Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 18, Verse 54

[Bhagavad Gita Slokas]

	Chapter 18: Conclusion -- The Perfection of Renunciation
	Verse: 54 brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kankshati samah sarveshu bhuteshu mad-bhaktim labhate param

Translation:
One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.

Explanation:
So far Krishna has spoken about one who through the perfect performance of prescribed duties reaches the stage of knowledge and ceases all work. Then by attaining complete control of the sense, understanding real knowledge, transcends even this stage and ceases the pursuit of knowledge. The next stage is described in this verse. This is described as the stage of pure devotional service or bhakti. It is important to note that bhakti does not appear but mature at this stage. This is because even though there may be a predominance of karma or jnana in the previous stage, they are all supported by bhakti. As the purification increases the predominance of bhakti commensurately increases. Where as devotion in the earlier stage is external (sadhana) - it is now internal (sadhya). The details of this process is explained in this verse as follows.

With the removal of all misconceptions or appearances, one attains the state of Brahman (brahma bhutah), by being in a state of uncovered consciousness. Because of the disappearance of the contamination of the gunas, he is said to be pure (prasanna) and he is the soul (atma). And because of absence of misconceptions of body, when he loses something he does not lament and when he fails to attain something he does not hanker for it (na socati na kanksati), unlike his previous state.

Like an innocent child, he regards all beings as equal whether good or bad without looking at the externals. With the cessation of jnana, like a fire which dies without fuel, he attains indestructible bhakti in the form of hearing chanting and other processes, arising after the cessation of jnana. Attainment of bhakti is through the mercy of Krishna. This bhakti alone does not disappear even with the disappearance of vidya and avidya, being different from the maya sakti. It is called param being far superior to jnana. Remaining after the disappearance of niskama karma, jnana and any other process, it surpasses all others, and is pure. Thus param is equal to the word kevalam.

Though bhakti was previously present in small proportion during practices such as jnana and vairagya, just in order to bring about liberation, bhakti was not clearly visible. Therefore the word attains (labhate) is the suitable word rather than produces, since it was already present within the person. This is the stage of bhava-bhakti, the first stage is sadhya-bhakti, where the devotee having perceived himself (atma-jnana) now perceives the Lord and experiences bliss.

Please read the Sanskrit Verse and the Prabhupada's Purport.

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