SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 12 Text 20
ye tu dharmamrtam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te 'tiva me priyah

ye--those who; tu--but; dharma--of religion; amrtam--nectar; idam--this; yatha--as; uktam--said; paryupasate--completely engage; sraddadhanah--with faith; mat-paramah--taking Me, the Supreme Lord, as everything; bhaktah--devotees; te--they; ativa--very, very; me--to Me; priyah--dear.

TRANSLATION

Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.

JOURNAL:

This is the last sloka in this chapter and so, in his purport, Srila Prabhupada sums up the chapter thus; The question of who is better--one who is engaged in the path of impersonal Brahman or one who is engaged in the personal service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead--was raised by Arjuna, and the Lord replied to him so explicitly that there is no doubt that devotional service to the Personality of Godhead is the best of all processes of spiritual realization.

He explains the value of Brahman realization in this way; The impersonal conception of the Supreme Absolute Truth, as described in this chapter, is recommended only up to the time one surrenders himself for self-realization. In other words, as long as one does not have the chance to associate with a pure devotee, the impersonal conception may be beneficial. In the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth one works without fruitive result, meditates and cultivates knowledge to understand spirit and matter. This is necessary as long as one is not in the association of a pure devotee.

Here again is another wonderful example of Krishna's love for us.