यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति ।
शुभाशुभपरित्यागी भक्तिमान्यः स मे प्रियः ।। १२.१७ ।।

yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati |
śubhāśubha-parityāgī bhaktimān-yaḥ sa me priyaḥ || 12.17 ||

Krishna relates devotional refinement to the mind and intelligence and lays down an assortment of dicta, all bearing upon one’s understanding, attitude, objective and interactions. See how he develops the subject further:

He, who does not either revel or resent, gives vent to neither grief nor desire, who relinquishes the sense of auspicious and inauspicious on the ground of his devotion to the Supreme, becomes naturally dear to the Supreme.

The statement implies the entire spirituo-devotional sadhana, refinement and enrichment. Devotion does not consist in merely thinking of the Supreme and making It an object of worship. To keep an idol or picture and invoke all religious feelings and express them in colourful ways can at best mark the beginning of devotional pursuit. These will soon have to be intensified and deepened to become a wholesome pursuit engulfing the mind and intelligence, generating a constant note of refinement, sublimation and enrichment. That is where Krishna’s exposition becomes indispensable.

Harsha means elation. Dvesha means hatred, resentment or intolerance. Socana means grief or affliction. Kanksha denotes desire, greed or possessive thoughts.

These are the natural mind-responses and reactions. All these fall under pairs of opposites, dvandvas and spiritually viewed, constitute every aspect of the world. Krishna says that the devotee should not allow his mind to be victimized, constricted or subdued by dvandvas. Generating these dvandvas is ingrained in us. But when one becomes a devotee or seeker, his attitude should surely change.

Consciously overcoming and sublimating dvandvas is the one message of Bhagavad Gita. In fact, it is so of all spiritual scriptures. Krishna made this call right from the beginning, with the exposition of the sankhya wisdom (2.15, 38, 45, 48, 50, 56, 57, 64). Thereafter, he intensified it, clothing the message in different phrases (3.34, 4.22, 5.3, 5.19, 5.20, 5.23, 6.7, 6.29, 6.32, 7.28).

Viewed in whatever manner, spirituo-devotional pursuit has the sole aim of making the seeker’s mind non-dependent on the external world for its delight, stability and fulfillment. It regards the inner personality as causal, the source, and outer personality, namely the body, as merely instrumental. The attention should therefore be shifted from the outer to the inner. It is to mark this shift that Self-realization is held high as a goal to be attained.

Our mind has the capacity to originate thoughts, generate reactions and bring forth various responses. It has equally the potential to refine, sublimate and unify all these and preserve homogeneity. The first part is generally known to all. The second part is very rarely cognized and is accessed only by the discriminating seekers and devotees. But when accessed, it will zealously lead the seeker to transcendental refinement and sublimity, generating thoughts and emotions from that level. It is a question of inspiring and guiding the mind properly.

For this, the right exposure and enlightenment that one gets from the Teacher, as did Arjuna from Krishna, are what count. To be receptive to the exposure, to reflect upon it and orient the mind and intelligence accordingly, is the most important part of spiritual sadhana. The progress thereafter will be irresistible and exhilarating.

To be delighted with some things – be they events, circumstances or even persons – or to be resentful or hateful towards some others is, in fact, to strengthen the delusion. How does the same mind become delightful with some and hateful with others? The outer links in the process apart, the mind alone functions and generates the like and dislike.

If the mind is the originator of these contradictory notes, it can as well be free of them. It can rise above both. Spirituo-devotional life inspires the mind to strike the sovereign, transcendental, homogeneous level above dvandvas. The waves of socana, grief, and kanksha, desire also have no place in the devotee’s mind. Instead of preserving and intensifying them, as is generally done, the devotee must strive to attenuate them. In fact, spirituality means sublimation of all these contradictory notes.

Krishna, in the same strain, makes it clear that devotion means abandoning the notions of subha (auspicious) and asubha (inauspicious). Arjuna found the whole war to be inauspicious and leading to hell. Krishna pointed out that to believe so was a sheer delusion, the characteristic entrapment of the mind.