teṣāḿ satata-yuktānāḿ
bhajatāḿ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaḿ taḿ
yena mām upayānti te
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 10.10
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
In this verse the word buddhi-yogam is very significant. We may remember that in the Second Chapter the Lord, instructing Arjuna, said that He had spoken to him of many things and that He would instruct him in the way of buddhi-yoga. Now buddhi-yoga is explained.
Buddhi-yoga itself is action in Krishna consciousness; that is the highest intelligence. Buddhi means intelligence, and yoga means mystic activities or mystic elevation. When one tries to go back home, back to Godhead, and takes fully to Krishna consciousness in devotional service, his action is called buddhi yoga. In other words, buddhi-yoga is the process by which one gets out of the entanglement of this material world. The ultimate goal of progress is Krishna. People do not know this; therefore the association of devotees and a bona fide spiritual master are important. One should know that the goal is Krishna, and when the goal is assigned, then the path is slowly but progressively traversed, and the ultimate goal is achieved.
When a person knows the goal of life but is addicted to the fruits of activities, he is acting in karma-yoga. When he knows that the goal is Krishna but he takes pleasure in mental speculations to understand Krishna, he is acting in jnana-yoga. And when he knows the goal and seeks Krishna completely in Krishna consciousness and devotional service, he is acting in bhakti-yoga, or buddhi-yoga, which is the complete yoga. This complete yoga is the highest perfectional stage of life.
A person may have a bona fide spiritual master and may be attached to a spiritual organization, but still, if he is not intelligent enough to make progress, then Krishna from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come to Him without difficulty. The qualification is that a person always engage himself in Krishna consciousness and with love and devotion render all kinds of services.
He should perform some sort of work for Krishna, and that work should be with love. If a devotee is not intelligent enough to make progress on the path of self-realization but is sincere and devoted to the activities of devotional service, the Lord gives him a chance to make progress and ultimately attain to Him.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
“It is understood that the joy of the devotee described in the previous verse is spiritual bliss beyond the modes. But which method do the devotees gain direct contact with you? And from what source do they gain realization?”
I give buddhi yoga to those who are desirous of association with me constantly (satata yuktanam). This means that the Lord alone causes buddhi yoga (bhakti yoga) to appear within the functions of their hearts. This buddhi yoga cannot be obtained at all from any other source. It is given only by me and received only by the devotee. By this bhakti, they attain me; they attain direct association with me (upayanti—they come near Me).
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
10.10 To those ‘ceaselessly united with Me,’ namely, those who desire ceaseless union with Me, and who are worshipping Me, I grant with love, that same ‘Buddhi-yoga’ or devotional attitude of a mature state. By that they come to Me. Likewise:
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
And to such persons so fully dedicated to the Supreme Lord Krishna out of great bhakti or exclusive loving devotion, He Himself bestows buddhi-yogam or the divine spark of spiritual intelligence allowing their individual consciousness to attain communion with His ultimate consciousness. This means that as paramatma the Supreme Soul within all living entities, He inspires them internally bequeathing the supra-subtle divine understanding by which they may come to Him eternally.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Here Lord Krishna verifies the reality that such great beings as His devotees, who worship Him out of great devotion with constant love, factually exist.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna speaks of the results such devotees are benedicted by satata- yuktanam or constantly aspiring for communion with Him, through meditation and worship; He personally as paramatma the Supreme Soul within bequeaths the inner inspiration whereby they unfailingly come to Him.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
10.10 Tesam, to them, who, becoming devotees, adore Me in the manner described earlier; satata-yuktanam, who are ever devoted, ever attached, who have become free from all external desires; and bhajatam, who worship-. Is it because of hankering for possessions? The Lord says: No, (they worship) priti-purvakam, with love. To them who worship Me with that (love), dadami, I grant; tam, that; buddhi-yogam, possession of wisdom-buddhi means full enlightenment with regard to My real nature; coming in possession (yoga) of that is buddhi-yoga; yena, by which possession of wisdom consisting in full enlightenment; upayanti, they reach, realize as their own Self; mam, Me, the supreme God who is the Self. Who do so? Te, they, who adore Me through such disciplines as fixing their minds on Me, etc. ‘For what purpose, or as the destroyer of what cause standing as an obstacle on the way of reaching You, do You bestow that possession of wisdom to those devotees of Yours?’ In reply to such a query the Lord says:
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
10.9-11 Maharsaya etc., upto bhasvata. Through the process of mutual enlightening, the wisdom-shock is transmitted to each other. On account of that, they get the all-inclusive [knowledge] ‘Indeed all sentient subjects are only a single Absolute Lord’. By means of this extensive pervasion, they easily come to realise their own Self as Omnipotent and omnipresent and by that they attain the Absolute Lordship. This is the idea here.
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
teṣām — unto them; satata-yuktānām — always engaged; bhajatām — in rendering devotional service; prīti-pūrvakam — in loving ecstasy; dadāmi — I give; buddhi-yogam — real intelligence; tam — that; yena — by which; mām — unto Me; upayānti — come; te — they.
