Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 1

English Translation

The Blessed Lord said I shall speak again of the supreme Knowledge, the best of all knowledges, by realizing which all the contemplatives reached the highest Perfection from here.

Detailed Commentary

14.1 Commentary: 'परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम्' (I shall again declare that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge) — In the eighteenth, twenty-third, and thirty-fourth verses of the thirteenth chapter, the Lord had elucidated the discernment between Kshetra and Kshetrajna, and Prakriti and Purusha. To reiterate that very knowledge, the Lord vows with the words 'bhūyaḥ pravakṣyāmi' (I shall again declare). Among all the knowledge pertaining to worldly (laukika) and transcendental (paralaukika) studies, arts, languages, scripts, etc., this knowledge, which reveals the distinction between Prakriti and Purusha, leads beyond Prakriti, and facilitates the attainment of Paramatma, is supreme. There is no other knowledge equal to it, nor can there be. Because all other knowledge entangles one in samsara and binds them. Although 'uttama' and 'para' individually convey similar meanings, when they appear together, their meanings diverge. Here, 'uttama' signifies that this knowledge severs one's connection with Prakriti and the samsaric body, while 'para' means that it leads to the attainment of Paramatma. 'यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनयः सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गताः' (Having known which, all sages (Munis) have attained supreme perfection (parāṁ siddhim) and gone from here) — I shall declare that knowledge, by knowing and experiencing which, the Munis have been liberated from samsara and attained Paramatma. It never happens that upon acquiring this knowledge, one does not attain liberation. All Munis who acquire this are freed from the bonds of samsara and attain Paramatma. A person who contemplates the ultimate Truth (Tattva) and has no sense of possessiveness or identification with the body is called a 'Muni'. The phrase 'parām siddhim' signifies that all attainments (siddhis) in samsara are actually non-attainments (asiddhis), as they lead to birth and death and obstruct the attainment of Paramatma. However, the siddhi of attaining Paramatma is supreme, because through it, a human being is freed from the cycle of birth and death.