एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते ।
ये चाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमाः? ॥ १ ॥
arjuna uvāca—
evaṃ satatayuktā ye bhaktāstvāṃ paryupāsate .
ye cāpyakṣaramavyaktaṃ teṣāṃ ke yogavittamāḥ? .. 1 ..
Arjuna said :
Those devotees who, always devout, thus contemplate Thee, and those also who (contemplate) the Imperishable, the Unmanifest,—which of them are better versed in Yoga?
Read the commentary
Thus : referring to what was said in the last preceding verse. ‘He who does works for Me’ (xi. 55) and so on. Always devout : engaged without intermission in doing works for the Lord’s sake and in doing other things taught before, steadfast in mind. These devotees, seeking nobody else for their refuge, meditate on Thee in the Universal Form just manifested. There are others who, having abandoned all desires and renounced all actions, meditate on the Imperishable (akshara) Brahman—also described above,—who is unmanifest (avyakta, i.e., incomprehensible to the senses), as devoid of all upadhis or conditions.—That indeed is said to be manifested (vyakta) which is visible to the senses, as the root of the word ‘vyakta’ implies; but this, the Imperishable (Akṣara), is not so.—These others meditate on the Imperishable, the Unmanifested, as defined by other attributes to be enumerated below. Of the two classes, who are better versed in Yoga?
The worshippers of Isvara.
The Lord says : As to the worshippers of the Imperishable (Akṣara) who see rightly and have abandoned desires, let them remain; we shall say later on what has to be said regarding them. But as regards the others :