Bhagavad Gita 9.29
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 29 of 34
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः | ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ||२९||
samo'haṃ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo'sti na priyaḥ | ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham || 29 ||
I am the same toward all beings — none hateful nor dear to Me — but My devotees are in Me, and I am in them.
Word by word (3)
- samaḥ ahaṃ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyaḥ asti na priyaḥ
- — I am the same toward all beings — there is none hateful to Me, nor dear to Me · samaḥ = the same, equal (sama = equal, same, balanced — from √sam = to be equal; samaḥ ahaṃ = 'I am the same'). ahaṃ = I. sarva-bhūteṣu = toward all beings (sarva = all; bhūta = being; bhūteṣu = locative plural 'in/toward all beings'). na = not. me = of Me, to Me (genitive). dveṣyaḥ = one who is hated, one who is hateful (√dviṣ = to hate; dveṣya = hateable, an object of hatred; na me dveṣyaḥ asti = 'there is no one hateful to Me'). asti = is (third person singular — 'there is'). na priyaḥ = nor dear (priya = dear, beloved — from √prī = to love; na priyaḥ = 'nor dear' — no one is specially beloved either). V29's first half: samaḥ ahaṃ sarva-bhūteṣu — 'I am the same toward all beings.' This is sama-bhāva (equal regard) at the cosmic divine level: the divine has no favorites and no enemies. na me dveṣyaḥ = no being is hateful to Me; na priyaḥ = no being is specially dear/preferred. The divine's sama-bhāva is not indifference but the equal love of the sun: the sun shines equally on all — this is not because it doesn't care but because its nature is complete, non-discriminating love.
- ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu ca api aham
- — But those who worship Me with devotion — they are in Me, and I am in them also · ye = those who (relative). bhajanti = they worship, they share devotion (√bhaj = to share, to serve devotedly; bhajanti = 'they serve with devotion, they worship'). tu = but (contrast particle — contrasting the equal sama-bhāva of the first half with this specific relationship). māṃ = Me (objective). bhaktyā = with devotion (instrumental — 'with bhakti'). mayi = in Me (locative — 'they are in Me'). te = they (nominative). teṣu = in them (locative — 'and I am in them'). ca = and. api = also. aham = I. V29's second half: ye bhajanti tu māṃ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham — 'those who worship Me with devotion, they are in Me and I am in them also.' The bhaktyā qualification and the mutual indwelling (te mayi = they in Me; aham teṣu = I in them) constitute the bhakti-relationship that exists WITHIN the sama-bhāva: the divine is sama (equal) to ALL, but those with bhakti enter a mutual-indwelling relationship that is unique to the bhakti orientation. This is not contradiction — the equal sun still specially nurtures the flower that turns toward it, even though it shines equally on all. The bhakta who turns toward the divine with bhakti enters the mayi-teṣu mutual dwelling that others (who don't turn with bhakti) do not experience.
- samaḥ ahaṃ — sama-bhāva and the mutual dwelling of bhakti: V29's paradoxical teaching
- — V29 holds the apparent paradox: the divine is perfectly equal (sama) to all, AND devotees are in the divine as the divine is in them — both are true simultaneously · V29's apparent paradox: How can the divine be samaḥ (equal, same, without favorites) AND at the same time have a special mutual-dwelling with devotees (mayi te teṣu cāpy aham)? Resolution: the sama-bhāva is from the divine's side — the divine's nature is equal, like the sun. But the mutual dwelling is activated by the devotee's bhaktyā — it is the devotee's turning-toward (bhajanti bhaktyā) that creates the unique relationship, not any divine favoritism. The sun shines equally (sama) on all flowers. But the flower that opens toward the sun absorbs more light — not because the sun chose to give it more but because the flower's orientation made the relationship more complete. V29's mayi te (they in Me) + teṣu cāpy aham (I also in them) = the Gita's most intimate statement of the mutual indwelling of the divine and the bhakta. This mutual indwelling is the content of liberation: not the bhakta going to the divine (mām upaiṣyasi, V28) as to a separate place, but the recognition that the bhakta and the divine already mutually dwell in each other. V29's mayi te teṣu aham is Ch.9's equivalent of Ch.11's 'I am in you and you in Me' — but here at the devotional level.
I am the same toward all beings; none is hateful or dear to Me. But those who worship Me with devotion are in Me, and I am in them.
A modern analogy
The internet is available equally to everyone (sama = equal access). But someone who actively engages — writes, creates, connects (bhajanti bhaktyā = worshipping with devotion) — enters a deeply reciprocal relationship with the internet's possibilities: they are 'in' the network and the network is 'in' them. Others who don't engage have equal potential access but don't experience the mutual-being that active engagement creates. Equal regard = equal availability; devotion leading to mutual-dwelling = the activated relationship.
What it does NOT mean
Equal regard (sama-bhāva) does not mean the divine is indifferent to all beings or that devotion makes no difference. The equal regard is the divine's nature (not favoring some, not rejecting others). The special mutual dwelling of the devotee (the devotee in Me, and Me in them) is not divine favoritism but the natural consequence of the devotee's orientation: turning toward the divine with devotion activates the mutual-dwelling. Both the equal ground and the specific relationship (devotion leading to mutual dwelling) are simultaneously true.
Take with you
- This verse's equal regard is the foundation for non-prejudice: if the divine is the same toward all beings (none hateful, none specially dear), then seeing all beings through the divine's equal lens is the highest spiritual vision — the supreme yogi sees the same self everywhere, measuring others' joy and pain by the standard of their own. This verse invites: try to see this day's encounters — the beloved, the irritating, the neutral — through the equal lens: 'The divine is the same toward all of these. Can I, even briefly, hold this equal quality?'
- The mutual dwelling — the devotee in Me, and Me in them — is the deepest statement of devotion: the devotee is already IN the divine — not going there, not working toward it, but already dwelling within the divine's being. AND the divine is already IN the devotee. This mutual dwelling is not a future achievement but a present reality for the devotee who worships with genuine devotion. The practice: recognize this mutual dwelling as already present, not as something to attain.
- Take this verse with the one that follows as the chapter's closing teaching on grace: this verse establishes the divine's equal availability and the devotee's mutual-dwelling; the next verse extends this to the most extreme case (the worst sinner who turns with sincere devotion is to be deemed righteous). Together they teach: the divine's reach is both perfectly equal and perfectly personal, and this reach extends even to the worst sinner who turns toward the divine.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
The same am I to all beings; there is none hateful nor dear to Me; but those who worship Me with devotion are in Me, and I also am in them. [4]
I am the same to all beings; there is none who is hated by me, and none is my favourite; but those who worship me with affection are in me, and I also am in them. [6]
Equal / I am to all, and yet / Who worships me with loving heart, / They are in me, and I in them. [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Equal vision everywhere: the yogi sees the Self in all beings, and all beings within the Self — the same, everywhere.
Even if the most sinful worships Me with undivided devotion — he must be deemed righteous, for he has rightly resolved.
The paṇḍita sees equally in a learned Brahmin, cow, elephant, dog, and outcaste — sama-darśana.
Bow down, arrows scattered, warrior collapsed — this is where the Gita begins.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
Verse 29 of 34 · back to Chapter 9