Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 8, Verse 28
Verse 28
The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
The fruitive results described in the Vedas for the study of the Vedas, for the performance of yajna, for austerities and charities — a devotee surpasses all these by knowing this philosophy. And the supreme original abode is attained by such a devotee.
Context & Meaning
A breathtaking conclusion: all the merit accumulated by Vedic study, sacrifice, austerity, and charity — all of this is surpassed by the yogi who knows this truth and lives it. Not because those practices are worthless, but because this knowledge leads to the Supreme abode itself — the primordial, eternal home that is the goal of all those practices combined.
Scholar Commentaries
2 commentaries · Public domainRamanujacharya
VishishtadvaitaThe superiority here is not of spiritual arrogance but of completeness. Vedic merits lead to temporary rewards; this knowledge leads to the eternal. The yogi who knows the Supreme transcends all partial goods by attaining the Good itself.
Adi Shankaracharya
AdvaitaAll rites, austerities, and charities produce bounded results within the realm of karma. Knowledge of Brahman, by contrast, cuts the root of karma itself. This is why it surpasses all accumulated merit — it is liberation, not reward.