Srimad BhagavadGita

So far, Kṛṣṇa discussed about controlling the senses as a means to achieve the vision of the soul. In this śloka and the next one, the speciality of this reward i.e the vision of the soul, is discussed. This vision of the soul is the reward of practising jñāna yoga in its four states namely vaśīkārasaṃjña, ekendriyasaṃjña, vyatirekasaṃjña and yatamānasaṃjña described earlier.

Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "For all the living beings, like the night, this knowledge about the soul has no effulgence and is not manifest to them. However, it is manifested in the form of a vision of the soul to the practitioner of jñāna yoga who has control over his senses. On the other hand, for a practitioner of jñāna yoga who is always contemplating on the soul, the knowledge about the sense objects which all the living beings are awake to and actively experiencing, is unmanifest like the night.

yā niśā sarva bhūtānāṃ

yā (That knowledge which manifests in the form of a vision of the soul) Since the words 'tasya prajñā

pratiṣṭhitā' of the previous śloka refer to 'knowledge about the soul', the same is brought up for discussion

here with the term ‘yā’.

sarva bhūtānāṃ niśā (It is night for all the living beings) Here the usual meaning for night as night time is

not to be taken. The reason is that there is no common night time for all, based on the difference in time

zones, night time for people of one region may be day time for others in another region. Also, since

the śloka talks about this night time as common for all living beings, 'being unmanifest (without effulgence)

like the night time' is the apt meaning for it. Hence the meaning to be taken for yā niśā sarva bhūtānāṃ is

'The knowledge which results in a vision of the soul is like the night (with no effulgence, unmanifest) for all

the living beings'. 

Q: How can the knowledge about the soul be unmanifest when the soul is self luminous? How can such knowledge not shine through and reveal itself?

A: The karmas of the jīva act as a blockage and cause contraction in the flow of knowledge in a jīva. Therefore this knowledge about the soul remains unmanifest to them.

tasyāṃ jāgarti saṃyamī (With regard to this soul knowledge, the practitioner of jñāna yoga who has gained victory over his senses, enjoys the vision of the soul) Since victory over the senses is the topic under discussion here, the word 'saṃyamī' in this context refers to one who has restrain over his senses and not a sanyāsi. The word saṃyamī used here does not even refer to one who has performed the three, namely dhārana (concentration), dhyāna (meditation) and samādhi (meditative absorption) together as told by Maharshi Patanjali trayamekatra saṃyamaḥ. The earlier śloka prasādamadhigacchati B.G 2.64 (The result of acquiring victory over the senses is that the person’s heart gets cleansed and purified) supports the meaning we have derived.

jāgrati (Awakened) Since the usual meaning of awakening as 'awakening from sleep', does not fit the

context here, it is apt to understand the meaning as 'one who is with an awakening to the vision of the

soul'.   

tasyāṃ jāgrati (He is awakened) His knowledge is effulgent and has the the soul as its focus. 

yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtāni (The awareness about all the sense objects like sounds, etc, with which all the other living beings exist) The word 'yasyām' here refers to knowledge too, but since this knowledge is declared to be like the night for saṃyamis, it is the knowledge possessed by all living beings except the saṃyamis. Therefore it is apt to say that 'yasyām' here means 'knowledge in the form of awareness about the sense objects'. In tandem with 'sarva bhūtānāṃ' in the first line of the śloka referring to all the living beings with the exception of saṃyamis, the word bhūtāni here too refers to the same.  

sā niśā paśyato muneḥ (To a person who has acquired vision of the soul and who keeps contemplating on it always, the knowledge about the sense objects does not manifest just like the night which has no effulgence and is unmanifest ) Though the word 'paśyati' is used in a generic manner, based on the present context, it must be taken as referring to those who have achieved 'a vision of the soul'.