Topic

Self-knowledge

4 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on self-knowledge. Explore teachings across 3 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 3 • Verse 28 →The Yoga of Action
Tattva-vit tu maha-baho guna-karma-vibhagayoh, guna guneshu vartanta iti matva na sajjate

But one who knows the truth, O mighty-armed, about the division of the modes of nature and their actions, understands that it is merely the modes acting upon modes, and does not become attached.

  • •All action is the interplay of the three gunas
  • •The true self is not the doer — nature acts through us
  • •Knowledge of the gunas dissolves attachment to outcomes
gunasnon-attachmentnaturetruth
Chapter 3 • Verse 42 →The Yoga of Action
Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah, manasas tu para buddhir yo buddheh paratas tu sah

The senses are superior to the gross body, the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and the soul is superior to the intellect.

  • •Hierarchy of human faculties
  • •The soul transcends all material faculties
  • •Use higher faculties to control lower ones
hierarchysoulmindintellect
Chapter 10 • Verse 15 →The Yoga of Divine Glories
Svayam evatmanatmanam vettha tvam purushottama, bhuta-bhavana bhutesho deva-deva jagat-pate

Truly You alone know Yourself by Your own internal power, O Supreme Person, O origin of all beings, O Lord of all beings, O God of gods, O Lord of the universe. Only God can truly know God — the Lord's self-knowledge is self-contained and infinite, beyond the reach of any external inquiry.

  • •The Supreme can only be truly known by Himself
  • •Divine self-knowledge is the foundation of all other knowledge
  • •Addressing God by His highest names is itself a form of worship
Purushottamadivine namesadorationsupremacy
Chapter 13 • Verse 11 →The Yoga of the Field and the Knower of the Field
Adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam tattva-jnanartha-darshanam, etaj jnanam iti proktam ajnanam yad ato 'nyatha

Constancy in self-knowledge, and philosophical pursuit of the Absolute Truth — all this is declared to be knowledge, and whatever is contrary to this is ignorance. True knowledge is the sustained inner quest for ultimate reality.

  • •Knowledge is defined by its orientation toward the Absolute
  • •Anything detracting from self-realization is ignorance
  • •Philosophical inquiry and self-study are inseparable from knowledge
absolute truthignorancephilosophyrealization