A core teaching · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“Real seeing notices one imperishable presence in every changing form.”
One who sees the supreme being equally present in all beings, imperishable amid the perishing, truly sees.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyequally · in all · beings · standing · the supreme being · among the perishing · imperishable · who · sees · that one · truly sees
True seeing means recognizing one unchanging presence in every living being, even while bodies and forms keep changing and disappearing.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga" (Field and Knower of the Field).
Verse 28 sits in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad Gita — Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga, "Field and Knower of the Field". The chapter has 35 verses in total.
You’re in a hospital corridor, staring at a stranger’s exhausted face, then at your own family member in the next room. The verse asks you to see beyond labels and notice the same living presence in both.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts perception from separation to shared presence, changing how you look at every person before you act.
What this verse means
True seeing means recognizing one unchanging presence in every living being, even while bodies and forms keep changing and disappearing.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, while Arjuna is overwhelmed by the lives about to be lost, Krishna turns the lesson inward and outward at once. He says the one who sees the supreme being equally present in all beings sees correctly, because forms perish while the one reality remains.
Why this verse still matters
You’re in a hospital corridor, staring at a stranger’s exhausted face, then at your own family member in the next room. The verse asks you to see beyond labels and notice the same living presence in both.
“The world feels less divided when you stop sorting beings into separate categories and notice the same presence in all.”
Explore related themes: kshetra kshetrajna (10 verses)