A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“The hidden divine is missed by confused seeing, not by absence.”
Veiled by yoga-maya, I am not visible to everyone. Deluded people do not recognize me as unborn and imperishable.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyI am not · manifest · to everyone · deluded · this · does not know · world · me · unborn
Krishna says he is hidden from people who are confused. They do not recognize his unborn, unchanging nature because their minds are covered by the veil of appearance.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Vijnana Yoga" (Knowledge and Wisdom).
Verse 25 sits in Chapter 7 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Vijnana Yoga, "Knowledge and Wisdom". The chapter has 30 verses in total.
You can sit beside someone who loves you and still miss what they are trying to say because your mind is already defending itself. The problem is often not absence, but distorted seeing.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from demanding proof to clearing the mind that cannot recognize what is already present.
What this verse means
Krishna says he is hidden from people who are confused. They do not recognize his unborn, unchanging nature because their minds are covered by the veil of appearance.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna is still shaken, and Krishna is explaining why ordinary vision cannot grasp his true nature. Even while standing before everyone, Krishna says the confused miss him because the veil of appearance covers their seeing.
Why this verse still matters
You can sit beside someone who loves you and still miss what they are trying to say because your mind is already defending itself. The problem is often not absence, but distorted seeing.
“Not seeing clearly is often the real barrier, not the truth itself.”
Explore related themes: delusion (19 verses)