Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 6, Verse 31

सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थितः।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते।।
sarva-bhūta-sthitaṁ yo māṁ bhajatyekatvam āsthitaḥ sarvathā vartamāno ’pi sa yogī mayi vartate
also searched as "sarvabhutasthitam yo mam bhajatyekatvam asthitah"

Translation

The yogi who, fixed in oneness, worships Me dwelling in all beings—he abides in Me, no matter how he may live.

Vāṇi's rendering

Whoever loves me as the one standing in all beings — wherever they live, they live in me.

Word by word

Sanskrit & transliterationMeaning
सर्वभूतस्थितम्sarva-bhūta-sthitaṁstanding in all beings, seated within everything that lives
यःyowhoever (yaḥ, softened to yo before the next word)
माम्māṁme
भजतिbhajatiloves, worships, holds close (joined with the next word as bhajatyekatvam)
एकत्वम्ekatvamoneness, the single fact underneath the many
आस्थितःāsthitaḥsettled in, standing firm on
सर्वथाsarvathāin every way, however he lives
वर्तमानःvartamānocarrying on, going about his life (vartamānaḥ before api)
अपि'pieven, nonetheless (api, its initial vowel elided after the preceding -o)
सःsahe, that one
योगीyogīthe yogī, the one joined
मयिmayiin me
वर्ततेvartatedwells, abides, goes on living

Commentary

Arjuna has just been told to see himself in all beings. Now Krishna adds the thing that makes it bearable: love. Not analysis — bhajati, worships, loves. The one who loves Krishna standing in every being has stopped needing the right conditions. Krishna says sarvathā — every way, any way. Householder or wanderer, busy or still, in the market or on the mountain: the place does not decide it. This is the verse that frees you from waiting for a better life to begin. Where you are is where he is already standing. Love him there.

Frequently asked

What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Verse 31 mean?
It means the one who loves Krishna as the single presence standing in all beings is never out of reach of him. Such a person's outward life — its work, its noise, its ordinariness — no longer decides anything. However he lives, he lives in Krishna. Place and circumstance lose their veto.
What does sarvabhutasthitam yo mam bhajatyekatvam asthitah teach?
It teaches that seeing oneness and loving are one act, not two. Ekatvam āsthitaḥ is not a cold conclusion about unity; it is the ground you stand on while you love. Krishna is not somewhere else being worshipped — he is the one already standing in every face in front of you.
Do I need to leave my ordinary life to practise this?
No. Krishna says sarvathā vartamāno 'pi — carrying on in any way at all. The verse refuses the excuse that your circumstances are unsuitable. A job, a household, a crowded day: none of these put distance between you and him. Only forgetting does, and forgetting can end in a moment.
How is this different from the meditation taught earlier in Chapter 6?
The earlier verses give posture, seat, breath, a still gaze — conditions to be arranged. This verse quietly loosens all of that. Once love has settled in oneness, the arranging is done from inside. The discipline was the raft; here you are told the water holds you wherever you are.

Themes in this verse

Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.

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