FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 4.35

యజ్జ్ఞాత్వా న పునర్మోహమేవం యాస్యసి పాణ్డవ । యేన భూతాన్యశేషాణి ద్రక్ష్యస్యాత్మన్యథో మయి ॥ ౩౫ ॥
yaj jñātvā na punar moham
[yaj jnaatvaa na punar moham]
evaṁ yāsyasi pāṇḍava
[evam yaasyasi paandava]
yena bhūtāny aśeṣāṇi
[yena bhootaany asheshaani]
drakṣyasy ātmany atho mayi
[drakshyasy aatmany atho mayi]
Word-for-word
yat — which jñātvā — knowing na — never punaḥ — again moham — to illusion evam — like this yāsyasi — you shall go pāṇḍava — O son of Pāṇḍu yena — by which bhūtāni — living entities aśeṣāṇi — all drakṣyasi — you will see ātmani — in the Supreme Soul atha u — or in other words mayi — in Me .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yaj jñātvā na punar moham
yat
which
jñātvā
knowing
na
never
punaḥ
again
moham
to illusion
evaṁ yāsyasi pāṇḍava
evam
like this
yāsyasi
you shall go
pāṇḍava
O son of Pāṇḍu
yena bhūtāny aśeṣāṇi
yena
by which
bhūtāni
living entities
aśeṣāṇi
all
drakṣyasy ātmany atho mayi
drakṣyasi
you will see
ātmani
in the Supreme Soul
atha u
or in other words
mayi
in Me .
Important Words
  • moham — illusion
    From √muh — 'to be confused.' The same word that ends in vimoha, sammoha. Moha is the precise opposite of jñāna. The verse promises a one-way exit from moha-territory.
  • yāsyasi — you shall go
    Second-person future of √yā — 'you will go (into).' Note: na punaḥ yāsyasi — 'you will not again go into.' Not just 'you will be free of moha now' but 'you will never re-enter that territory.' Structural finality.
  • bhūtāni — living beings
    Plural — all beings. The new vision sees not just oneself differently but *all beings* differently. The transformation is universal in its sweep.
  • aśeṣāṇi — without remainder, all-inclusive
    A-śeṣa — 'without leftover.' The vision does not exclude anyone. No exceptions. Every being, however unappealing, falls inside the new seeing.
  • ātmani — in the self
    Locative — 'within the self.' All beings seen within one's own self. The first half of the formula: ātmā as the locus of unified vision.
  • mayi — in Me
    Locative — 'in Me.' The second half: all beings ultimately seen as Kṛṣṇa's. The verse refuses to stop at impersonal absorption; the final locus is mayi — *in Kṛṣṇa*. The Gauḍīya reading is decisive here.
Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.
Purport

The result of receiving knowledge from a self-realized soul, or one who knows things as they are, is learning that all living beings are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The sense of an existence separate from Kṛṣṇa is called māyā ( mā – not, yā – this). Some think that we have nothing to do with Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa is only a great historical personality and that the Absolute is the impersonal Brahman. Factually, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, this impersonal Brahman is the personal effulgence of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of everything. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is clearly stated that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. Even the millions of incarnations are only His different expansions. Similarly, the living entities are also expansions of Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophers wrongly think that Kṛṣṇa loses His own separate existence in His many expansions. This thought is material in nature. We have experience in the material world that a thing, when fragmentally distributed, loses its own original identity. But the Māyāvādī philosophers fail to understand that absolute means that one plus one is equal to one, and that one minus one is also equal to one. This is the case in the absolute world. For want of sufficient knowledge in the absolute science, we are now covered with illusion, and therefore we think that we are separate from Kṛṣṇa. Although we are separated parts of Kṛṣṇa, we are nevertheless not different from Him. The bodily difference of the living entities is māyā, or not actual fact. We are all meant to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. By māyā alone Arjuna thought that the temporary bodily relationship with his kinsmen was more important than his eternal spiritual relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The whole teaching of the Gītā is targeted toward this end: that a living being, as Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servitor, cannot be separated from Kṛṣṇa, and his sense of being an identity apart from Kṛṣṇa is called māyā. The living entities, as separate parts and parcels of the Supreme, have a purpose to fulfill. Having forgotten that purpose since time immemorial, they are situated in different bodies, as men, animals, demigods, etc. Such bodily differences arise from forgetfulness of the transcendental service of the Lord. But when one is engaged in transcendental service through Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one becomes at once liberated from this illusion. One can acquire such pure knowledge only from the bona fide spiritual master and thereby avoid the delusion that the living entity is equal to Kṛṣṇa. Perfect knowledge is that the Supreme Soul, Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme shelter for all living entities, and giving up such shelter, the living entities are deluded by the material energy, imagining themselves to have a separate identity. Thus, under different standards of material identity, they become forgetful of Kṛṣṇa. When, however, such deluded living entities become situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is to be understood that they are on the path of liberation, as confirmed in the Bhāgavatam (2.10.6) : muktir hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. Liberation means to be situated in one’s constitutional position as an eternal servitor of Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa consciousness).

