GitaChapter 15Verse 19

Gita 15.19

Purushottama Yoga

यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् | स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ||१९||

yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam | sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ sarva-bhāvena bhārata ||19||

In essence: One who knows Me thus, without delusion, as the Supreme Person, knows all and worships Me with his whole being, O Bharata.

A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply

Sadhak-Guru Dialogue

Sadhak: "'Knows all' by knowing Krishna? But I don't know chemistry or history just by knowing God!"

Guru: "Sarva-vit' means knowing the essence of all, not the details of all. A person who knows water knows what every wave is made of, even without counting each wave. By knowing Purushottama, you know the source and substance of every existent thing. Detailed knowledge of phenomena is secondary; essential knowledge of Reality is primary—and that is what 'knowing all' means here."

Sadhak: "And such a person 'worships with whole being'—what does that look like practically?"

Guru: "It means no compartmentalization: work becomes worship, eating becomes offering, sleep becomes surrender, relationships become service to the Lord in all. There is no part of life held back as 'secular.' Sarva-bhāvena—with all the modes of one's being—means nothing is excluded from the devotional relationship. The whole person, in all activities, is oriented toward Krishna."

Sadhak: "This seems like an exalted state. Is it attainable?"

Guru: "It is the natural state once delusion lifts. The teaching is not describing superhuman feats but natural outcomes of clear seeing. Know who Krishna is, really know it, and you cannot help but offer your whole being. It is like recognizing the sun: once you truly see it, you do not need to be told to appreciate its light. Recognition produces response. The 'attainment' is really the falling away of what prevented natural devotion."

Did this resonate with you? Share it with someone who needs to hear this.

🌅 Daily Practice

🌅 Morning

Ask yourself: 'Am I deluded about the Supreme?' Delusion is taking lesser things as ultimate. Whatever you worship with your energy and attention is your operational god. Set the intention: 'Today, may my understanding align with Reality—may I increasingly know Purushottama without delusion.'

☀️ Daytime

Practice 'sarva-bhāvena' incrementally. In each activity, find a way to orient it toward the Lord. Work becomes service; speech becomes offering; listening becomes attention to the Divine in others. This is not artificial but a training that, with practice, becomes natural—whole-being worship in daily life.

🌙 Evening

Reflect: 'How much of my being was offered today? Where did I hold back, compartmentalize, live as if the Supreme were not the center?' No guilt, just observation. Each day is practice for the sarva-bhāvena state. Over time, the territory of unconscious life shrinks and the territory of conscious worship expands.

Common Questions

Is 'sarva-vit' the same as enlightenment or moksha?
Essentially, yes. In the Gita's terms, knowing Purushottama truly (asammūḍha) is the culmination of wisdom. This knowledge liberates because it reveals the Knower's true nature as related to the Supreme and dissolves the ignorance that created bondage. Sarva-vit is not a mundane polymath but a sage who has understood the one truth that underlies all—and this understanding is liberation.
Why does knowledge lead to worship? I might know something without loving it.
Ordinary knowledge is abstract and does not transform. But knowing Purushottama is recognizing your source, your sustainer, your innermost Self's Self. It is like a child discovering the identity of their parent who had always been caring for them anonymously. Love arises naturally. Moreover, the 'knowing' here is not conceptual but direct—a seeing that engages the whole being. Such knowledge cannot remain aloof; it overflows into devotion.