ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi
mayi sannyasya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena
māḿ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣām ahaḿ samuddhartā
mṛtyu-saḿsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha
mayy āveśita-cetasām
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 12.6-7
But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pritha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
It is explicitly stated here that the devotees are very fortunate to be delivered very soon from material existence by the Lord. In pure devotional service one comes to the realization that God is great and that the individual soul is subordinate to Him. His duty is to render service to the Lord—and if he does not, then he will render service to maya.
As stated before, the Supreme Lord can be appreciated only by devotional service. Therefore, one should be fully devoted. One should fix his mind fully on Krishna in order to achieve Him. One should work only for Krishna. It does not matter in what kind of work one engages, but that work should be done only for Krishna. That is the standard of devotional service. The devotee does not desire any achievement other than pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His life’s mission is to please Krishna, and he can sacrifice everything for Krishna’s satisfaction, just as Arjuna did in the Battle of Kurukshetra. The process is very simple: one can devote himself in his occupation and engage at the same time in chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Such transcendental chanting attracts the devotee to the Personality of Godhead.
The Supreme Lord herein promises that without delay He will deliver a pure devotee thus engaged from the ocean of material existence. Those who are advanced in yoga practice can willfully transfer the soul to whatever planet they like by the yoga process, and others take the opportunity in various ways, but as far as the devotee is concerned, it is clearly stated here that the Lord Himself takes him. The devotee does not need to wait to become very experienced in order to transfer himself to the spiritual sky.
In the Varaha Purana this verse appears:
nayami paramam sthanam
arcir-adi-gatim vina
garuda-skandham aropya
yatheccham anivaritah
The purport of this verse is that a devotee does not need to practice ashtanga-yoga in order to transfer his soul to the spiritual planets. The responsibility is taken by the Supreme Lord Himself. He clearly states here that He Himself becomes the deliverer. A child is completely cared for by his parents, and thus his position is secure. Similarly, a devotee does not need to endeavor to transfer himself by yoga practice to other planets. Rather, the Supreme Lord, by His great mercy, comes at once, riding on His bird carrier Garuda, and at once delivers the devotee from material existence. Although a man who has fallen in the ocean may struggle very hard and may be very expert in swimming, he cannot save himself. But if someone comes and picks him up from the water, then he is easily rescued. Similarly, the Lord picks up the devotee from this material existence. One simply has to practice the easy process of Krishna consciousness and fully engage himself in devotional service. Any intelligent man should always prefer the process of devotional service to all other paths. In the Narayaniya this is confirmed as follows:
ya vai sadhana-sampattih
purushartha-catustaye
taya vina tad apnoti
naro narayanasrayah
The purport of this verse is that one should not engage in the different processes of fruitive activity or cultivate knowledge by the mental speculative process. One who is devoted to the Supreme Personality can attain all the benefits derived from other yogic processes, speculation, rituals, sacrifices, charities, etc. That is the specific benediction of devotional service.
Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—a devotee of the Lord can approach the supreme destination easily and happily, but this destination cannot be approached by any other process of religion.
The conclusion of Bhagavad-gita is stated in the Eighteenth Chapter:
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma sucah
[Bg. 18.66]
One should give up all other processes of self-realization and simply execute devotional service in Krishna consciousness. That will enable one to reach the highest perfection of life. There is no need for one to consider the sinful actions of his past life, because the Supreme Lord fully takes charge of him. Therefore one should not futilely try to deliver himself in spiritual realization. Let everyone take shelter of the supreme omnipotent Godhead, Krishna. That is the highest perfection of life.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
But the devotees even without jnana, by kevala bhakti alone, comfortably attain liberation from samsara. Having given up (sannyasya means tyaga or renunciation) all other process for the purpose of attaining me (mayi), they worship me by ananya bhakti yoga (ananyena yogena)—which means devoid of karma, jnana, tapas or other elements. It is said:
yat karmabhir yat tapasa jnana-vairagyatas ca yat
yogena dana-dharmena sreyobhir itarair api
sarvam mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate’njasa
svargapavargam mad-dhama kathancid yadi vanchati
Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions. SB 11.20.32-33
In the Moksa Dharma, Narayaniya portion it also says:
ya vai sadhanam sampattih purusartha catustaye
taya vina tad apnoti naro narayanasrayah
Whatever among the four goals of human life can be achieved by various spiritual practices is automatically achieved without such endeavors by the person who has taken shelter of Lord Narayana, the refuge of all persons.
