Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 31 (BG 13.31) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

13.31 यदा when? भूतपृथग्भावम् the whole variety of beings? एकस्थम् resting in the One? अनुपश्यति sees? ततः from that? एव alone? च and? विस्तारम् the spreading? ब्रह्म Brahman? सम्पद्यते (he) becomes? तदा then.Commentary A man attains to unity with the Supreme when he knows or realises through intuition that all these manifold forms are rooted in the One. As waves in water? atoms in the earth? rays in the sun? organs in the body? emotions in the mind? sparks in the fire? so verily are all forms rooted in the One. Wherever he turns his gaze he beholds only the one Self and enjoys the bliss of the Self.When he beholds the diversity of beings rooted in the One in accordance with the teachings of the scriptures and the preceptor? he realises through intuitive experience that all that he beholds is nothing but the Self and that the origin and the evolution of all is from That One alone. Compare with the Chhandogya Upanishad? 7.26.1.आत्मतः प्राण आत्मत आशा आत्मतः स्मरआत्मत आकाश आत्मतस्तेज आत्मत आपःआत्मत आविर्भावतिरोभावावात्मतोऽन्नम्।।Atmatah prana atmata asa atmatah smaraAtmata akasa atmatasteja atmata apahAtmata avirbhavatirobhavavatmatonnam.From the Self is life from the Self is desire from the Self is love from the Self is ether from the Self is light from the Self are the waters from the Self is appearance and disappearance from the Self is food.

The perfection of scientific study of any object or phenomenon is achieved only through intellectual analysis and experimental verification. When physical science establishes that the atom is the unit of matter, then along with this knowledge, one must also understand that these atoms, combining in various numbers and types, create this world of countless forms and qualities. Similarly, to know that a single atman-principle is the truth behind all names and forms is only partial knowledge. The perfection of knowledge lies in understanding how this diversity of creation has manifested from that one atman. Just as a person who knows the ocean perceives countless and diverse waves existing within that single ocean, so too does the atman-realized person perceive the individual existence of all beings as established in the one Supreme Self. All waves are merely the expansion of the ocean. The wise person experiences the same truth—that all creation is an expansion from that one atman. In these sacred moments of self-realization, the wise person, becoming Brahman itself, experiences how that one atman-principle pervades and embraces all that is within and without, sustains all beings, and exists not only in the profound and infinite depths but also permeates all surface names and forms. The atman is experienced only by becoming atman-nature oneself. One who has fully realized that the atman dwelling in one's own heart is the same atman present in all beings everywhere, and who understands how the radiant truth becomes veiled in diverse names and forms due to the covering of ignorance—such a person is called the knower of truth and the true seer. In that realization, one attains identity with Brahman, transcending all limiting conditions. Since the one atman resides in all bodies, one might wonder whether it too would be subject to the defects of limiting conditions. To dispel this doubt, the Blessed Lord speaks: