1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 12 - Bhakti Yoga - Sloka 20

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of Bhagavad Gita  published by Ramakrishna Mission

The Devotees Divine Traits 13-20

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 12 - Bhakti Yoga - Sloka 20

Ye tu dharmya amrutam idam yathoktam paryopasate I

Shrada ddhana matparama bhkatah te ati iva me priyah II sloka 20

ये तु धर्म्या अमृतं इदम् यथोक्तम् पर्योपासते I

शर्धा दधाना मत् परामा भक्तः ते अति इव मे प्रियः II श्लोक 20 

They who follow this immortal dharma described above imbued with shraddha, looking upon Me as the Supreme goal, and devoted - they are exceedingly dear to Me.

Shraddha is the common factor for all spiritual practices. It is therefore linked here to the path of bhakthi. On the ground of his holding the Lord as the supreme goal, the devotee does not abandon work.He holds fast to the practice of dharma. Mukti and immortality being the outcome of the practice of dharma, it is here equated with immortality. It is also called Sanatana dharma. he who conforms to dharma neve comesto grief or destruction. being both an ardent devotee and a staunch practitioner of dharma, he is the dearest of the lord.

Bhakti is of two kinds - the vaidika bhakti and the Prema bhakti. To conform to the injunctions in the scripture, to chant the name of the Lord as many times as prescribed, to fast and pray to go on pilgrimage, to perform ritualistic worship with the aid of the enjoined materials - all these belong to the former kind. An earnest pursuance of these means leads the devotee ultimately into the latter, the prema bhakti, in which there is no place for any kind of earthly attachment. The Bhakta gives himself over entirely to the Lord. This whole-hearted offering is graciously  accepted by the Lord and the devotee becomes his own.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

The path of karma in the first six chapters and the path of bhakti in the second six get united here. In the following six chapters the path of jnana remains to get united with these two.

 Iti shrimad bhagavad gitasu upanishadtsu brahmavidyayam yogashastre srikrishna arjuna samvade bhakti yogo nama ashtamodhyayah II

इति श्रीमद भगवद्गीतासु उपनिशद्त्सु ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे  श्रीकृष्ण अर्जुन संवादे भक्ति योगो नाम अष्टमोध्यायः  ।।