Bhagavad Gita 13.35

kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor evam

antaraṁ jñāna-cakṣuṣā

bhūta-prakṛti-mokṣaṁ ca

ye vidur yānti te param

 

Who see the field and knower clear,

To them, with wisdom’s eye, truths appear;

Freed from nature’s binding tie,

They reach the supreme, beyond the sky.

 

My dear Lord, the world I live in subjects me to illusion through all my senses, and especially—deceptively—through the sense of sight.

O supreme enlightener, I need my eyes to function in this world of potential danger; they protect me by pointing me to predators and pitfalls. Yet those very eyes also subject me to danger by drawing me toward temptations and illusions. Indeed, with my eyes I can presently see neither you, O Lord who sustains everything, nor even myself as the soul at the core of my current conditioned identity.

O merciful Lord, to help me see the realities that matter, you provide me with illumination—through education, purification, and devotion. You offer me words of wisdom that educate me, so that my intelligence can guide my eyes to see beyond what glitters to what truly matters. By outlining various paths of yoga meant ultimately to connect me with you—the all-pure, supreme reality—you offer me pathways to purification that shift my desires from the material to the spiritual. Finally, you enrich my heart with devotion, so that I perceive you not merely philosophically as supreme reality, but personally as my supremely lovable Lord.

O indwelling companion, please guide and guard me on this journey of illumination so that the eye may one day see the I—the soul in its full glory as your cherished part.

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13.35 Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal.