Chapter 13Verse 23 of 34

Bhagavad Gita 13.23

य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह। सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते॥

ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha sarvathā vartamāno 'pi na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate

Translation

He who thus knows purusha and prakriti with the qualities, though acting in every way, is not born again.

A liberation verse hiding inside a definition. One who knows purusha, prakriti, and the gunas in their right relation does not get reborn. Note the phrase sarvatha vartamano api. In every kind of action. The verse does not require renunciation of acting. The seeker keeps acting in the world, sometimes well, sometimes badly. The freedom from rebirth comes from the knowing, not from withdrawal. This is one of the most freeing claims in the chapter. The texture of one's outer life can stay much as it is. What changes is the locus of identification. From field to knower. From doer to witness. From sanga to no-sanga. Outer action continues; inner attachment dissolves.

Reflection

Act today as you would anyway. Can the locus of identification shift inside it?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Thirteen

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