नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया।
शक्य एवं विधो द्रष्टुं दृष्ट्वानसि मां यथा ॥
भक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्य अहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन ।
ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्वेन प्रवेष्टुं च परन्तप ॥
Transliteration
nāhaṃ vedair na tapasā na dānena na cejyayā |
śakya evaṃ vidho draṣṭuṃ dṛṣṭavān asi yan mama || 53 ||
bhaktyā tv-ananyayā śakya aham evaṃ vidho ‘rjuna |
jñātuṃ draṣṭuṃ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṃ ca paraṅtapa || 54 ||
Translation
Not through the Vedas, nor by austerities, nor by charity, nor by the performance of sacrifices(Yajna), can I be seen in such a form as You have seen Me.But by single-minded devotion, O Arjuna, it is possible to truly know, to see and to enter into Me, who am of this form, O harasser of foes!
Purport
Bhagvan Shri Krishna in the previous verse said the Universal form Arjuna just witnessed is one of the rarest to be seen by anybody in the entire universe. Even deity and great sages could not see this universal form.
Bhagvan Shri Krishna further reveals one of the biggest secrets of Sanatan Dharma and that is that the real forms of Shri Krishna can be viewed only by devotion. Only a true devotee can know Shri Krishna, can see him, and finally, enter to his abode. Nobody else can. Shri Krishna cannot be viewed by any other methods such as reading Vedas, doing austerities, Charity, or performances of Yajna.
However one can ask a very pertinent question here. If God can’t be achieved through any other methods than devotion, should it be concluded all other methods of achieving Knowledge by the study of Vedas(Jnana Yoga), Performing Austerities(Sanayas Yoga) and performance of Yajna(Karma Yoga) and doing charity are waste?
The answer is no they are not waste. All those methods mentioned above and are prescribed in Shrimad Bhagvad gita and other scriptures lead a human to Moksha. But attaining Moksha and seeing the forms of Shri Krishna are two different things. A person performing any presecribed methods of yoga, i.e. Jnana Yoga, Sanyas, Charity, Performing Yjana and austerities will achieve Moksha but he may not see the forms of Shri Krishna. To view the forms of Shri Krishna and to enter the abode of Shri Krishna one has to follow the path of devotion that is Bhakti Yoga. Further, a human can include devotion while performing Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Sanayas and Charity etc. This method is suggested in Chapter 5 by Shri Krishna. While explaining the glory of Karma Yoga Shri Krishana suggested if a person includes devotion in Karma yoga, that is if a person performs the action as if he is doing this for Shri Krishna and submits all his acts to Shri Krishna, he achieves the final results of Moksha easily and quicker, Plus having a devotion to Shri Krishna he can view Shri Krishna and enter his abode as described in these verses
This fact has been declared at many places in Shrimad Bhagvad Gita and in other scriptures
