Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 13, Verse 24
ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना।अन्ये सांख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे।।
dhyānenātmani paśyanti kecid ātmānam ātmanā
anye sānkhyena yogena karma-yogena cāpare
also searched as "dhyanenatmani pashyanti kechid atmanam atmana"
Translation
Some perceive the Self within the self (body) through meditation of the mind, others through Sankhya Yoga, and still others through Karma Yoga.
Vāṇi's rendering
Some see the self within, by the self, through stillness; others through knowledge; others through the path of work.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ध्यानेनdhyānena | by meditation, by stillness of mind |
| आत्मनिātmani | within themselves (sandhi: dhyānena + ātmani) |
| पश्यन्तिpaśyanti | they see, they behold |
| केचित्kecid | some |
| आत्मानम्ātmānam | the self, the one who knows |
| आत्मनाātmanā | by the self, by their own clarified mind |
| अन्येanye | others |
| सांख्येनsānkhyena | by discernment, by the analysis of what is field and what is knower |
| योगेनyogena | by the practice, by the yoking |
| कर्मयोगेनkarma-yogena | by the path of work offered without claim on its fruit |
| चca | and |
| अपरेapare | still others (sandhi: ca + apare) |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Verse 24 mean?
It names three ways the knower within is seen: through stillness, through discernment, through work done without claim. Krishna lists them side by side, without preference. The seeing is one; the approaches differ because people differ. What suits your nature is not a lesser route — it is the route.
What is the meaning of dhyanenatmani pashyanti kechid atmanam atmana?
Some see the self within, by the self. The instrument and the object are the same — nothing outside is fetched in. In stillness the mind grows quiet enough to notice the one who has been knowing all along. That is why Krishna says ātmanā, by the self: you already hold what you are looking for.
Is meditation better than the path of work?
Krishna gives no such ranking here. Sāṅkhya, dhyāna, karma-yoga — three named, one arrival. Difficulty is not virtue, and stillness is not superior to a life of duty carried lightly. Choose by honesty about your own make, not by which path sounds holiest, and then stay with it.
Why does the Gita describe more than one path to the same realisation?
Because people are not built alike. Some quieten, some reason, some must act. If there were one door only, most would stand outside it. Krishna widens the entrance so that whatever you are — restless, analytical, dutiful — becomes the very thing that carries you in.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Three doors, and Krishna does not rank them. One sits still until the seeing happens. One thinks it through — takes apart what is field and what is knower until the difference is plain. One works, hands busy, until the work stops belonging to him. Arjuna is a bowman, not a hermit; he needed to hear that the path he can actually walk arrives where the others arrive. The temperament you were given is not an obstacle to this. It is the road. Stop waiting to become the kind of person who meditates well. Begin from what you already are.