Sanskrit
यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति । तत एव च विस्तारं ब्रह्म संपद्यते तदा ॥
yadā bhūtapṛthagbhāvam ekastham anupaśyati tata eva ca vistāraṃ brahma sampadyate tadā
Translation
When he perceiveth the diversified existence of beings as rooted in One, and spreading forth from it, then he reacheth the Eternal
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A shift from the self’s non-agency to a unity claim: seeing the diversified existence of beings as rooted in a single source, and as spreading forth from it, is what leads to Brahman. It’s the positive complement to verse 30 — not just “the self doesn’t act,” but “the multiplicity of selves and things is itself grounded in one thing” — bringing the chapter’s dualist prakriti/purusha language back toward the non-dual note verse 13 opened on. A shift from non-agency to unity: seeing the diversity of beings as rooted in one source, and spreading from it, is what “reaches Brahman.” The positive complement to BG 13.30 — bringing the chapter’s dualist language back toward the non-dual note BG 13.13 opened on.
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Word by word
- yadā bhūtapṛthagbhāvamयदा भूतपृथग्भावं
- when the separate existence of beings (yadā + bhūta-pṛthak-bhāvam)
- ekastham anupaśyatiएकस्थं अनुपश्यति
- is seen as resting in one (eka-stham + anupaśyati)
- tata eva ca vistāraṃतत एव च विस्तारं
- and their spreading forth from that (tataḥ + eva + ca + vistāram)
- brahma sampadyate tadāब्रह्म संपद्यते तदा
- then one reaches Brahman (brahma + sampadyate + tadā)
Commentary
Site Commentary
“Rooted in one and spreading forth” does double duty — it names both the source of multiplicity and the fact of its spreading, so the unity claim never has to deny the differences it’s explaining. That’s the quiet move: oneness here isn’t offered as a correction to multiplicity, only as its origin.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- You don't have to deny the real differences between the many roles you play — parent, professional, friend — to also see them as expressions of one underlying self; unity and diversity aren't actually in competition here.
Professional
- You don't need every team to look identical to believe they're all expressions of one underlying platform strategy — see the diversity of implementation as spreading forth from a shared root, not as proof the root doesn't exist.
Family & Social
- You can hold that everyone in your family is genuinely different from each other and still see all of you as rooted in one shared history — the differences don't disprove the connection, they're what the connection looks like spread out.
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