The Divine is revealed through purified vision.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः |मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ||७-२५||
nāhaṃ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyāsamāvṛtaḥ . mūḍho.ayaṃ nābhijānāti loko māmajamavyayam ||7-25||
Use this verse when Krishna feels hidden.
Meaning
Covered by Yoga Maya, I am not manifest to everyone. This deluded world does not know Me as unborn and imperishable.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna is hidden by Yoga Maya from ordinary perception.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Divine reality is not automatically visible to a distracted or deluded mind. Perception requires purity, devotion, and grace.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna explains why the Divine remains hidden from most. He is 'veiled by Yoga-Maya' — the very power by which the Infinite cloaks itself within the finite world. The unborn and imperishable is not absent; He is screened, like the sun behind cloud. The deluded world, looking only at surfaces, fails to recognise the eternal reality present everywhere.
The veil is not a punishment but a condition of ordinary perception. As long as we look through the lens of separateness and desire, the sacred stays concealed within the obvious. The seeker's work is not to make God appear — He is already and always here — but to thin the veil, to purify perception until the ever-present becomes evident.
Devotion and surrender, as the chapter has taught, are precisely what dissolve the cloud and let the hidden Light shine through.
In daily life
Do not assume unseen means absent.
A person may not feel Krishna during anxiety, but practice can clear the veil.
Try this today
Name one veil: distraction, ego, fear, or desire.
I seek the vision to know Krishna beyond maya.Reflect
What veil blocks my perception of Krishna?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘योगमायासमावृतः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on maya, in other chapters
- Verse 4.6The divine enters the world not out of compulsion but by free choice, remaining the master of its own nature.
- Verse 11.8The deepest truths cannot be grasped by ordinary sight; they require an inner eye that is given by grace.
- Verse 15.9You are the conscious presence presiding over the senses, not the senses themselves.
- Verse 18.61The Divine dwells in every heart, intimately guiding the whole play of life from within.
Swipe left for 7.26 · Divine knowledge is complete.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 7.25
Who says Bhagavad Gita 7.25, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 7.25, in Chapter 7, Jnana Vijnana Yoga (Jnana Vijnana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 7.25 mean?
Covered by Yoga Maya, I am not manifest to everyone. This deluded world does not know Me as unborn and imperishable. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 7.25 for daily life?
Do not assume unseen means absent. A person may not feel Krishna during anxiety, but practice can clear the veil.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 7.25 mean?
न अहम् प्रकाशः सर्वस्य — I am not manifest to all; योगमायासमावृतः — veiled by Yoga-Maya; मूढः अयम् लोकः — this deluded world; न अभिजानाति — does not know; माम् अजम् अव्ययम् — Me, the unborn and imperishable.
Where does verse 7.25 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 25 of 30 in Chapter 7, Jnana Vijnana Yoga. The next verse is 7.26.