Summary:
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 16: Ignorance is not an absence of knowledge but a present, active thought – “I am incomplete” – that has persisted since beginningless time. Just as a tiny cloud covers the vast sun, this subtle thought covers limitless awareness. It is removed only by self-knowledge, which reveals you as pure consciousness – a crystal unchanged by the mind's fluctuating states. Every mistake belongs to the body-mind, never your true nature.
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 17: The wise are marked by four qualities: their intellect rests in Brahman rather than endlessly seeking security through labels and external validation; their sense of “I” is no longer identified with body, history, or biology but recognized as pure consciousness; their commitment is to Brahman alone, leaving nothing further to accomplish; and Brahman is their ultimate resting place – not heaven, not worldly goals. At death, no individual returns, because they have shifted identity from effect to cause.
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 18: The wise see one unchanging content within every form, from the learned and humble to the outcaste and animal. This equal vision is not about treating all beings identically in transactions, but recognizing the same reality beneath all differences in appearance, function, and conditioning. Where any form exists, intelligence sustains it; where intelligence is, Awareness underlies it – making the wise one who sees both the diversity and the commonality simultaneously.
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 16:
A small thing, can cover the big
ज्ञानेन तु तत् अज्ञानम् येषाम् नाशितम् आत्मनः ।
तेषाम् आदित्यवत् ज्ञानम् प्रकाशयति तत् परम् ॥ ५-१६॥
jñānena tu tat ajñānam yeṣām nāśitam ātmanaḥ ।
teṣām ādityavat jñānam prakāśayati tat param ॥ 5-16॥
Whereas for those whose ignorance of the self is destroyed by knowledge, the knowledge reveals (the self as) that Brahman, like the sun (reveals objects previously covered in darkness).
Ignorance though tiny like a cloud, it can cover the limitless
Where is ignorance – in Self or mind? In mind. Atma reveals your ignorance, and opposite of it – knowledge of Atma.
Ignorance (jivatvam: “I am doing, enjoying, suffering”) keeps showing up in the mind, until that very mind takes initiative to remove it by self-knowledge.
The Nature of Ignorance
Ignorance (ajñāna) here is not the mere absence of knowledge (jñāna-abhāva). Absence (abhāva) cannot cause problems – only the presence (bhāva) of something can trouble you.
For example, if a pickpocket takes your wallet but you remain unaware – the absence of the wallet doesn’t trouble you because you don’t know what you don’t know. The psychological pain starts the moment a thought arises, “my wallet is gone”. That thought is palpable. In same way, you’ve been carrying since beginningless time a very subtle thought, “I am a small being; I am incomplete, I'm a seeker”.
And one becomes bothered by the presence of a “seeker”, as seeker can't rest until the seeking stops. Just how a child who lost mommy; behind his every conversation and destination with strangers her encounters, is for the sake of ending the mommy-seeker within him. The child can't be at peace until mommy (truth) is found.
And everyone is troubled by the “I'm incomplete” thought since day one (by the virtue of people doing everything to invoke a pleased self; implying the self is displeased to begin with).
Therefore ignorance can’t be absence of knowledge, because you can’t worry about something (ie: that you’re incomplete), unless “I’m incomplete, I am a seeker” (ie: ignorance) is present.
For this reason, ignorance is treated as that which is opposed to knowledge, possessing a [mithya] existence (bhāva) for as long as it lasts. It is removed when you introduce in its face; that which opposes it. Just like darkness persists, until light arrives. In Kṛṣṇa’s words: ignorance of the self is destroyed by knowledge [of the self].
The Sun Analogy
Kṛṣṇa likens the self to the sun (āditya). And ignorance to the cloud.
Even if cloud is miniscule, from a given standpoint, is has power to cover something millions of times bigger and more glorious then it. Another analogy is of a vast elephant who believes it is bound by a thin fence. Fence represents ignorance. Though elephant can easily walk past the fence, from its standpoint, it’s not easy.
Similarly, there is as-though bondage, and Vedanta as-though frees you – after which you effortlessly and permanently appreciate your true nature as pure consciousness – not the coming and going of endless thoughts about you.
This is why you cannot rightly call yourself or anyone a “sinner.” Every mistake a person does was done by their body-mind, not their true nature. Additionally, the mind of today is totally different from the mind of yesterday that committed a sin.
