Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 11 (BG 9.11) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

In the seventh chapter, while describing the supreme and inferior natures of Brahman, the Blessed Lord Sri Krishna declared that the deluded do not know My imperishable and supreme nature, and they regard Me, who am truly unmanifest in essence, as manifest in form. In this chapter, while proclaiming Himself as the Self of all beings, Sri Krishna again employs this harsh word "deluded" to condemn those who, abandoning the essence, cling only to form. Not knowing My supreme nature, the deluded regard Me as dwelling in some particular body. To mistake an idol for the Divine, or to understand the Teacher's body as the infinite Supreme Self, is the same kind of error or inverted knowledge as mistaking the vessel for the substance it contains. The idol is merely a symbol of that subtle truth imperceptible to the senses. When hungry or thirsty, one does not gain nourishment by playing with a bottle of milk. In truth, when hungry, no satisfaction comes from striking a spoon upon an empty plate. To mistake the symbol for the goal means committing the error of confusing the means with the end. Such inverted notions give birth to religious rigidity and intolerance, which sow seeds of enmity and jealousy among people. From these seeds, in due time, only the harvest of calamity and destruction is reaped. All of this occurs in the name of different faiths' stone deities, wooden symbols, and gods fashioned from fig wood. A khadi tricolored cloth may be the national flag, yet it is not my motherland itself. But when I bow my head during the flag hoisting, I express my reverence toward the nation. That flag is the sacred symbol of my nation's culture and aspirations. Keeping this principle in mind, when this verse is studied, it becomes entirely clear. The Blessed Lord says that ordinary devotees do not know Me as the Lord of all beings, and when I assume human form, they show Me disrespect. Why are these deluded people unable to gain proper understanding of the Self? In answer, He states—