Chapter 12: Bhakti-yoga – Practice and Attainment of Devotion: Verse 12
श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते ।
ध्यानात्कर्मफलत्यागस्त्यागाच्छान्तिरनन्तरम् ॥
śreyo hi jñānam-abhyāsājjñānād-
dhyānaṃ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt-karma-phala-tyāgastyāgācchāntir-
anantaram – 12.12
Knowledge is surely better than practice, and meditative introspection excels mere knowledge. From such reflective meditation, dawns renunciation of the (internal) results of action, and from such relinquishment follows peace.
Chapter 12: Bhakti-yoga – Practice and Attainment of Devotion - Verse 12
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Krishna assesses various practices to help the seeker make the best choice in time and pursue it discreetly.
All practices are truly aimed at attaining yogic enrichment. So, each of them must purify the mind and enlighten the intelligence, so as to enable the seeker realize that ‘he is not the body, but only has the body’. Spirituality is to gain and be guided by this knowledge. Knowledge is thus more powerful than practice.
Knowledge is meant to lead to meditation, which is indispensable to discern the subtlety of renouncing rāga and dvesha, the mental responses. Meditation can bring corrections and improvements to inner personality. It also helps the seeker to be vigilant and to strive to assimilate the truth, making the mind peaceful, poised and vibrant.
