Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 35

Chapter 4 – Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यज्ज्ञात्वा न पुनर्मोहमेवं यास्यसि पाण्डव ।
येन भूतान्यशेषेण द्रक्ष्यस्यात्मन्यथो मयि (var अशेषाणि) ॥

Transliteration

yajjñātvā na punarmohamevaṃ yāsyasi pāṇḍava .
yena bhūtānyaśeṣāṇi drakṣyasyātmanyatho mayi ॥

Meaning

Knowing that, O son of Pandu, you will never again fall into delusion like this; and by it you will see all beings without exception in your own Self, and then in Me.

Word meanings

यत् – which (knowledge)
ज्ञात्वा – having known
न – not
पुनः – again
मोहम् – delusion
एवम् – like this
यास्यसि – you will fall into
पाण्डव – O son of Pandu (Arjuna)
येन – by which
भूतानि – beings
अशेषेण – entirely, without exception
द्रक्ष्यसि – you will see
आत्मनि – in your own Self
अथो – and then, also
मयि – in Me (the Supreme Lord)

Anvaya (word order)

(हे) पाण्डव, यत् ज्ञात्वा (त्वम्) पुनः एवं मोहं न यास्यसि, येन अशेषेण भूतानि आत्मनि अथो मयि द्रक्ष्यसि ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna explained how knowledge is received from a teacher. Now He describes its fruit, and the first fruit speaks directly to Arjuna's present problem: ‘yaj jnatva na punar moham evam yasyasi’ — knowing which, you will not fall again into delusion like this. ‘Evam’, ‘like this’, points to the very delusion that overcame Arjuna in Chapter 1, when he looked at his kinsmen and laid down his bow.

The mark of true knowledge is that it is permanent. Worldly information can be forgotten, but once Self-knowledge is firmly established, the very root of delusion is cut. When a lamp is lit and the illusion of a snake in a rope disappears, one is never again frightened by that rope; likewise, once the truth of the Self is known, the delusion of ‘mine’ and ‘not mine’ does not return.

The second fruit is: ‘yena bhutany asheshena drakshyasy atmany atho mayi’ — by which you will see all beings in your Self and then in Me. According to Shankara, you will see all beings, from Brahma down to a blade of grass, within your own Self, and will further realise that this Self and the Supreme Lord are one — the identity of the individual and Brahman taught in the Upanishads. Ramanuja interprets it to mean that, freed from matter, all selves will be seen as similar in essence to your own, and also as similar to the Lord in being pure and of the nature of knowledge. Madhva sees here that all beings will be seen as resting in and dependent on the Lord.

Though the interpretations differ, the essence is the same: to the wise, no being is a stranger. This vision uproots Arjuna's grief, for when everything is seen as resting in one Truth, the delusion of ‘I shall kill and they will die’ cannot stand.

Context

In 4.34 Krishna explained that knowledge is received from a teacher who has seen the Truth, through reverence, inquiry and service. Here He describes its fruit: the permanent end of delusion, and the vision of all beings in the Self and in the Lord. In the next verse (4.36) He says that even the greatest sinner crosses over all sin by the boat of knowledge.

Life lesson

Envy, fear and hatred arise only when we see others as separate from ourselves. Practise seeing the same one consciousness in every being; it brings compassion into relationships and frees the mind from delusion.

Key terms

Moha: delusion, failure to see the truth; here, Arjuna's grief-born confusion
Asheshena: entirely, without exception
Atma-darshana: the vision of all beings within one's own Self