Suppose a parent has two children, one younger and the other older. Suppose the younger sibling is just learning to eat from a plate and needs to be trained to not spill food while eating. Suppose the older sibling is learning to cook in preparation for going to a distant college and needs to be trained to not spill food while cooking. In training both of them, their mother may appreciate both of them when they do things right. But she won’t appreciate them for the same things. Suppose both siblings eat their food without spilling a single morsel. The older sibling may not receive a single word of appreciation, whereas the younger sibling may receive profuse appreciation.

Is the mother being unequal to them? Literally yes; effectively no. She is equal in terms of intending the same effect in both of them: she wants both of them to grow from where they are presently. And because they are at significantly different places, she treats them differently to achieve the same effect of stimulating growth.

Such a nuanced understanding of equality can help us understand how God is equal to everyone (Bhagavad-gita 09.29) even when he appears to treat different people differently. If two people get different results on doing the same things, we can infer that they are at two different places and Krishna is reciprocating with both of them in a way that will stimulate their growth from where they are.

One-sentence summary:

To treat everyone equally doesn’t necessarily mean to treat everyone identically; when a parent appreciates a younger sibling for not spilling food while eating and appreciates an older sibling for not spilling food while cooking, the parent is treating both of them equally – by encouraging both of them to grow from where they presently are.

Think it over:

  • What are the two kinds of equality? 
  • Which of these two kinds of equality? Why? 
  • How can we see Krishna’s equality amid life’s seeming inequalities? 

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05.29 I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.

Why equal treatment can sometimes seem unequal

To know more about this verse, please click on the image