Shloka

अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः |
तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ||८-१४||

Transliteration

ananyacetāḥ satataṃ yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ .
tasyāhaṃ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ ||8-14||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

8.14. And whosoever constantly bears Me in mind never attached to any other object-for this Yogin, ever devout, I am easy to attain, O son of Prtha !

Shri Purohit Swami

8.14 To him who thinks constantly of Me, and of nothing else, to such an ever-faithful devotee, O Arjuna, am I ever accessible.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

8.12-14 Sarvadvarani etc., upto Yoginah. The gates : the sense organs, like the eyes and not the place of excrement etc. Restraining the mind in the heart : By this, only the absence of attachment towards the objects, and not any seat, is stated. One’s own Prana : the driver of one’s own Self (the vital air). So, the meaning is ‘Fixing this Prana in the head i.e., the very Self with the Power-of-Will, lying beyond all categories. Thus the controlling of body [has been prescribed]. Reciting Om : This denotes the act of controlling the sense of speech. Meditating on Me : It signifies the non-wandering of the mind over other objects. Whosoever travels well : Whosoever travels day after day not to return back (i.e., for final emancipation). Therefore casting away the body i.e., longing ‘How to avoid taking once again the body, a repository of all troubles’, whosoever remembers Me always with his mind, that thinks nothingelse-he reaches Me i.e., he realises My state. Really the Sage (Vyasa) does not favour [the idea of] upward flight [of the Soul from the body] that may go against the pronounced intention of [attaining] total identity with the Absolute Brahman that admits no duality. Therefore it has been said :

‘If the Siva-existence (the Absolute State) is Omnipresent, then the upward flight serves no purpose indeed. On the othe hand, if Siva (the Absolute) is not Omnipresent then the upward flight cannot yield Siva (the Auspicious one, the Absolute)’.

Alternately [the Gita passage may be interpreted as :] If some persons have not undergone the process of constant practice, yet at the time of death there arises [in them] - due to some undefinable reason, like the Free Will of the Lord and the like-a condition, similar to the one mentioned above, then [in the case of those persons] this condition itself - characterised as ’the flight from the body’ (getting oneself disassociated from the body) - is stated [by the Sage] as a means obstructing all the other potential mental impressions. That is why in the passage starting ‘That unchanging one which the Veda-knowers speek of’ and ending ‘I shall tell you that’, [the Sage] has made a solemn declaration in order to explain the astonishing nature of the reflection on the Bhagavat - even though it lasts only a moment - marked by the destruction of all the [other] potential mental impressions. Hence the great teachers also say :

‘O Sambhu ! If You could set Your foot, atleast for the duration of a single winking of the eye, in [my] blemishless mind, what else would You not accomplish [for me]’.

That is why, with a view to satisfy those who raise the estion ‘But the breaking [of body of the wise] has been found without remembrance [of the Lord] at the time of departure’, here it is said ‘He who [remembers Me] constantly with the mind, not attached to any other thing.’ The meaning of it is : ‘He whose mind is not attached to any other result to be achieved.’ For him I am easy to attain : For him there is no need to undertake the trouble of searching for a suitable time for departure; making pilgrimage to sacred places; [waiting for] the time of the summer solastice; taking shelter in the temples; augmenting the [Strand] Sattva; remaining absorbed in the thought [of the Lord]; [expecting] the auspicious moment of einox and of the day [time]; selecting a locality that is naturally pure; having body free from dirt of attachment (or unguent); wearing clean cloth; and similar other ones. Hence it has been stated earlier [under VIII, 5-7 above] ‘Either in a sacred place or in the house of a dog-cooker’ etc. But it has been declared that ‘He attains My State.’ Will there he rirth for him even after attaining that State ? Considering this doubt [the Lord] says :

