Grace opens higher perception.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा |दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षुः पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् ||११-८||
na tu māṃ śakyase draṣṭumanenaiva svacakṣuṣā . divyaṃ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ paśya me yogamaiśvaram ||11-8||
Use this verse before asking for guidance.
Meaning
You cannot see Me with your ordinary eyes. I give you divine sight; behold My supreme yoga.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Divine reality requires divine vision.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna teaches that ordinary perception has limits. Some truths require grace, purification, and a transformed way of seeing. This supports practices that train perception, not just provide information.
Read the traditional commentary
Before the vision can dawn, Krishna names its precondition. The ordinary sva-caksu, the physical eye, cannot perceive the infinite — na tu mam sakyase drastum, 'you are not able to see Me' with such an instrument. So He bestows a divya caksu, a divine eye, the inner faculty of spiritual perception.
This is one of the Gita's most important teachings about realization. The Divine is not seen by sharpening the senses we already possess, but by receiving a wholly new capacity — and that capacity is a gift of grace, not an achievement of effort. The same is true of every genuine spiritual insight: a moment comes when something shifts, and we suddenly perceive what was always there but invisible to us.
We prepare ourselves, we long, we ask — but the opening of the inner eye is given. Then, and only then, can Arjuna behold the aisvara yoga, the majestic mystic power, of the Lord.
In daily life
Ask not only for answers but for better vision.
A person may need a new perspective more than a new situation.
Try this today
Pray for clearer vision before judging a situation.
Krishna gives me the vision I need.Reflect
Where do I need divine sight?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘शक्यसे द्रष्टुम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on perception, in other chapters
- Verse 7.25The Divine is not absent but veiled; the work is not to summon God but to clear the perception that hides Him.
- Verse 15.9You are the conscious presence presiding over the senses, not the senses themselves.
- Verse 10.19The Divine's glories are endless — what is named is only a doorway pointing toward the boundless beyond.
- Verse 2.65In the state of divine grace, all sorrows are destroyed and wisdom quickly stabilizes in a serene mind.
Swipe left for 11.9 · Revelation comes by grace.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 11.8
Who says Bhagavad Gita 11.8, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 11.8, in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga (Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 11.8 mean?
You cannot see Me with your ordinary eyes. I give you divine sight; behold My supreme yoga. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 11.8 for daily life?
Ask not only for answers but for better vision. A person may need a new perspective more than a new situation.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 11.8 mean?
न तु — but not; माम् — Me; शक्यसे द्रष्टुम् — are you able to see; अनेन एव — with this very (eye); स्वचक्षुषा — with your own eye.
Where does verse 11.8 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 8 of 55 in Chapter 11, Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga. The next verse is 11.9.