Knowing the Order of Devotion

(a) Read carefully all 18 teachings below and put a mark

by the 5 or 6 that are most natural to you.

(b) Circle (A, B, C, D, or E below), to indicate the mode

of devotion that best suits you at this point in your life.

(c) Date your sheet and revisit it in the future.

Be aware of your responses changing over time.

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“There is an order to devotion and a number of approaches to it:

(A) “I quickly come to those who…

___ 1) offer Me, Brahman, all their actions

___ 2) set their minds on Me, the Divine

with unswerving devotion

___ 3) worship Me as their dearest delight

___ 4) and take Me as their one and only goal in life.

When you do these things I will spare you the sorrow of death and endless waves of rebirth.

(B) But it is true that a person is where his or her mind is. Therefore you must…

___ 5) fix your mind on Me, Divinity

___ 6) be absorbed in Me alone

___ 7) focus your devotion on Me

___ 8) and still yourself in Me.

Then, without a doubt you will come and live within Me.

(C) But if you are unable to become thus absorbed in Me…

___ 9) wean your mind away from the world

___10) and constantly concentrate on Me.

This may seem impossible to you, but the impossible can be made possible through regular practice (abhyasa yoga).

(D) If you find that you are not disciplined enough to concentrate in this manner…

___11) transform all your worldly actions into worship

and do all your acts for My sake

___12) and turn your force of habit to your own advantage—

make a habit of dedicating all your actions to Divinity.

As you do this, you increasingly become My instrument

and your mind is gradually purified, which leads you to Me.

(E) But if you cannot even do that, pursue an equally powerful alternative…

___13) take refuge in Me

___14) subdue your mind

___15) and give up desire for the fruits of your actions.

(F) Finally, Warrior, you should know that…

___16) knowledge is better than rituals

___17) meditation is better than knowledge

___18) abandoning the fruits of one’s actions is even

better than meditation—because peace comes

immediately to those who give up expectations.

Those who do these things, dearly love Me, Brahman (the Godhead). I therefore save them. – Krishna

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