Bhagavad Gita 13.28

Verse 28

समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् | विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति || २८ ||

Transliteration

samaṁ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṁ parameśvaram vinaśyatsv avinaśyantaṁ yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati

Synonyms

samam—equally; sarveṣu—in all; bhūteṣu—beings; tiṣṭhantam—dwelling; parama-īśvaram—the Supreme Lord; vinaśyatsu—in the perishable; avinaśyantam—the imperishable; yaḥ—whoever; paśyati—sees; saḥ—that person; paśyati—truly sees.

Translation

One who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling equally in all beings, and the Imperishable within the perishable — that person truly sees.

Multi-Tradition Commentary

Swami Gambhirananda (Advaita Vedanta)

This is one of the most celebrated verses in the chapter. 'Sa pashyati' — 'that person truly sees.' All other seeing is partial, distorted, suffering-laden. True vision is the recognition of the one Imperishable Self in all perishable forms. This is not a projection of the imagination but the accurate perception of reality as it actually is. Ordinary perception sees the forms and misses the one Self within them; the wise see the Self and recognize it as the truth of all forms.

Practical Application (Modern Life)

Practice what might be called 'equality vision' — looking at people from different backgrounds, species, and conditions and recognizing the same basic awareness looking through each pair of eyes. This is not sentimental equality that ignores differences but the deep recognition of a shared ground. Even one moment of this genuine seeing transforms the quality of relationship.

Chapter Content

View all shlokas in Chapter 13

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