“Still, what is the method by which they cross samsara?” There is no question about the method by which they cross sarhsara, because without even having a method, I take them over. I quickly become their deliverer from the ocean of sarhsara. Implied here is that the Lord has affection for his devotees, but not for the jnanis.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
12.6 – 12.7 But those who, with a mind ‘focused on Me,’ the Supreme Self, and ‘intent upon Me,’ namely, holding Me as their sole object, dedicating to Me all their actions — i.e., including all worldly actions like eating which are meant for supporting the body, as also Vedic rites like sacrifices, gifts, fire-offerings, austerities etc., generally done by worldly-minded people for other purposes — worship Me and meditate on Me with exclusive devotion, namely, with devotion without any other purpose, adoring Me by all such acts as meditation, worship, prostration, praises and hymns which are by themselves exceedingly dear to them and are equal to the end itself — to these I become soon their saviour from the sea of Samsara which, on account of its being antagonistic to the attainment of Myself, is deadly.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Being so requested the Supreme Lord Krishna continues to reveal that unlike the path of the abstract, unmanifest, impersonalists which is dukham or miserable; His devotees are quickly delivered from mrtyu-samsara-sagarat or the deadly, never ending cycle of birth and death in the material existence and they attain atma-tattva or soul realisation by His grace. Those who mayi sannyasya mat-parah or dedicate all their activities to Lord Krishna and mayy avesita-cetasam or whose hearts are absorbed in thinking of Him without ananyenaiva or motives of exploitation and remuneration and who are surrendered in yogena or bhakti yoga exclusive in loving devotion are Lord Krishna’s true devotees who have no other goal or object of attention then Him and He personally delivers them from the endless, revolving cycle of transmigration promoting them to the eternal spiritual worlds.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
The devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna do not have to undergo any tribulations or difficulties in order to reach Him quickly. This is what He confirms in these two verses beginning with the words ye tu meaning but those who denotes those whose parents were conscious of Lord Krishna at the time of the infants very conception by which receiving such grace they were born devotees of the Supreme Lord or by destiny or karma being actions awarded based on previous actions, such beings acquire association of a pure devotee of Lord Krishna and are blessed by them. Such fortunate jivas or embodied beings depend exclusively upon the Supreme Lord because He is absolutely the ultimate goal to be attained above all others in every situation and in all circumstances. Such blessed beings are fully surrendered to the Supreme Lord, devoting their very lives for His complete satisfaction without motive or thought of recompense and reward for their activities. Even while engaged in worldly activities for preservation of bodily maintenance for self and family such as food and shelter as well as performing Vedically ordained activities according to varnasrama or the four social order of Vedic society such as propitiation to the Supreme Lord, charity, etc. such surrendered beings continuously remember Lord Krishna as their most beloved and single object of adoration, reflecting again and again incessantly over His rupa or divine form, His guna or divine qualities, His lilas or divine pastimes, His dhama or divine abode and madhurya or His divine transcendental sweetness. For such great souls Lord Krishna declares that He Himself becomes their saviour and personally delivers them from mrtyu-samsara-sagarat or the deadly ocean of the perpetual cycle of birth and death and this He declares that He does na cirat meaning without delay.
The conclusion is that by continuously offering their hearts and minds in uninterrupted bhakti or exclusive loving devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna, He becomes indebted to them so much so that He personally goes and rescues them from samsara, the perpetual cycle of birth and death and promotes them to the immortal spiritual worlds to eternally share in exclusive blissful communion with Him.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
12.6 Tu, as for; ye, those who; sannyasya, having dedicated; sarvani, all; karmani, actions; mayi, to Me who am God; and matparah, having accepted Me as the supreme; upasate, meditate; dhyayantah, by thinking; mam, of Me; ananyena, with single-minded; yogena, concentration; eva, only-. That (yoga) is single-minded which has no other object than the Cosmic Deity, the Self. By thinking exclusively with that single-minded [The Ast. and the A.A. read ‘kena, what?’ in place of ‘kevalena, exclusively’.-Tr.] (yoga)-. What comes to them?
12.7 O son of Prtha, tesam, for them who are solely devoted to meditating on Me; avesita-cetasam mayi, who have their minds absorbed in, fixed on, merged in, Me who am the Cosmic Person; aham, I, God; bhavami, become; na cirat, without delay;-what then? soon indeed-the samuddharta, Deliverer-. Wherefrom? In answer the Lord says, mrtyu-samsara-sagarat, from the sea of the world which is fraught with death. Samsara (world) fraught with mrtyu (death) is mrtyu-samsara. That itself is like a sea, being difficult to cross. I become their deliverer from that sea of transmigration which is fraught with death. Since this is so, therefore,
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
12.6-8 Ye tu etc. upto asthitah. Those who renounce all (all actions) in Me according to the instruction related above – of them I am the redeemer from all the afflictions like obstacles [on the way to realisation] etc. The act of causing the mind to enter [into the Supreme] has been explained (under XII, 2 above). Therefore, this alone is the highest form of Yoga, because it is natural. Hence [I have said] in my Hymn : ‘If, during [one’s] concentration, reflecting with high esteem and remaining in a [particular] posture, and the best process (karana), a person causes a certain awakening to shine forth, that is not the Consciousness of Yours (i.e. of the Goddess) that rises up perennially and flows with its own (unadulterated) taste; for, here (in the former) too the presence of the triad is distinctly felt. On the other hand, when [glowing] without fuel; holding to its independence; following horripilation, [bodily] shake and tears, [all] breaking forth spontaneously; and clearly assuming the indifference [even] to the body; the awakening fire of Consciousness suddely shines, on its own accord simultaneously; then alone, O Goddess, that body of Yours, the mightly Lord (Mahesa) is realised – a body which is devoid of [all] supports, and which breaks the bondage of the dependent.’ And so on.
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
ye tu sarvani karmani
mayi sannyasya mat-parah
ananyenaiva yogena
mam dhyayanta upasate
tesam aham samuddharta
mrtyu-samsara-sagarat
bhavami na cirat partha
mayy avesita-cetasam
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
ye — those who; tu — but; sarvāṇi — all; karmāṇi — activities; mayi — unto Me; sannyasya — giving up; mat-parāḥ — being attached to Me; ananyena — without division; eva — certainly; yogena — by practice of such bhakti-yoga; mām — upon Me; dhyāyantaḥ — meditating; upāsate — worship; teṣām — of them; aham — I; samuddhartā — the deliverer; mṛtyu — of death; saḿsāra — in material existence; sāgarāt — from the ocean; bhavāmi — I become; na — not; cirāt — after a long time; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; mayi — upon Me; āveśita — fixed; cetasām — of those whose minds.
