it has been shared.
When the evening quiet feels heaviest
For Neha, the heaviest thing is not the rent but the quiet of the evenings. The Gita has a word for this too.
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति॥ ६.३०॥
The seeker who sees Me everywhere and sees everything existing in Me never loses sight of Me, nor is he ever separated from Me. Such a devotee remains in an unbroken relationship with the Divine.
The Lord says that for the one who sees him everywhere, he is never lost, and that one is never lost to him (Gita 6.30). The joining is not one-sided. A person who learns to see the Lord around him finds that someone is with him even in the quiet of the evening.
A practice for today
At the end of the day, do three things.
- Write down one thing in which you did your part.
- Praise the Lord in one sentence, aloud or silently.
- Bow your head and hand over by name one worry that is beyond your power.
Questions readers ask
Should I stop working and leave it all to the Lord?
No. The verse that describes the devotee includes firm striving (Gita 9.14), and the right to act stays with us (Gita 2.47). The Lord carries what effort cannot make certain.
Does this mean no trouble will come?
No. The verse speaks of getting what is lacking and keeping what is had (Gita 9.22), not of an easy road. What changes is that the weight of worry is no longer yours alone.
Is this only for saints?
No. A great soul is known by his shelter and undivided mind (Gita 9.13), and the Gita keeps that door wide open (Gita 9.30–31). You can begin today with three small acts.
Do I have to think of the Lord every moment?
Undivided means that your one support is the Lord. It does not mean that your attention never moves. Begin with the three small acts: praise, effort, a bow (Gita 9.14). The habit of being joined grows slowly.
Going deeper
The detailed reading takes these verses in order, with an example and a practice. The deeper reading sets out the hard questions and the commentators' streams. The whole sequence is in The Path of Devotion.