It is the light even of lights, said to be beyond darkness; knowledge, the knowable, and the goal of knowledge — it is seated in the heart of all.
Browse topics
Source
The Bhagavad Gita, translated and commentated by S. Radhakrishnan, is one of the most scholarly and accessible English renderings of Hinduism's most beloved scripture — the dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Radhakrishnan, philosopher and statesman, brings both rigorous intellectual insight and genuine spiritual depth to his translation and notes. This edition is treasured for its ability to illuminate the Gita's universal spiritual teaching across cultural and philosophical boundaries.
- Author
- Krishna
- Tradition
- Hindu
- Source text
- Bhagavad Gita
- Chapter
- Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 13
- Verse / page
- BG.13.18
- Topics
- Divine LightGod-RealisationKnowledge
Same theme, different voices
There the sun does not shine, nor the moon and stars, nor these lightnings — let alone this fire. By its light alone all this shines; the whole world is illumined by its radiance.
People quarrel over the very name of God. A man who describes the Almighty as Ram is found to be always ready to quarrel with the other who calls it Allah. Why do they fight when Ram and Allah are one and the same? This is so because we have not allowed the divine light to enter our minds, enter our lives.
God starts to enlighten the soul with His divine light, marking the beginning of a perfect union after the third night has passed, making it less dark.
The goal of moral discipline is to cleanse the heart of passion and resentment, until it becomes like a clear mirror, reflecting the light of God.