Chapter 9, Verse 29
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः | ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ||९-२९||
samo.ahaṃ sarvabhūteṣu na me dveṣyo.asti na priyaḥ . ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpyaham ||9-29||
Meaning
9.29 The same am I to all beings; to Me there is none hateful or dear; but those who worship Me with devotion are in Me and I am also in them.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna resolves an apparent tension. If the Divine favours devotees, is God then partial? No: 'I am the same to all beings; none is hateful or dear to Me.' Like the sun shining equally on all, the Divine plays no favourites and excludes no one. The grace is impartial and ever-present.
Yet, he adds, those who worship with devotion 'are in Me, and I am in them.' This is not divine partiality but spiritual reciprocity. The sun shines everywhere, but only the one who opens the window receives its light into the room. Devotion is that opening. God does not love the devotee more, but the devotee, by turning toward God, comes into conscious communion — a mutual indwelling. The teaching guards against both fear of an arbitrary God and complacency: grace is universal, yet it is devotion that lets us truly receive it.
💡 Key Takeaway
Divine grace shines equally on all, like the sun; devotion is simply opening the window to let that ever-present light in.
Related Verses
राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम् | प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम् ||९-२||
rājavidyā rājaguhyaṃ pavitramidamuttamam . pratyakṣāvagamaṃ dharmyaṃ susukhaṃ kartumavyayam ||9-2||
9.2 This is the kingl science, the kingly secret, the supreme purifier, realisable by direct intuitional knowledge, according to righteousness, very easy to perform and imperishable.
महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः | भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम् ||९-१३||
mahātmānastu māṃ pārtha daivīṃ prakṛtimāśritāḥ . bhajantyananyamanaso jñātvā bhūtādimavyayam ||9-13||
9.13 But the great souls, O Arjuna, partaking of My divine nature, worship Me with a single mind (with the mind devoted to nothing else), knowing Me as the imperishable source of beings.
सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां यतन्तश्च दृढव्रताः | नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते ||९-१४||
satataṃ kīrtayanto māṃ yatantaśca dṛḍhavratāḥ . namasyantaśca māṃ bhaktyā nityayuktā upāsate ||9-14||
9.14 Always glorifying Me, striving,firm in vows, prostrating themselves before Me, they worship Me with devotion always steadfast.