The 22nd sloka in the ninth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, ‘ananyas chintayanto maam’, is considered the Parama Sara sloka of the entire Gita. This is because it reveals the most profound and also the most practical truth of the Lord’s involvement with the life of His devotees, pointed out by Sri B. Sundarkumar in a discourse. The Lord traces the stages of the growth of bhakti. At the initial level, Punya is sought; then only His grace is the target. Contemplating on His boundless grace and glories one realises that there is no one other than God and there is identification with the Lord. In this sloka, the Lord declares that for those who worship Him and meditate on Him with an undistracted mind, devoting every moment to Him, He takes care of all their needs including whatever they have to achieve and gain, yoga, and also protects what they have attained in their lifetime, Kshema. Generally, the believers in God realise that some divine help is behind our attainments. Some think that it is their effort alone that has driven them through the ups and downs of life and that they bear all the burden of responsibilities in their life. This mental attitude about their own effort is similar to that of a train traveller who does not place the luggage on the train but chooses to carry it. His intention is that by doing so, he is not burdening the train which is already carrying so many people including him. In all our lives, it is not a mere individual effort, but God’s backing at every step that oversees the well-being of all of us. This does not mean that we have to give up our responsibilities and hope for God’s grace. Our effort is important to make us responsible. We should not worry about the result or effects of our effort.
