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Bhagavad Gita Chapter VII Verse 17 – Explanation

Among them the wise man, ever steadfast in his devotion to the One, excels, for I am supremely dear to the wise, and he is dear to Me (Bhagavad Gita Chapter VII Verse 17)

Of those four classes of devotees, the man of wisdom, the jnani, excels. He is ever steadfast and first with devotion for Me alone. Others may turn away when their desires are fulfilled, when their sorrows are allayed. They may forget Me and devote themselves to others, to friend, wife, children or to pleasures and the many attractions of the world; but the jnani, never. He perceives in the whole universe no other object worthy of devotion besides the supreme Spirit. He knows that everything changes; there is no stability, no trusting, no depending on anything or anybody in the world. In this universe of falsity God is the only truth. He is eternal, unchanging. On Him he can depend. God he can trust. Bhagavan is his greatest, his only treasure, very dear to him. And he is dear to Bhagavan, because his love is disinterested. He does not want anything. He has no motive, no hidden purpose. He knows God as his very Self, the nearest of the near, and therefore the dearest of the dear. And Bhagavan, in His great compassion, takes him unto Himself and grants him the realization of Oneness.

The jnani lives in God and God in him. They are eternally united. ‘When the Beyond the

darkness is attained, nor day nor night nor being nor non-being then. Blessed, aye, pure is He. That is the Absolute, That the adorable condition of Bhagavan; from That too has come forth the wisdom old.’

In the Vivekachudamani we see the disciple approach the guru to be instructed in the path of highest wisdom. The great teacher was overjoyed. ‘Happy art thou,’ he told the disciple. ‘Thou shalt attain thy end. Thy kin is blessed in thee, for thou seekest to become the Eternal by freeing thyself from the bond of ignorance.’ God and His servants love the sincere seeker of Truth. But if jnanis are so dear to the Lord, are then the other devotees not dear to Him? Yes, all are dear to Him.