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
35. O son of Pāṇḍu, knowing this, you will no longer be bewildered. By this loss of bewilderment, you will see that all entities are individual ātmās and are situated in Me.
Commentary

The result of knowledge is described in three and a half verses. Understanding that you are not the body but the soul, you will not have bewilderment, which is the quality of the mind. By destroying bewilderment through the attainment of the natural knowledge of the eternally perfect soul, you will see all living entities, such as men and beasts, as jīvātmā (ātmani), but situated as separate creatures by material identification, and you will also see them situated in Me (mayi), the supreme cause, since they are My products.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
35. O son of Pāṇḍu, knowing this, you will no longer be bewildered. By this loss of bewilderment, you will see that all entities are situated in their own forms and also in Me.
Commentary

This verse describes the result of this knowledge. Realizing this knowledge of paramātmā along with that of jīva, you will not again fall under bewilderment, which causes you to think you are killing your relatives. “Why will I not fall under bewilderment?” “By this knowledge you will see all bodies of men and devatās (bhūtāni aśeṣena) situated separately as jīvas but with material identification (upādhi). And you will see those bodies situated in Me, the Lord of all, the cause of everything, as they are My products.” What has been said is this. For the jīvas who are distinct from their two bodies (gross and subtle) but who are opposed to the Lord, thinking of their own benefit, My energy furnishes them with sense of possessiveness in material bodies with material facilities. By that māyā, they also take on the conceptions of killer and persons that are killed. Their true, pure forms do not have relationship with this misconception or the bodies. The paramātmā, the Lord of everything, supplies to the jīvas under His shelter bodies and senses, means to support their bodies, and happiness and enjoyment within planets, according to their individual karmas, but being worshipped by them, He awards them liberation. The person who understands this cannot fall under bewilderment.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study Key verse
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

One will obtain knowledge and realization that all living entities are a part of Brahman. With such

vision one will never fall into illusion.

Focus of Learning

(a) Result of receiving knowledge from a self-realized soul

One learns that all living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead

(b) What is ‘Maya’

Sense of an existence separate from Krishna is called ‘maya’
Also to think that we have nothing to do with Krishna who is just a great historical personality and Absolute is only the impersonal Brahman
Refutation: ▪

Impersonal Brahman is the effulgence of Krishna (Based on Bg. 4.27)

▪

Krishna is the cause of all causes, even the cause of millions of incarnations

and all the living entities (Ref. Brahma Samhita 5.1)

(c) Material thought of Mayavadis

Argument: Wrongly think that Krishna loses His own separate existence in His many expansions; This thought is material in nature
Refutation: Failure of Mayavadis to understand the meaning of the Absolute
Material understanding is that, when a thing is fragmentally distributed, it loses its own original identity
But “Absolute Truth” means: “1+1=1” and “1-1=1”

(a) Bona fide path of religion

Only that religion which comes from Lord and His disciplic succession (Ref. SB. 6.3.19 “dharmam tu…”)
Manufacturing one’s own process is the fashion of foolish pretenders

(b) Non bona fide paths – mental speculations, dry arguments, independent study of books

(c) Secret of progress – Satisfaction of self-realized spiritual master

(d) Proper combination for spiritual understanding – Inquiry and submission

(e) How inquiries are effective – By submission and service

One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine understanding
When the student is submissive and always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquires become perfect

