We do not get good results if we do not go through some hardship to attain the goal. We usually do not find the process of attaining the goal appealing, but we persist, because we want something. Only bhakti yoga is different in this respect. The process is pleasing, and so is the result. That is because bhakti yoga involves worshipping the Lord, who has infinite auspicious qualities, and the result of this bhakti yoga is to reach the feet of the pleasing One. So here both means and end are joyful, explained V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. In the Bhagavad Gita, in verse four of chapter nine, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that He pervades everything in this world. He supports everything, but He Himself needs no support from anyone. But in the next verse, Lord Krishna says He does not support anything. This seems like a direct contradiction of what He said in the previous verse. So how do we understand these two verses?
Ramanujacharya explained how to resolve what seems like a contradiction, but is in fact not so. The word atma has many meanings in Sanskrit. One of the meanings is ‘manas.’ So Ramanujacharya reasoned that what Krishna meant was that He supported everything through His manas. He does not physically support anything. He does not have to. He just has to want something to happen and it happens. So, He supports everything with His manas. That is why He talks about ‘mama AtmA.’ This is what sustains everything — bhUtabhAvanah. This is the greatness of the Lord. Can anyone else accomplish anything through mere thought? The purpose of Krishna telling Arjuna this is to show that the One towards whom people should have bhakti is unique in His greatness. When the object of worship is great and incomparable, devotion gets justified.
