Bhagavad Gita BG 14.26
Chapter 14, Verse 26 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते । स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान् ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥
mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
Meaning
And whoever serves Me with the unswerving yoga of devotion — transcending these gunas — is fit to become Brahman.
Understanding
The path to transcending the gunas: avyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate (serves/worships Me with the unswerving yoga of devotion — avyabhicara meaning non-straying, consistent). Sa gunan samatitya etan (transcending all these gunas). Brahma-bhuyaya kalpate (becomes fit to be/attain Brahman). The answer to the gunatita question: the path through the gunas is not a jnana technique alone but bhakti — unswerving devotion to Krishna. The devotee, surrendered fully to the Divine, is lifted beyond the gunas' pull by the power of devotion itself.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अव्यभिचारेण | avyabhicarena | unswerving, non-straying, consistent |
| सेवते | sevate | serves, worships, attends upon |
| समतीत्य | samatitya | having fully transcended, going completely beyond |
| ब्रह्मभूयाय | brahma-bhuyaya | to become Brahman, to attain Brahman-hood |
| कल्पते | kalpate | becomes fit for, is capable of, is ready |
| माम् | mām | Me |
| च | ca | and |
| यः | yaḥ | who |
| अव्यभिचारेण | avyabhicāreṇa | with unswerving devotion |
| भक्ति-योगेन | bhakti-yogena | by the yoga of devotion |
| सः | sa | he |
| गुणान् | guṇān | the modes |
| समतीत्य | samatītyaitān | having transcended these |
| ब्रह्म-भूयाय | brahma-bhūyāya | to become Brahman |