He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord, existing eally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.
In simple words
Krishna describes true seeing: "The person who sees the supreme Lord existing equally in every being — the indestructible within the destructible — that person truly sees."
Word-by-word meanings
समम्eallyसर्वेषु(in) allभूतेषुin beingsतिष्ठन्तम्existingपरमेश्वरम्the Supreme Lordविनश्यस्तुamong the perishingअविनश्यन्तम्the unperishingयःwhoपश्यतिseesसःheपश्यतिsees
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
13.28 समम् eally? सर्वेषु (in) all? भूतेषु in beings? तिष्ठन्तम् existing? परमेश्वरम् the Supreme Lord? विनश्यस्तु among the perishing? अविनश्यन्तम् the unperishing? यः who? पश्यति sees? सः he? पश्यति sees.Commentary He who beholds the Supreme Lord through the inner eye of wisdom? Him Who is seated in all beings from the Creator down to the unmoving objects and Who is not destroyed even when all beings are destroyed? he is said to have realised the Self.In different kinds of fire? the heat is the same. Gold is the same in different forms of ornaments. The light from many lamps is the same. So also in all living being?s the soul is the same. The soul or the Self is uniform everywhere. The Self is the same in ants? elephants? kings? beggars? saints and rogues.The Self is indestructible all living beings are perishable. It is the Supreme Lord when compared to the body? senses? mind? intellect? the Unmanifested Nature and the individual soul.Birth is the root cause of the BhavaVikaras or the modifications? viz.? change? growth? decay and death. The other changes of state manifest themselves after the birth of the body.The Supreme Lord is one and changeless as He is birthless? decayless and deathless. He is the one common consciousness in all beings. He sees rightly who sees the Supreme Lord as now described. He is a Jivanmukta. He has knowledge of the knower of the field or the immortal Self. He is the real seer or a liberated sage.The sage alone sees properly on account of knowledge. The whole world sees erroneously on account of ignorance. He who is suffering from defective vision beholds many moons. He sees erroneously. But he who sees one moon only sees in the proper manner? correctly. Even so he who beholds the one immortal indivisible Self in all beings really sees the Truth. He alone sees. He who sees many distinct selves erroneously does not really see though he sees. He is like the man who beholds many moons. (Cf.VIII.20
Swami Chinmayananda
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.
# BG 13.28
That supreme Lord alone is the foundation upon which the field and the knower of the field appear to engage in their mutual play of false identification, and through which the world of suffering is perceived—He who dwells with equal vision in all beings, just as water pervades all waves.
When one observes the perishable with only a superficial gaze, the world appears in constant flux. Things are naturally subject to change, and their relationships with one another transform as well. Change is the eternal characteristic of both the material and mental worlds. In comparison to this world, it is said that the supreme Lord is the eternal and unchanging foundation within all of this, by which all these transformations are known.
Birth, growth, disease, decay, and death—these are the modifications that befall every impermanent thing. Whatever has come into being must pass through subsequent transformations. Here, by calling the supreme Lord indestructible, the absence of prior modifications is also indicated. This indestructible consciousness is the revealer of destruction and the substratum of the world, just as gold is the foundation of ornaments that undergo transformation.
That person who recognizes this equal and indestructible supreme Lord within all unequal and perishable beings—that person alone truly sees what ought to be seen. Here, seeing refers to direct realization of the atman.
The objects of the material world are perceived by the senses, while knowledge of emotions and thoughts comes through the mind and intellect respectively. Similarly, knowledge of the atman comes through spiritual vision, not through the eyes of flesh. Just as our eyes cannot perceive thoughts, so too the mind and intellect cannot perceive the atman. The subtle cannot be perceived through the gross. The subtlest atman transcends all limitations.
He who sees this—he alone truly sees. This is a distinctive mode of expression in Vedanta, profoundly powerful in its effect. All people see, yet they do not perceive the ultimate truth. From this contrary vision, the existence of defects in their means of knowledge is established. Delusion, distorted perception of objects, false imaginings, and mental agitation—all these veil the true nature of reality. Therefore, the Lord of yoga, Sri Krishna, emphasizes with special force that the person who sees this equal truth alone truly sees. All others remain caught in confusion.
Now, having shown the supreme fruit of such correct vision as described, we offer our praise to it.