Sanskrit
यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति । तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥
yo māṃ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṃ ca mayi paśyati tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati
Translation
He who seeth Me everywhere, and seeth everything in Me, of him will I never lose hold, and he shall never lose hold of Me.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna personalizes verse 29’s abstract vision — “all beings” becomes explicitly “Me” — and states the relationship as mutual and permanent, the same verb of loss used symmetrically on both sides. This is one of the most direct statements in the Gita of bhakti as structurally identical to the jnana and dhyana path just described, not a separate track. The symmetry of na praṇaśyāmi / na praṇaśyati — “I am never lost to him, he is never lost to me” — makes bhakti a two-way permanence, not a devotee’s one-sided reaching.
Study deeper
Word by word
- yo māṃ paśyati sarvatraयो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र
- who sees Me everywhere (yaḥ + mām + paśyati + sarvatra)
- sarvaṃ ca mayi paśyatiसर्वं च मयि पश्यति
- and sees all in Me (sarvam + ca + mayi + paśyati)
- tasyāhaṃ na praṇaśyāmiतस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि
- I am not lost to him (tasya + aham + na + praṇaśyāmi)
- sa ca me na praṇaśyatiस च मे न प्रणश्यति
- and he is not lost to Me (saḥ + ca + me + na + praṇaśyati)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The symmetry here is easy to read past: it isn’t only that the devotee will never lose Krishna, it’s that Krishna states he will never lose the devotee either — the same verb, applied to both sides equally. This isn’t one-directional grace descending on a passive recipient; the verse describes a bond that holds from both ends at once.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Notice when a commitment you're describing sounds one-directional — 'I'll always be there for this practice or goal' — and ask whether it should hold from both sides. A bond only one party maintains is fragile in a way a mutual one isn't.
Professional
- When you build a relationship with a mentor, client, or key collaborator, don't let the commitment run one direction only — reciprocity, where both sides are visibly invested, is what makes it durable rather than a favor waiting to run out.
Family & Social
- Say explicitly, not just show through effort, that a close relationship holds from your side too — 'I'm not going anywhere,' spoken and meant both ways, is sturdier than an unstated assumption that only one of you is committed.
Ask yourself
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