Each time you criticize the world and people, you’re reinforcing mithya, and ignoring satyam; you're making the cloud (ignorance) even thicker. During those times, blow the cloud by remembering the light of consciousness in every being.
Everything in reality is fluid, but our thinking makes it solid, and in doing so, you create self-imposed limitations towards your and other’s mind, such as, “You’ll never change”.
“Knowledge reveals the self as Brahman”
Self-knowledge shows that you are like a crystal – always clear, despite the variable yellow-green-red colors changing behind it.
The crystal appears to take on a color, yet it remains transparent and unchanged by the fact that a new color can be shown – which shows the previous color was never stuck to it.
Symbolically, your consciousness appears colored by the fluctuating states of your mind [subtle body], yet your intrinsic nature is never actually touched by any of it.
The yellow-green-red stands for your mind [subtle body], which has 4 functions, which are…
Manas:
Impulsive decision making. Doubting. Emoting.
Buddhi:
Analyze, break things down into components. Decision making that stops the doubting.
Cittam:
Allows you to examine your past patterns, and see it may not be so rational, there’s alternatives. By help of memory holding prior teachings, you can consider different options. As you keep listening to shastra, you keep filling it with new ideas which your buddhi can draw from in future for making decisions and interpreting the world.
It also consists of unconscious. When you were young, some traumas happened, and to protect you from overwhelm, they were quickly buried in memory. In adult hood, when similar situation happens, these unconscious memories influence your responses.
Alzheimer's is when brain regions related to cittam – are eroded away. EG: Memory related to swallowing gets blocked, person chokes and dies. At same time, they forget all their guilt and hurt. So though they are relatively free from psychological afflictions, they’re still not absolutely free.
Question: If person has Alzheimer’s and they’re creating inconvenience to nearby people, is that creating papa for that person? No. Because karma is only created when you consciously use your free will – yet person with Alzheimer's isn’t using their freewill as functions are impaired.
Ahamkara:
Ahamkara is a mechanism that connects everything happening to manas/buddhi/cittam — is happening to “I” (here, the ‘I' refers to sat-cit brahman). This produces the sense that “I (sat-cit) am changing”.
For example, in morning, there is sense that “I am foggy”. Then after coffee, there is sense that “I am alert”. Whatever is changing is your incidental nature, not your intrinsic nature. Ignorance is when your “I” = ahamkara.
And while this knowledge is there, you continue to entertain that every happening is within Ishvara's order — people come into your life, which you didn't entirely choose, nor choose when they leave. But at same time, turn life into a learning school, which helps you become non-disturbed.
NEXT VERSE: Qualities of the wise…
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 17:
Four qualities of the wise
तत् बुद्धयः तत् आत्मानः तत् निष्ठाः तत् परायणाः ।
गच्छन्ति अपुनरावृत्तिम् ज्ञान-निर्धूत-कल्मषाः ॥ ५-१७॥
tat buddhayaḥ tat ātmānaḥ tat niṣṭhāḥ tat parāyaṇāḥ ।
gacchanti apunarāvṛttim jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ ॥ 5-17॥
Those whose intellect is awake to that (Brahman), for whom the self is that (Brahman), who are committed only to that (Brahman), for whom the ultimate end is that (Brahman which is already accomplished), whose impurities have been destroyed by knowledge—they attain a state from which there is no return.
The verse describes the wise through four words:
1. Tat buddhayaḥ – Those whose intellect is awake to Brahman
When your intellect [buddhi] is awake only to non-self [anātmā], it is always concerned with securities [artha] and pleasure [kāma] because the ‘I' always feels small and has to be boosted up. Everything is centred on feeling good, and that is necessarily dependent upon a number of external physical and psychological factors.
Such individual might engage in coping methods by attaching labels onto oneself, such as “new born Christian”, “brahmana”, “instrument of God”, “teacher”, “Doctor”, “Bachelor”, etc. Although, doesn’t always mean someone with a title is using it for coping; as it’s necessary for transactional reasons too.
But for you as a tadbuddhi, everything is Brahman alone: the buddhi is Brahman, the labels are Brahman, opinions about Brahman is Brahman, life and death is Brahman.
Go where it will, the buddhi is always in Brahman alone – it is never away from it.
2. Tat ātmānaḥ – Those for Whom the Self Is Brahman
Previously, your body, mind, memory, history, biology, age – were ātmā [self] – ‘I am blonde,' ‘I am rich,' ‘I am restless,' ‘I am an Australian,' ‘I am young.' A complex got developed around each, comparison, etc.
For the tadātmānas, the individual-I-notion is negated (meaning; it’s no longer seen as independent, but dependent/mithya) – and the ‘I' is recognised as pure consciousness – that which is not limited in any way, and the truth and basis of the entire world [jagat].
The world is understood as mithyā – that which is dependent on satya [self-existent truth] – while only the self is self-existent. Nothing else is self-existent.
3. Tat-niṣṭhāḥ – Those Committed Only to Brahman
Commitment [niṣṭhā] takes many forms: a japa-niṣṭha is committed to the repetition of divine names [japa], a tapo-niṣṭha to spiritual disciplines [tapas], a yoga-niṣṭha to the eight-fold discipline [aṣṭāṅga yoga].
But for the tat niṣṭhās, Brahman alone counts because all there is, is Brahman. Having this knowledge, there is nothing more to accomplish or to commit to.
4. Tat parāyaṇāḥ – Those Whose Ultimate End Is Brahman
The ultimate end [parāyaṇa] is described here as the real home – physically, home is where you are fully at rest and naturally return to; symbolically, Brahman is your ultimate resting place. It is not heaven nor any worldly goal, but that which you already are.
You may pursue securities [artha] or pleasure [kāma] here or in the hereafter, but for the wise, there is no goal other than Brahman, because there’s nothing other then Brahman. Anything other then Brahman is due to your ignorance of Brahman.
Krishna backs this up in BG 13.30: “When one sees the diverse variety of beings as resting in the One and expanding from that One alone – then one attains Brahman.”
In short: The one who sees Brahman in everything attains Brahman, and is Brahman.
Such people, “…attain a state from which there is no return”
Such people, whose impurities have been destroyed by knowledge (jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ) – because impurities belong to the person, not to Me – when they die, they do not come back – because there is no individual “they” to return. They are Brahman, and Brahman is the truth of everything in the past, present and future.
You’ve shifted identity from being the effect (wave) to the cause (water), which is the truth of all waves and Ocean.
NEXT VERSE: What does deeply assimilated knowledge of Advaita Vedanta look like in practice?
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 18:
Jivanmukta sees the commonality in all
विद्या-विनय-सम्पन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि ।
शुनि च एव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः सम-दर्शिनः ॥ ५-१८॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini ।
śuni ca eva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ ॥ 5-18॥
Wise people are indeed those who see the same (Brahman) in a brāhmaṇa who is endowed with knowledge and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, in a dog, and (even) in a dog eater.
Commentary
The wise people, called here samadarśīs [those who see the same], are those who recognise that every form has one content – Brahman, the sama [the same, the unchanging].
The brāhmaṇa and the dog differ in appearance and function, yet both are essentially atoms, and atoms are essentially Īśvara. Both exist within Īśvara's order.
What the samadarśī sees beneath these differences is that which is never subject to change – never stained by puṇya [merit] or pāpa [sin], never touched by saṁskāras [impressions].
Crucially, this sama-darśana [same vision] does not mean treating every being identically at the transactional level, or loving all equally. The vision is sama at the level of content; while an appropriate response is still required at level of form.
The jivanmukta sees the one reality in…
- The brāhmaṇa who is vidyā-vinaya-sampanna [endowed with knowledge and humility] – brought up from childhood in a religious way, living by the Veda, carrying devotion, a prayerful mind, good saṁskāras, and a relatively happy mind free of emotional problems. This person's actions create a great deal of punya.
- The cow – active, with some sattva [clarity] and a lot of rajas [activity], carrying neither good nor bad saṁskāras, simply governed by the programme of its species.
- The elephant – highly intelligent, yet moving slowly, with more tamas [inertia] than the cow.
- The śvapāka [dog-eater] – considered in the tradition to be the most despicable of beings.
Imagery from Mundaka Upanishad to Compare Wise-Unwise
Unwise sees the forms (like the wheel), while the wise person is alive to the wheel (ie: brahmana, cow, elephant, etc) and the spokes (Ishvara’s laws) which are holding the wheel together.
However both the wheel and spokes are supported by the center (Brahman); which is also known by the wise.
This makes the jnani, a samadarśī – recognizes seeming differences and commonality in all things. Where form is, there intelligence is, and where intelligence is, there Awareness is.
NEXT VERSE: What is jnani’s vision towards people?
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Course was based on Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) home study course.
Recorded 30 Aug, 2026