Bhagavad Gita

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Karma Sanyasa Yogam: Chapter 5: Verse 18

Bhagavad Gita - krishna

(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

One Who Has Divine Knowledge Sees EveryOne And Every Form Of Life Equally

विद्याविनयसम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि |
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिता: समदर्शिन: || 5.18||

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śhuni chaiva śhva-pāke cha paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśhinaḥ|| 5.18||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 5- Ver. 18:

With the eyes of divine wisdom, the truly learned perceives a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater with equal vision.

Explanation

The enlightened seeker concentrates on the timeless essence that pervades all plants, animals, humans, situations, and inanimate objects. The wise person’s ability to see the oneness of all is commended throughout. However, just because he sees everyone with the same vision does not mean he behaves or deals with everyone in the same way. It’s as though we see our bodies as a whole, but we treat our eyes differently than we would our feet’s soles.

Divine knowledge is accompanied by a sense of humility, Devotees who have attained wisdom consider all living beings as souls who are fragments of God and so divine in nature. A spiritually wise person sees them all as immortal souls and hence treats them all equally. From the standpoint of knowledge, they are all everlasting souls, small pieces of God, and so alike.

In a nutshell, the wise person sees everything equally. His attention is on Atman, and he recognises that the disparities are due to gunas. He observes a vast range of beings yet recognises the one Spirit behind them all. The appearance of gunas has no effect on him. Look beyond the attributes and traits to the person to cultivate the unifying vision of oneness. Recognize that everyone is a powerless victim of their gunas.

Verse & what we can learn

Devotees who have attained wisdom consider all living beings as souls who are fragments of God and so divine in nature. Divine knowledge is accompanied by a sense of humility.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verse, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna more in deapth about the subject.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *