य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह | सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते || २४ ||
ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha sarvathā vartamāno 'pi na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate
yaḥ—anyone who; evam—thus; vetti—knows; puruṣam—the Purusha; prakṛtim—nature; ca—and; guṇaiḥ—with the gunas; saha—with; sarvathā—in all ways; vartamānaḥ—existing; api—in spite of; na—never; saḥ—he; bhūyaḥ—again; abhijāyate—takes birth.
“One who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti together with the gunas, in whatever way they live, is never born again.”
'Sarvatha vartamano api' — in whatever way they live — is the crucial liberating phrase. Liberation through knowledge is not reserved for monks or renunciants living in forests. One who has realized the distinction between Purusha and Prakriti — who knows themselves as the Witness, not the witnessed — is free regardless of their external circumstances or lifestyle. Knowledge, not renunciation of activity, is the liberating factor.
True freedom, the Gita asserts, is compatible with any mode of life. A business person, a parent, a soldier can be liberated while functioning fully in the world. What determines bondage or liberation is not external activity but the internal identification — am I identified as the actor and enjoyer (Prakriti) or as the witnessing awareness (Purusha)? This is the question to hold throughout the day.