Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 29 (BG 5.29) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

We must always bear in mind that when the Lord Sri Krishna uses the word "I" for Himself, His intention is to refer to the atman—the Self that dwells within the heart of all beings—and not to Sri Krishna as the son of Devaki, dwelling in a physical form. The fundamental nature of ego is the pure, conscious atman, which appears as the doer and enjoyer due to its identification with the body and other limiting conditions. The term yajna has been explained before. According to the Gita, any action performed selflessly in any field of work and dedicated to the welfare of the world is called yajna. The powers that we waste uselessly—their conservation through self-discipline is called tapas. This tapas should then be employed for the attainment of the atman. This atman is truly the Lord of all the deities. The word "Lord" is used here to mean the ruler and controller of all the operations of knowledge and action. According to the scriptures, each sense organ of action and each sense organ of perception has its own presiding deity. Through the eyes we perceive form and color; through the ears we perceive sound; and similarly, through the other senses we gain knowledge of different objects. The ten senses have as their ruler and controller the conscious atman. Therefore, Sri Krishna here bestows upon the atman the epithet "Lord of all." In this verse, our experience is that it is extremely difficult to gain access to a high official in a position of authority, and even then, the common people regard the person seated at the highest seat of political power with a mixture of fear and respect. An ordinary person does not even have the courage to approach such a one. But with the atman, the Lord of all worlds, this is not the case. The Lord says: the atman is the friend of all beings. By knowing Me thus, a person attains eternal peace. Here, the word "knowing" does not mean knowing Sri Krishna as we know a flower or fruit—as an object separate from ourselves. The word "knowing" means to experience Sri Krishna as one's own atman. By directly experiencing as the atman the Lord Sri Krishna—the Lord of all sacrifices and austerities, the friend of all—the seeker attains supreme peace. Thus concludes the Fifth Chapter, named the Yoga of Renunciation of Action, in the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishad of Brahma-knowledge, the scripture of yoga, in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.