Seeing God in all prevents harm.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् |न हिनस्त्यात्मनात्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ||१३-२९||
samaṃ paśyanhi sarvatra samavasthitamīśvaram . na hinastyātmanātmānaṃ tato yāti parāṃ gatim ||13-29||
Use this verse when resentment rises.
Meaning
Seeing the Lord equally present everywhere, one does not harm the self by the self and therefore attains the supreme goal.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Equal vision prevents self-harm and leads to the supreme goal.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
When we fail to see the Divine equally, we harm ourselves through hatred, ego, and division. Equal vision protects the heart and guides it upward.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna unfolds the practical fruit of equal vision. The one who beholds the same Lord dwelling equally everywhere 'does not destroy the Self by the self' (na hinasty atmana atmanam). This striking phrase means he does not degrade or injure himself through the violence of egoistic, divisive perception.
To see others as separate, lesser, or as objects to exploit is, in truth, to wound one's own deeper Self, for all are one.
Freed from this self-inflicted harm of separateness, such a person attains the supreme goal (param gatim). The verse reveals a beautiful moral logic: spiritual seeing and ethical living are inseparable. Equal vision naturally flowers into non-violence, fairness, and love, because one can no longer harm another without harming oneself.
Conversely, every act of contempt or cruelty is a self-betrayal. By steadily perceiving the one Lord in all, the seeker is led, almost effortlessly, into both right action and the highest liberation.
In daily life
Reduce hatred by remembering shared divine presence.
A person caught in resentment can reflect that hatred first burns their own heart.
Try this today
Release one small resentment through equal-vision reflection.
Equal vision protects my heart.Reflect
Whom does my resentment harm first?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘न हिनस्ति आत्मना आत्मानम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on non violence, in other chapters
- Verse 10.5Cultivating virtues like non-violence and contentment is really aligning yourself with their Divine source.
- Verse 16.2True spiritual strength shows itself as gentleness, compassion, and an unwavering refusal to harm.
- Verse 17.14True bodily discipline is reverence, purity, honesty, restraint, and non-harm — using the body to live with integrity, not to punish it.
- Verse 4.24When you see the divine in the doer, the deed, and the offering alike, every act becomes worship and leads to the infinite.
Swipe left for 13.30 · The Self is the witness, not the ego-doer.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 13.29
Who says Bhagavad Gita 13.29, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 13.29, in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.29 mean?
Seeing the Lord equally present everywhere, one does not harm the self by the self and therefore attains the supreme goal. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 13.29 for daily life?
Reduce hatred by remembering shared divine presence. A person caught in resentment can reflect that hatred first burns their own heart.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 13.29 mean?
समम् पश्यन् हि सर्वत्र — seeing the same everywhere; समवस्थितम् ईश्वरम् — the Lord dwelling equally; न हिनस्ति आत्मना आत्मानम् — does not destroy the Self by the self; ततः याति पराम् गतिम् — thence he attains the highest goal.
Where does verse 13.29 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 29 of 35 in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 13.30.