Gita 06.47 – The perfection of yoga is not disconnection from matter but connection with Krishna
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ
(BG 06.47)
Word-to-word
yoginām — of yogīs; api — also; sarveṣām — all types of; mat-gatena — abiding in Me, always thinking of Me; antaḥ-ātmanā — within himself; śraddhā-vān — in full faith; bhajate — renders transcendental loving service; yaḥ — one who; mām — to Me (the Supreme Lord); saḥ — he; me — by Me; yukta-tamaḥ — the greatest yogī; mataḥ — is considered.
Translation
And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.
Explanation
The final verse of Chapter 6 highlights the supreme position on the yoga ladder — Bhakti-yoga — and identifies those yogis who ultimately rise to that level. In the previous verse, Krishna explained how yogis are superior to other types of transcendentalists: the tapasvī, the jñānī, and the karmī. These represent the major categories of spiritual practitioners, and among them, the yogi stands highest.
In this concluding verse, forms of the word “Me” appear twice: mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ. Verse 6.47 begins with mad and ends with mam. This repetition is emphatic and culminates in Krishna’s declaration: sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ — “Such a yogi is, in My opinion, the most perfectly united with Me.”
Krishna uses the word Yukta repeatedly throughout the Gītā, including in this chapter. For example:
– 6.8: jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ yukta ity ucyate yogī sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ — describing one who is steady, self-satisfied, and sees equally.
– 6.18: yadā viniyataṁ cittam ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate… yukta ity ucyate tadā — when the restrained mind is fixed in the self, free from desires.
– And earlier, in 5.23, Krishna uses yuktaḥ for one who tolerates the urges of desire and anger until the very end of life.
The term Yukta appears often, but the idea is consistent: a person who is properly situated in yoga, connected, harmonized, and steady. In the present verse, Krishna elevates this term to the superlative yukta-tamaḥ — the “most” connected, the “best” among the well-situated.
Just as we say good, better, best — yukta, yuktatara, yuktatama — Krishna is identifying the highest: the one whose mind is fixed on Him and whose worship is directed to Him. This person maintains connection in both dimensions — outwardly through devotion and inwardly through steady remembrance.
Earlier references to Yukta emphasized detachment: freedom from material desires, equal vision, and the ability to tolerate impulses. But here, Krishna completes the definition. The highest Yukta, the Yuktatama, is not merely detached from matter — they are positively, lovingly attached to Him.
If one becomes disconnected from the world, Krishna calls such a person Yukta. But when one becomes connected with Him, Krishna calls that person Yuktatama. The highest stage of being Yukta is not merely detachment from matter; it is positive, personal, loving connection with the Supreme Reality — Krishna.
This verse is profoundly significant because it clearly establishes that the culmination of yoga is not something impersonal or abstract. The culmination is Krishna Himself. The entire process described in this chapter — including the discipline of repeatedly bringing back the wandering mind (yato yato niścalati manaḥ…) — finds its perfection in becoming fixed on Krishna. The goal of yoga is not simply disconnection from matter; it is connection with Krishna, attachment to Krishna.
Krishna strengthens this point through two superlative expressions. First: sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ — “such a person is the most perfectly united with Me.” Second: yoginām api sarveṣāṁ — “among all yogīs.” This indicates conclusively that there is no higher category of yogi beyond those mentioned here, nor is there some other ultimate object of meditation left unspecified. Krishna states that among all yogīs, the one who meditates on Him with devotion is the best situated — the most fully and intimately Yukta.
In the Patañjali Yoga Sūtras, Īśvara-praṇidhāna — surrender to Īśvara — is indeed taught, but the identity of Īśvara is not explicitly clarified. Here, Krishna unmistakably identifies that supreme object of surrender and meditation: it is He Himself.
This aligns with the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where the penultimate stage of yoga, dhyāna, is described:
dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino
— Yogīs, established in deep meditation, behold that Supreme Truth within their hearts.
And who is that Supreme Truth? It is Vishnu, or Krishna — one and the same Supreme Lord.
Thus, the Bhagavad Gītā brings to full clarity what the Yoga Sutras hint at: the ultimate perfection of yoga is undistracted, unwavering devotion to Krishna. Through this devotion, one attains the supreme perfection of life.
And this culmination is not a passive, static meditation on the form of Vishnu. In its highest expression, bhakti becomes active, dynamic service to the Lord — and that service immerses the devotee in the highest spiritual joy.
From the next chapter onward, Krishna begins explaining how that same spiritual ecstasy can be experienced in a more direct and accessible way — through the progressive practice of Bhakti Yoga from the very beginning. In this chapter, perfection was reached through ascending the ladder of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, ultimately culminating in Bhakti. But starting with the Seventh Chapter, Krishna reveals that one can attain the perfection of Bhakti right from the start simply by practicing devotion itself — as expressed in 7.1: mayy āsakta-manāḥ.
The Bhagavad Gītā thus moves upward — from Karma Yoga to Dhyāna Yoga and finally to Bhakti Yoga. And now, in the Seventh Chapter, Krishna will show how, regardless of where we currently stand, we can immediately begin the direct practice of Bhakti Yoga.
We will explore this more in our upcoming sessions.
Thank you.
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