The eighteen chapters of the Gītā can be grouped into three sets of six chapters each. The first set focuses predominantly on karma-yoga, the second set on bhakti-yoga, and the third on jñāna-yoga. But to some extent all three topics can be found throughout all the chapters. The first chapter is introductory and doesn’t outline any specific yoga. It is titled “The Path through Despondency” (Viṣāda-yoga) because it describes Arjuna’s dejected mental-emotional state after he surveys the armies on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. It can be considered as a yoga, or transformational means, only in the sense that dejection itself, when it leads to self-inquiry, becomes the basis of authentic practice. In the state of dejection, one’s ordinary absorption in materialistic pursuits is slackened, and thus deliberation on God becomes a distinct possibility.
A pure devotee has an aura that subdues others, like the sun subdues the stars. All of God’s qualities manifest in such a person. The devas are pleased with him, so they associate with him because it is very rare to see a pure devotee. The rarest of rare. Even Bhagavan becomes captured in the heart of such a person. This is the greatness of a devotee. This is the power of love.
