Bhagavad Gita 4.11
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 11 of 42
ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् । मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ॥
ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmy aham | mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ ||
However you approach Me — I respond in that same way. All human paths ultimately follow My path.
Word by word (3)
- ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmi aham
- — however people approach Me, I reward/respond to them in exactly that way · Ye = whoever. Yathā = in whatever way, however. Prapadyante = they approach, take refuge in (pra+pad = to step forward fully, to surrender). Tāṃs = them. Tathā eva = in exactly that same way. Bhajāmi = I respond, I worship back, I reward (from bhaj — to share, to serve). Aham = I. The cosmic law of spiritual reciprocity: the path and manner of approach determines the nature of what is received.
- mama vartma anuvartante manuṣyāḥ sarvaśaḥ
- — humans in every way follow My path · Mama = My. Vartma = path, track (from vṛt). Anuvartante = they follow (same word as V3.23 — the śreṣṭha's path is followed). Sarvaśaḥ = in every way, entirely. All human paths ultimately trace My path — the divine is the underlying reality that every sincere search is approaching, regardless of the name or form of the search.
- prapadyante
- — prapadyante = they approach/take refuge/fall forward toward (pra = forward/fully; pad = to step/fall; pra + pad = to step fully forward, to approach with full surrender; prapatti = the act of complete falling-forward into the Divine's presence — not hesitant approach but total forward-movement; related to prapatti doctrine in bhakti: complete surrender as the act of approach); ye yathā prapadyante = whatever form of this complete approach they make
In whatever way people approach Me, I respond to them in exactly that way. All people follow My path in every way, O Arjuna.
A modern analogy
A great river has many tributaries — each flows differently, from different terrain, with different names. But all tributaries reach the same ocean. This verse says: whatever your spiritual approach — devotion, inquiry, service, meditation — the divine responds through that exact form. And all forms converge.
Take with you
- Ye yathā — 'in whatever way.' No single path has a monopoly on the divine response.
- The divine mirrors your approach: come with devotion, receive devotion; come with inquiry, receive wisdom.
- Mama vartmānuvartante sarvaśaḥ — all paths are My path. This is the Gita's universal inclusivity.
- This verse is the philosophical basis for respecting all genuine spiritual approaches.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
In whatever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them. It is My path that men tread in every way, O son of Pritha. [1]
In whatever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them; My path do men tread in all ways, O son of Pritha. [4]
In whatever way any come to me, in that way do I assist them; whatever path they walk in, that path is mine, O Arjuna. [6]
However men approach Me, even so Do I accept them; all paths, Pritha's Son! Lead to Me. [7]
Whatever devotees worship Me with faith, I am that faith of theirs. O son of Pritha, all men follow My path in every way. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Even devotees of other gods who worship with faith — they too worship Me, though not by the ordained method, O Arjuna.
Many, freed from attachment, fear, and anger, purified by knowledge-austerity — have attained My being.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
Seeing inaction in action, action in inaction — that one is wise, a yogi, a complete doer of all actions.
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Verse 11 of 42 · back to Chapter 4