Gita 04.11 – Appreciate the profundity of Krishna’s reciprocity and universality
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ (BG 4.11)
Word-for-word:
ye — all who; yathā — as; mām — unto Me; prapadyante — surrender; tān — them; tathā — so; eva — certainly; bhajāmi — reward; aham — I; mama — My; vartma — path; anuvartante — follow; manuṣyāḥ — all men; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ — in all respects.
Translation:
As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.
Explanation:
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante: As all surrender unto Me,
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: I reward them accordingly.
mama vartmānuvartante: Everyone follows My path,
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ: O Pārtha, all living beings, in all respects.
In the previous verses, Kṛṣṇa states that those who know Him attain liberation from rebirth (verse 9). He then explains how one can come to love Him, overcome misconceptions, and take shelter of Him (verse 10). After describing the importance of jñāna-tapasā to know Him tattvataḥ, He now addresses why not all people know or attain Him, and how He reciprocates with those who do not.
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa speaks of two key principles: His reciprocity and His universality.
The first two lines of verse 4.11 (A and B) speak of reciprocity, while the last two lines (C and D) describe universality.
The opening lines—”As people surrender, accordingly, I reward them”—introduce the first use of the word prapadyante (“surrender”) in the Bhagavad-gītā. A similar word, śaraṇam (“surrender”), appeared earlier in 2.49: buddhau śaraṇam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ—meaning, “surrender with your intelligence.”
The idea is that the object of surrender is not necessarily Kṛṣṇa in every case. In earlier verses, such as the one mentioned above, Kṛṣṇa had not yet introduced Himself as the object of surrender. However, at this point, He has already revealed Himself as the transcendental Lord who descends into this world to re-establish dharma. Therefore, it becomes clear that Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of surrender.
Kṛṣṇa rewards people according to their mode of surrender. The ācāryas explain that if someone considers Him an ordinary human being, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates by allowing them to remain at that level—living as ordinary human beings, stuck in the material world and bound by material consciousness.
On the other hand, if someone understands Kṛṣṇa’s form to be eternal, He reciprocates by granting them an eternal form and eternal activities, ultimately elevating them to His abode, as described in verse 4.9.
However, if someone considers Kṛṣṇa’s form to be a product of illusion—merely a temporary material covering assumed by the impersonal, transcendental Brahman—then Kṛṣṇa states that their activities also become illusory. This idea is elaborated further in verses 9.11–12: avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā… moghāśā mogha-karmāṇah—fools deride Me, and their hopes, actions, and knowledge are all in vain.
Essentially, this verse highlights Kṛṣṇa’s reciprocity—and this reciprocity is a tangible demonstration of His personality. A living, loving person naturally reciprocates; they are not emotionless or neutral. When someone expresses affection or appreciation, a loving person responds in kind. If someone neglects them, they may choose not to respond.
If a living and loving person were to respond in the same way to everyone—whether they were being appreciated, insulted, or ignored—we might admire that person’s stoicism or detachment, but such neutrality would not make them especially loveable.
The reciprocity of Kṛṣṇa is what makes Him supremely lovable. His willingness to reciprocate with everyone—according to their approach to Him—shows that Kṛṣṇa does not reject those who do not surrender to Him. Rather, He responds to the degree of their surrender and to the specific object of their surrender.
There are different ways and different objects of surrender. This theme is explored further in Chapter 7. Kṛṣṇa describes those who do not surrender to Him (7.15), those who do (7.16–19), those who surrender to others, such as the demigods (7.20–23), and even those who surrender to the impersonal Brahman (7.24).
Kṛṣṇa also emphasizes that even the rewards given by the demigods are ultimately sanctioned by Him: mayaiva vihitān hi tān (7.22). In that sense, He rewards people according to what they surrender to and how they approach Him.
The second part of the verse—mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ—“All living beings follow My path, O Pārtha,” is sometimes misunderstood to mean that all paths lead to Kṛṣṇa. However, Kṛṣṇa does not say this. In fact, immediately after this verse, He contrasts the worship of the demigods with worship of Himself.
Throughout the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa repeatedly emphasizes the distinctions between various paths and their respective destinations. This is most clearly stated in 9.25:
yānti deva-vratā devān
pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām
The worshipers of the demigods go to the demigods, those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship ghosts and spirits take birth among such beings, and those who worship Kṛṣṇa attain Him.
This verse clearly states that all paths do not lead to the same goal. Rather, it explains that all people are on His path—even if they do not directly worship Him. The phrase “mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ” is used here in a specific sense.
Interestingly, the same phrase appears earlier in 3.23:
yadi hy ahaṁ na varteyaṁ jātu karmaṇy atandritaḥ
mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
In that verse, it referred literally to Kṛṣṇa walking a path and others following His example. The meaning was that if Kṛṣṇa did not perform His duties, others too would neglect theirs.
However, though the words are the same, the meaning in this context is different. Here, “mama vartmānuvartante” refers to the path that ultimately leads to Kṛṣṇa. All people, knowingly or unknowingly, are on that path.
To understand this fully, we can look at 10.41, where Kṛṣṇa says, mama tejo-’ṁśa-sambhavam—everything opulent and attractive reflects a spark of Kṛṣṇa’s splendor. While few may be directly attracted to Kṛṣṇa, everyone without exception is attracted to something, and whatever that something is, its attractiveness ultimately comes from Kṛṣṇa. In that sense, because they are attracted to a spark of Kṛṣṇa, they are on the path to Kṛṣṇa.
However, depending on what they are attracted to—and the mode of nature and disposition in which that particular manifestation is situated—their attraction will either take them towards Kṛṣṇa or away from Him. For example, if someone is attracted to a devotee who sings and speaks very well and is both charismatic and compassionate, that attraction will help the person come closer to Kṛṣṇa, because the devotee speaks about Kṛṣṇa and guides others to Him.
On the other hand, if someone is attracted to the taste of alcohol—though its taste and attractiveness ultimately originate from Kṛṣṇa—that attraction does not elevate one toward the higher modes. Instead, it pulls one downward into the modes of ignorance and darkness. Thus, the alcoholic is also on the path to Kṛṣṇa, but is moving away from Him.
In this way, whatever a person is attracted to—whoever they adore—may become an object of worship. Some may consciously worship demigods, while others may do so implicitly by turning individuals into role models or icons of pop culture, such as film stars, sports celebrities, or politicians. The way their images are displayed and glamorized, it is almost as if they are being elevated to the status of pseudo-gods.
In that sense, everyone is attracted to something and thus is, in some way, on the path to Kṛṣṇa. However, the extent to which they move closer to Him depends on their attitude towards Him. If they have a positive disposition, they are drawn nearer to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, based on their consciousness and the mode in which they approach Him, Kṛṣṇa reciprocates accordingly. Thus, even while being on His path, some may move away from Kṛṣṇa rather than come closer to Him.
In conclusion, this verse highlights both the reciprocity and universality of Kṛṣṇa. He responds to everyone according to how they approach Him, and regardless of what people are attracted to, they are, in some way, on the path to Him. However, depending on the nature of that attraction, they may be moving closer to Kṛṣṇa, remaining where they are, or drifting further away from Him.
Thank you.
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