SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 7 Text 1
sri-bhagavan uvaca
mayy asakta-manah partha
yogam yunjan mad-asrayah
asamsayam samagram mam-
yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu

sri-bhagavan uvaca--the Supreme Lord said; mayi--to Me; asakta-manah- -mind attached; partha--O son of Prtha; yogam--self- realization; yunjan--practicing; mat-asrayah- -in consciousness of Me (Krsna consciousness) ; asamsayam--without doubt; samagram--completel y; mam--Me; yatha--how; jnasyasi--you can know; tat--that; srnu--try to hear.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear, O son of Prtha, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

JOURNAL:

How important is this sloka? There are twenty-three lectures on it by Srila Prabhupada available in the archives of ISKCON! (See sidebar for quick link.)

Bhagavad Gita's eighteen chapters are traditionally broken down into three sections of six chapters apiece. Chapters 1-6 deal with the distinction between the material and the non-material body, the eternal living entity and how he can become liberated through various types of yoga which culminate in bhakti yoga or Krsna Consciousness (Ch 6.47). In his purport to today's sloka Srila Prabhupada writes; Different types of yoga are only steppingstones on the path of Krsna consciousness.

Chapters 7-12 introduce the Supreme Lord, His different opulences and energies, and the Lord's relationship, particularly through bhakti yoga, with His superior energy, the individual soul. These middle chapters are the essence of the Gita.

Srila Prabhupada has entitled this chapter, "Knowledge of the Absolute" and he starts us off by stating; In this Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, the nature of Krsna consciousness is fully described. Krsna is full in all opulences, and how He manifests such opulences is described herein. Also, four kinds of fortunate people who become attached to Krsna and four kinds of unfortunate people who never take to Krsna are described in this chapter.