Chapter 12 of 18 · 20 verses · 7 min
Bhagavad Gita chapter 12: The path of love
The shortest chapter and one of the most loved: the path of devotion, step by step.
The shortest chapter, and one of the most loved. Should you seek the formless infinite, or love the divine in a personal way? Krishna says the path of love is easier for most people — and then offers a beautifully practical ladder: if you can't focus your mind, practise; if you can't practise, do your work for a higher purpose; if you can't do that, simply let go of the results. It ends with a portrait of the kind of person Krishna holds most dear: kind to all, free of ego, steady in praise and blame.
The line to remember · 12.13“Someone who hates no one and is kind to all is dear to me.”All 20 verses — tap any one to read it
- 12.1Arjuna asks: “Is it better to love God in a form, or to think of God as formless?”
- 12.2“Those who love me with all their heart are closest to me.”
- 12.3“Those who meditate on the God without form…”
- 12.4“…and are kind to all beings, also reach me.”
- 12.5“But loving a God without form is harder for most people.”
- 12.6“Those who give their work to me and love me fully…”
- 12.7“…I quickly rescue from the ocean of sorrow.”
- 12.8“Keep your heart on me, and you will live in me.”
- 12.9“If that’s hard, practise — come back to me again and again.”
- 12.10“If that’s hard, make your work a gift to me.”
- 12.11“If even that’s hard, just trust me and let go of the results.” — there is a way for everyone.
- 12.12“Letting go of results brings peace right away.”
- 12.13“Hate no one. Be friendly and kind to all. Forgive.”
- 12.14“A happy, steady, loving person is dear to me.”
- 12.15“Someone who doesn’t upset others, and isn’t easily upset, is dear to me.”
- 12.16“Expect nothing, stay calm and pure — such a person is dear to me.”
- 12.17“Not swept away by joy, hate, sadness or wanting — that person is dear to me.”
- 12.18“Kind to friends and enemies alike, steady in hot and cold, good and bad…”
- 12.19“…speaks gently, is content with little, and loves — that person is dear to me.”
- 12.20“Those who live this way, with faith, are very, very dear to me.” — the qualities of a loving heart.
Traditional summary
Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of Devotion
The twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is Bhakti Yoga. In this chapter, Krishna emphasizes the superiority of Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion) over all other types of spiritual disciplines and reveals various aspects of devotion. He further explains that the devotees who perform pure devotional service to Him, with their consciousness, merged in Him and all their actions dedicated to Him, are quickly liberated from the cycle of life and death. He also describes the various qualities of the devotees who are very dear to Him.
