Chapter 7Verse 17 of 30

Bhagavad Gita 7.17

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते | प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ||

teṣāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate | priyo hi jñānino'tyartham ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ ||

Translation

Of these, the man of knowledge, always devoted and worshipping the one being, is esteemed the highest. For I am very dear to the man of knowledge, and he is dear to me.

Among the four, the jnani is the highest. Always devoted, single-pointed in worship, he is the one Krishna calls most dear to Himself. And the line returns. He is dear to Me, and I am dear to him. The mutuality is what marks the difference. The distressed turn for relief. The wealth-seeker turns for return. The knowledge-seeker turns to learn. The jnani turns because the turning itself is what he is. There is nothing further he wants. The relationship has become its own ground. Krishna does not hide His preference. He names it. Of the four well-doing men, this one is closest to His own heart.

Reflection

When was the last time you turned toward something not for what it gave but because the turning itself was the point?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Seven

Ask the Gita about this verse →