Commentary 12.03/04
The Lord's statement, "The worshipers of impersonal Brahman certainly also reach Me", must not be misconstrued to mean that the impersonalists (Mayavadis) are on an equal footing with the devotees (Vaisnavas). The clue to how the impersonalists can also reach Krsna has been given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur in his commentary on Sri Gita:
"A person attains liberation from the mundane plane by following the path of selfless action up to the stage of meditation, as described in the first six chapters of the Gita. Then he may undergo great difficulty in searching for the Lord on the path of impersonalism. But when he progresses to the stage of dedicating himself to perform welfare work for others (sarva-bhuta-hite ratah), he may get the chance to render service to a pure devotee."
For example, if one engages in the general public welfare work of opening or running a hospital, if some service is even unknowingly rendered to a Vaisnava, one's devotional merit begins (ajnata-sukrti). By the association with a devotee (sadhu-sanga), one develops faith in the original, divine personal form of the Lord, and automatically abandons the attempt of attaining to the impersonal Brahman. Having become faithful to the path of devotion, one takes shelter of a bona fide guru, engages in the devotional practices based on hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, and progressing on the path back to home, back to Godhead. Thus Lord Krsna is saying:
"I am the ultimate goal, and the Brahman is only a relative position. It is not the final absolute, because the absolute position is Mine. Only if the Mayavadis serve others and thereby get the chance to serve a Vaisnava, can they actually come to Me because the only way to come to Me is through a Vaisnava."
rahuganaitat tapasa na yati
na cejyaya nirvapanad grhad va
na cchandasa naiva jalagni-suryair
vina mahat-pada-rajo 'bhisekam
(Bhag. 5.12.12)
(The sage Jada Bharata said to King Rahugana:) "O Rahugana, without bathing the soul in the dust of the holy feet of the pure devotees (mahabhagavata vaisnavas), one cannot know the Supreme Lord by adopting the religious life of brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha, or sannyasa, or by worshiping the gods of water, fire, and sun, etc."
naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim
sprsaty anarthapagamo yad arthah
mahiyasam pada-rajo 'bhisekam
niskincananam na vrnita yavat
(Bhag. 7.5.32)
(Prahlada Maharaj said:) "As long as one has not been bathed by the dust of the feet of Lord Krsna's sold-out devotee, he cannot touch Krsna's lotus feet, which are the destroyer of all evils."
To consider that the Lord has taken the personal and impersonal aspects to be equal is a mistake very commonly committed. In reply to Arjuna's doubt in this respect, the Lord has clearly replied that the personalists are superior to the impersonalists yet, the impersonalists are also given a chance to reach Him, because without Him, no ultimate goal exists. Without coming to the path of devotion, the worshipers of impersonal Brahman will reach that Brahman, which is the dazzling effulgence of the divine form of Lord Sri Krsna.
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