उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम्।
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम्।।7.18।।
7.18 All of these, indeed, are noble, but the man of Knowledge is the very Self. (This is) My opinion. For, with a steadfast mind, he is set on the path leading to Me alone who am the super-excellent Goal.
7.18 Noble indeed are all these; but I deem the wise man as My very Self; for, steadfast in mind he is established in Me alone as the supreme goal.
7.18. All these are noble persons, indeed. But the man of wisdom is considered as the very Soul of [Mine]. For, with his self (mind) that has mastered the Yoga, he has resorted to nothing but Me as his most supreme goal.
7.18 उदाराः noble? सर्वे all? एव surely? एते these? ज्ञानी the wise? तु but? आत्मा Self? एव very? मे My? मतम् opinion? आस्थितः is established? सः he? हि verily? युक्तात्मा steadfastminded? माम् Me? एव verily? अनुत्तमाम्,the supreme? गतिम् goal.Commentary Are not the other three kinds of devotees dear to the Lord They are. They are all noble souls. But the wise man is exceedingly dear because he has a steady mind he has fixed his mind on Brahman. He does not want any worldly object? but only the Supreme Being. He seeks Brahman alone as the supreme goal. He practises Ahamgraha Upasana (meditation on the Self as the all). He tries to realise that he is identical with the Supreme Self. Therefore I regard a wise man as My very Self. (Cf.II.49)
7.18 Sarve, ete, all of these three, without exception; are eva, indeed, udarah, noble, i.e.; they are verily dear to Me. For, no devotee of Mine can become disagreeable to Me who am Vasudeva. But the man of Knowledge becomes very much dear. This is the difference. Why is this so? In answer the Lord says: Tu but; jnani, the man of Knowledge; is atma eva, the very Self, not different from Me. This is me, My; matam, opinion, conviction. Hi, for; yuktatma, with a steadfast mind-having his mind absorbed in the idea, I am verily Vasudeva, the Lord, and none else, that man of Knowledge asthitah, is set on the path leading to, he is engaged in ascending to, going to; mam eva, Me alone, to the supreme Brahman; who am the anuttamam gatim, super-excellent Goal to be reached. The man of Knowledge is being eulogized again:
7.18 See Comment under 7.19
7.18 Because they worship Me alone, all these are generous i.e., benefactors. For, those who receive from Me anything, however small they are, I consider them as contributing everything to Me (and thus as benefactors). But I deem the man of knowledge to be My very self. I consider Myself as depending on him for My support. Why is it so? Because this person considers Me to be the highest and finds it impossible to support himself without Me; I also find it impossible to be without him. Thus, verily, he is My self. The attainment of this state of mind reires innumerable auspicious births. It is attained after gaining the knowledge of the real nature of the self and the self feels that Its happiness consists in being a dependant (Sesa) of Myself.
“Then, that means that the other three are not dear to you?” No they are all dear to me. Those who worship me, accepting things they have desired, but which I wanted to give, are certainly dear to me, who have affection for my devotees, because I give generously to them. But the jnani is myself. He worships me and does not desire anything at all from me, either svarga or moksa. Thus I am dependent on him: he is my soul. This is my opinion. This is because he is firmly fixed (asthitah) in having attained the highest goal (anuttamam gatim), me in my form as Syamasundara alone (eva), not my impersonal aspect as brahma nirvana. The jnani, who has a predominance of bhakti and no material desires, is considered by the affectionate Lord as his own self. But the kevala bhakta, the pure devotee, is considered by the Lord to be dearer than his very self. na tatha me priyatama atma-yonir na sankarah na ca sankarsano na srir naivatma ca yatha bhavan My dear Uddhava, neither Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Lord Sankarsana, the goddess of fortune nor indeed My own self are as dear to Me as you are. SB 11.14.15 naham atmanam asase mad-bhaktaih sadhubhir vina O best of the brahmanas, without saintly persons for whom I am the only destination, I do not desire to enjoy My transcendental bliss and My supreme opulences. SB 9.4.64 atmaramo ‘py ariramat Smiling upon hearing these despondent words from the gopis, Lord Krishna, the supreme master of all masters of mystic yoga, mercifully enjoyed with them, although He is self-satisfied. SB 10.29.42
The question may arise that do the other three classes being the artta or afflicted, the artharthi or those desiring wealth and the jijnasuh or those desiring self realisation have to undergo transmigration and reincarnation? The answer is never. This is confirmed by Lord Krishna using the word udarah meaning noble and magnanimous. All these noble beings obtain moksa or liberation from the cycle of birth and death in the material existence; but the jnani or knower of God is His very atma or soul. This is because the jnani with his mind fixed solely upon the Supreme Lord, has taken complete refuge in Him alone as the only goal other than which there is nothing superior. So such a realised being is interested in no other purpose then attaining the Supreme Lord and thus devotes all there efforts for this.
Due to the fact that the previous four classes all resort to the Supreme Lord, they are all noble and udarah or magnanimous inasmuch as when they receive any benediction from Him it is as by their loving act of acceptance that the Supreme Lord feels bliss and is truly grateful to them for accepting His love. Lord Krishna considers the jnani or the knower of God as dear to Him as His own self and considers even that His very existence depends upon them. One may question how is this to be understood? One must understand that the Supreme Lord reciprocates in the same manner as His devotee acts towards Him. Thus in the same way that His devotee cannot live without Him, He cannot live without His devotee. Therefore His devotee atma or soul realised is His very life as the atma.
Due to the fact that the previous four classes all resort to the Supreme Lord, they are all noble and udarah or magnanimous inasmuch as when they receive any benediction from Him it is as by their loving act of acceptance that the Supreme Lord feels bliss and is truly grateful to them for accepting His love. Lord Krishna considers the jnani or the knower of God as dear to Him as His own self and considers even that His very existence depends upon them. One may question how is this to be understood? One must understand that the Supreme Lord reciprocates in the same manner as His devotee acts towards Him. Thus in the same way that His devotee cannot live without Him, He cannot live without His devotee. Therefore His devotee atma or soul realised is His very life as the atma.
Udaaraah sarva evaite jnaanee twaatmaiva me matam; Aasthitah sa hi yuktaatmaa maamevaanuttamaam gatim.
udārāḥ—noble; sarve—all; eva—indeed; ete—these; jñānī—those in knowledge; tu—but; ātmā eva—my very self; me—my; matam—opinion; āsthitaḥ—situated; saḥ—he; hi—certainly; yukta-ātmā—those who are united; mām—in me; eva—certainly; anuttamām—the supreme; gatim—goal