Sri Ramanuja

8.14 I am easy to access to that Yogin who is ’ever integrated with Me,’ i.e., who wants constant contact with Me, who recollects Me; and whose mind is not in ‘anything else without break’ (Nityasah), i.e., at the time of meditation and also during all other times (Satatam). As I am exceedingly dear to him, he is unable to sustain himself without remembering Me and cherishing My memory which is incomparably dear to him. I am the only object he wants to attain and not any mode of My being like sovereignty, etc. I Myself grant him the capacity to attain full maturity in devotional practice necessary for attaining Me - namely, the annulment of all obstacles and the establishment of the state of mind that renders Me exceedingly dear to oneself. The Sruti also says: ‘He whom this (Self) chooses, by him He can be obtained’ (Mun. U., 3.2.3 and Ka. U., 2.22). And Sri Krsna Himself will teach: “To those, ceaselessly united, who worship Me, I bestow that discernment by which they come to Me. Out of mercy for them, I, abiding in their heart, dispel the darkness born of ignorance, by the brilliant lamp of knowledge” (10.10;11).

In the remaining part of this chapter, He teaches that the Jnanis and the aspirants after Kaivalya do not deturn, and that the seekers after power and prosperity return.

Sri Shankaracharya

8.14 Partha, O son of Prtha, tasya yoginah, to that yogi; nitya-yuktasya, of constant concentration, who is ever absorbed (in God); and ananya-cetah, of single-minded attention, a yogi whose mind is not drawn to any other object; yah, who; smarati, remembers; mam, Me, the supreme God; satatam, uninteruptedly; and nityasah, for long-. By satatam, uninterrupteldy, is meant ‘without any break’. By niryasah, is meant along duration. Not six months, nor even a year! What then? The meaning is: He who remembers Me for his whole life, continuously. To that yogi aham, I; am sulabhah, easy of attainment. Since this is so, therefore one should remain ever absorbed in Me, with mind given to nothing else. ‘What follows from Your being easy of attainment?’ This is being answered: ‘Hear what follows from My being easy of attainment.’

Swami Adidevananda

8.14 O son of Prtha, to that yogi of constant concentration and single-minded attention, who remembers Me uninterruptedly and for long, I am easy of attainment.

8.14 I am easily attainable by that ever-steadfast Yogi who constantly and daily remembers Me (for a long time), not thinking of anything else (with a single mind or one-pointed mind), O Partha (Arjuna).

8.14 Partha, O son of Prtha, tasya yoginah, to that yogi; nitya-yuktasya, of constant concentration, who is ever absorbed (in God); and ananya-cetah, of single-minded attention, a yogi whose mind is not drawn to any other object; yah, who; smarati, remembers; mam, Me, the supreme God; satatam, uninteruptedly; and nityasah, for long-. By satatam, uninterrupteldy, is meant ‘without any break’. By niryasah, is meant along duration. Not six months, nor even a year! What then? The meaning is: He who remembers Me for his whole life, continuously. To that yogi aham, I; am sulabhah, easy of attainment. Since this is so, therefore one should remain ever absorbed in Me, with mind given to nothing else. ‘What follows from Your being easy of attainment?’ This is being answered: ‘Hear what follows from My being easy of attainment.’

Swami Gambirananda

8.14 O son of Prtha, to that yogi of constant concentration and single-minded attention, who remembers Me uninterruptedly and for long, I am easy of attainment.

Swami Sivananda

8.14 I am easily attainable by that ever-steadfast Yogi who constantly and daily remembers Me (for a long time), not thinking of anything else (with a single mind or one-pointed mind), O Partha (Arjuna).

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

8.14 अनन्यचेताः with the mind not thinking of any other object? सततम् constantly? यः who? माम् Me? स्मरति remembers? नित्यशः daily? तस्य of him? अहम् I? सुलभः easily attainable? पार्थ O Partha? नित्ययुक्तस्य eversteadfast? योगिनः of Yogi.Commentary I am easily attainable by that eversteadfast Yogi who constantly and daily remembers Me (for a long time)? not thinking of anything else (with a single mind or onepointed mind)? O Partha (Arjuna).Commentary Constantly remembering the Lord throughout the life is the most easy way of attaining Him.Ananyachetah He has no attachment for any other object. He will not think of any other object save his IshtaDevata or tutelary deity.Nityasah For a long time? i.e.? till the end of life.He who remembers the Lord by fits and starts or he who remembers Him for six montsh and then leaves the practice and then again remembers Him for six months and so on cannot attain Him. (Cf.IX.22?34)