(f) Text 4.34 condemns blind following and absurd inquiries

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
4.35 Jnatva, knowing; yat, which-by aciring which Knowledge imparted by them; O Pandava, na vasyasi, you will not come under; moham, delusion; punah, again; evam, in this way, in the way you have come under delusion now. Besides, yena, through which Knowledge; draksyasi, you will see directly; bhutani, all beings; asesena, without exception, counting from Brahma down to a clump of grass; atmani, in the Self, in the innermost Self, thus-'These beings exist in me' ; and atha, also; see that these are mayi. in Me, in Vasudeva, the supreme Lord. The purport is, 'You will realize the identity of the individual Self and God, which is well known in the Upanisads.' Moreover, the greatness of this Knowledge is:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
4.35 Having which knowledge, you will not again fall into this delusion of mistaking the body etc., for the self, which is the cause of possessiveness etc. By this (knowledge) you will see in yourself all the beings which appear in diversity of forms such as gods, men etc.; for between you and other beings there is eality of nature when freed from the hold of Prakrti, as your self and all other selves have the form of knowledge as fas as their essence is concerned. Sri Krsna will later on instruct that the nature of the self, dissociated from the evil of contact with Prakrti, is eal in all beings. 'For faultless Brahman (individual self) is alike everywhere; therefore, abide in Brahman' (5.19). And then you will see all beings without any exception in Me, because of the similarity of nature of the pure selves with one another and with My nature. For Sri Krsna will teach later on: 'Resorting to this knowledge and partaking of My nature' (14.5). So the euality of the selves, devoid of name and form, with the nature of the Supreme, is known from the texts like: 'Then the wise, shaking off good and evil, stainless, attain supreme eality' (Mun. U., 3.1.3). Therefore all selves dissociated from Prakrti are eal in nature to one another and eal in nature to the Lord of all. [The idea is that blissfulness is the basic nature of all selves. Blissfulness (Ananda) is the nature of the Supreme Being also. Eality contemplated is in this respect only, but not in power of creation, which belongs only to Isvara]
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
4.34-35 Tat etc. Yaj=jnatva etc. This : the knowledge. By prostration : by devotion. By iniry : by the consideration of pros and cons, by good reasoning etc. By service : by practice. You should learn [this], For, those that are endowed with knowledge i.e., your own different sense-organs, that are exceedingly favoured by consciousness, will point out nearby i.e., will lead the truth to you if you remain practising in the said manner. For this, it has been said that they (sense-organs) are capable of showing the truth i.e., they show nothing but the truth. That has been said : 'The Yoga alone is the teacher of Yoga [practice]' and 'On [reaching] that [seeded Yoga] [there arises] an insight, truth-bearing' (YS, I, 48). If 'those that are endowed with knowledge' is interpreted to mean 'other wise persons', then it would amount to say that what the Bhagavat Himself had taught is untruth. Or, the purpose of saying in this manner may be to teach a conventional rule : Other persons too should learn from the men of wisdom only by prostration etc., and not by any other means. The [locatives] atmani 'in your Self' and mayi 'in Me' are in the same-case-relationship, and they mean 'in your Soul that has attained (realised Its) identity with Me'. Atho is an expletive. In order to established the [total] sameness (identity) of the Absolute with the [individual] Self, a certain characteristic mark [of the two], is mentioned [here]. If the non-sameness (non-identity) [of these two] is intended, then the meanings 'choice' etc., [of atho] have no relevance here. Saying that 'the sin also perishes' in the first verse [of following two], in order to clarify the earlier statement 'all actions, leaving no bit, [meet their end in knowledge' - verse 33 above]; indicating, by 'all actions' - in the second verse-that the suggested meaning of 'leaving no bit (verse 33)' is 'not even a bit of mental impression [of actions] survives'; [the Lord] explains-
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
4.35 Knowing ï1thatï1 thou shalt not, O Arjuna, again get deluded like this; and by that thou shalt see all beings in thy Self and also in Me.
Commentary

4.35 यत् which? ज्ञात्वा having known? न not? पुनः again? मोहम् delusion? एवम् thus? यास्यसि will get? पाण्डव O Pandava? येन by this? भूतानि beings? अशेषेण all? द्रक्ष्यसि (thou) shalt see? आत्मनि in (thy) Self? अथो also? मयि in Me.Commentary That? the knowledge of the Self mentioned in the previous verse? that is to be learnt from the Brahmanishtha Guru through prostration? estioning and service. When you acire this knowledge you will not be again subject to confusion or error. You will behold that underlying basic unity. You will behold or directly cognise through internal experience or intuition that all beings from the Creator down to a blade of grass exist in your own Self and also in Me. (Cf.IX.15XVIII.20)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
4.35 Knowing which, O Pandava (Arjuna), you will not come under delusion again in this way, and through which you will see all beings without exception in the Self and also in Me.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
4.35 Having known That, thou shalt never again be confounded; and, O Arjuna, by the power of that wisdom, thou shalt see all these people as if they were thine own Self, and therefore as Me.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 6.29 BG 6.30 BG 7.19 SB 1.5.18 SB 11.2.37 SB 3.9.11 CC Madhya 22.31 CC Madhya 8.274 CC Madhya 25.101 Īśa Upaniṣad 6 Īśa Upaniṣad 7
Concepts
Maya
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Having received that knowledge, you will not be deluded again — you will see all beings in your self and in Me.
Practical Applications
  • Trust that real knowledge produces visible change in vision.
  • Notice the difference between intellectual knowledge and the kind that 'changes seeing.'
  • Wait for and watch for the shift.
Reflection Questions
  • What teaching has actually changed how I see, not just what I know?
  • Where do I still see otherness instead of unity?
Analogy

A clean mirror, once wiped, reflects without distortion. Real knowledge wipes the mirror once and for all; the seeing afterward is direct. The verse promises a kind of knowledge that does not need to be re-acquired in every situation — once received from a self-realized soul, it transforms perception itself.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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