– thus; satata – sarvadya yuktaah – established; ye – whoever; bhaktaah – devotees; tvam – You; those who worship You properly; ye – who; ca – also; api – again; aksharam – beyond the senses; avyaktam – unmanifest; teshaam – among these; ke – who; yogavittamah – most perfect in the knowledge of yoga.
Arjuna asked: Who is considered perfect, those who are completely established in your devotional service or those who offer the unmanifested, formless Brahman?
Purport: Lord Krishna has so far explained the form, the formless, the universal form, and the various types of devotees and yogis. Generally, spiritualists can be divided into two classes. One is the formless devotee and the other is the formless devotee. The formless devotee is fully engaged in the service of the Lord. The formless devotee is not directly engaged in the service of Krishna but is in meditation on the impersonal, formless Brahman.
In this chapter we see that among the various methods of realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, devotional yoga is the highest. If one truly desires the association of the Lord, he must take up devotional service.
Those who worship the Lord directly through devotional service are called materialists. Those who are established in meditation on the formless Brahman are called immaterialists. Arjuna is asking here which of these is the best state.
this chapter, Lord Krishna has indicated that while there are many ways to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to Him, is the highest of all. It is not only the most direct, but also the easiest way to attain union with God.
The Lord has explained in the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita that the living entity is not a material body, but a spiritual particle. The Supreme Being is the spiritual Absolute, and the living entity is a part of that Absolute Being, and the Lord has said in the Seventh Chapter that he should completely focus his attention on that Absolute Being. It is again said in the Eighth Chapter that one who remembers Krishna at the time of leaving the body will soon be separated from the spiritual sky, that is, the Krishna world. The Lord has clearly stated at the end of the Sixteenth Chapter that one who constantly thinks of himself within is the most perfect of all yogis. That is, it is said in essence in every chapter that a person should be detached from the physical form of Krishna. Because that is the highest spiritual experience.
However, there are some who are not attached to the physical form of Lord Krishna. They are so strongly disinterested that even in writing commentaries on the Bhagavad-gita, they try to divert people from Krishna and direct all their devotion to the immaterial Brahman. They want to meditate on the immaterial principle of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is not accessible to the senses and is unmanifest.
So there are two classes of spiritualists in reality. Arjuna is now trying to solve the question of which method is easier and which of these classes is the most perfect. In other words, he is clarifying his position because he is attached to the incarnation of Lord Krishna. He is not attached to the impersonal Brahman. He wants to know whether his position is secure or not. Whether in the material world or in the spiritual world of God, the impersonal principle is like a problem for meditation. In fact, man cannot properly understand the impersonal principle of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, what is the benefit of such a waste of time? Arjuna wanted to ask. Arjuna had already experienced in the Eleventh Chapter that it is best to be attached to the incarnation of Lord Krishna. Because in that way he could simultaneously perform all the other forms without any hindrance to his love for Krishna. On 3rd this important question is raised by Paratattva
