That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man is awake; when all beings are awake, that is night for the Muni (sage) who sees.
In simple words
Krishna reveals a paradox: "What ordinary people are wide awake chasing after — pleasure, status, possessions — the wise person sleeps right through. And the inner reality that keeps the wise person awake and alive, most people don't even know exists."
Word-by-word meanings
याwhichनिशाnightसर्वभूतानाम्of all beingsतस्याम्in thatजागर्तिwakesसंयमीthe selfcontrolledयस्याम्in whichजाग्रतिwakeभूतानिall beingsसाthatनिशाnightपश्यतः(of the) seeingमुनेःof the Muni
2.69 या which? निशा night? सर्वभूतानाम् of all beings? तस्याम् in that? जागर्ति wakes? संयमी the selfcontrolled? यस्याम् in which? जाग्रति wake? भूतानि all beings? सा that? निशा night? पश्यतः (of the) seeing? मुनेः of the Muni.Commentary That which is real for the wordlyminded people is illusion for the sage? and vice versa. The sage lives in the Self. This is day for him. He is unconscious of the wordly phenomena. They are night for him? as it were. The ordinary man is unconscious of his real nature. Life in the spirit is night for him. He is experiencing the objects of sensual enjoyment. This is day for him. The Self is a nonentity for him For a sage this world is a nonentity.The wordlyminded people are in utter darkness as they have no knowledge of the Self. What is darkness for them is all light for the sage. The Self? Atman or Brahman is night for the worldlyminded persons. But the sage is fully awake. He is directly cognising the supreme Reality? the Light of lights. He is full of illumination and AtmaJnana or knowledge of the Self.
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
Modern
# BG 2.69
The purpose of this verse is to clarify the distinction between the vision of the wise and the ignorant. The world experienced through the limitations of body and mind differs from the world perceived through the open window of the heart illumined by spiritual wisdom. Here, through the language of metaphor, the principle is expressed with such completeness that many who engage in dry logic fail to perceive the beauty of poetry inherent within it. The harmonizing of poetry and knowledge is the distinctive characteristic of the Aryan peoples, and when the philosopher-poet Vyasa took up his pen and birch bark to express the joy of perfection, he could employ no medium superior to poetry in the Gita.
The ignorant person never perceives the world as it truly is; rather, he colors the world with the hues of his own mind and then blames external objects for their perceived defects. When one views the world through colored glasses, it appears colored; but when the lens is removed, the world appears exactly as it is.
Today, when we perceive the world through body, mind, and intellect, it naturally appears limited and flawed. Yet all these defects belong only to the limitations themselves. The person of steady wisdom, when perceiving through the vision of knowledge, experiences only completeness and bliss.
When an electrical engineer arrives in a great city where, from evening onward, electric light sparkles in all directions, he asks whether it is alternating or direct current. Yet that same sight causes an illiterate villager to cry out in wonder, "I see light without oil or wick!" From the villager's perspective, there is neither electricity nor the question of alternating or direct current. The engineer's understanding is unknown to the villager, and the engineer cannot comprehend the villager's astonishment.
This verse teaches that the ignorant mortal being sleeps regarding the nature of the Self, while the wise person is fully awakened to it. Those worldly matters toward which the ignorant remain alert and through which they suffer—the person of steady wisdom regards these as night, the state of ignorance.
Only the wise devotee who has renounced all desires attains liberation; the person of desires never does. The Lord explains this through an illustration.