Shloka

यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम् |
यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः ||१५-११||

Transliteration

yatanto yoginaścainaṃ paśyantyātmanyavasthitam .
yatanto.apyakṛtātmāno nainaṃ paśyantyacetasaḥ ||15-11||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

15.11. The exerting men of Yoga perceive Him dwelling in the Self. [But] the unintelligent men with their uncontrolled self do not perceive Him, even though they exert.

Shri Purohit Swami

15.11 The saints with great effort find Him within themselves; but not the unintelligent, who in spite of every effort cannot control their minds.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

15.9-11 Srotram etc. upto asetasah. Mind : the internal organ is hery implied. Hence, due to His association of the bodily existence, when He remains [in the body], or rises up to seize another body, or enjoys the sense objects - at that time the deluded persons do not perceive Him, because they are not well enlightened. But, considering everything as manifestation of the [Self] awareness, the highly enlightened men recognize Him. Thus they are men of unbroken contemplation. Because they are engrossed in their exertion.

But in the case of those who have not mastered their self (mind), even their effort does not yield any fruit, because their passion has not yet been fully decayed. Indeed the seeds of corn, sown during the autumnal season are not capable of yielding a rich harvest, even though the means like water etc., get collected together. Therefore, it (the water etc.) does not constitute a collection of means. Indeed totally different is the water sent forth by the mass of clouds that had been filled up in the month of Madhu. Altogether different is the earth that had been under the grip of the Cold-season (Sisira) and has (now) brilliance by the simple touch of the sun-rays. In the same way, the effort of the men of uncontrolled self, never gets to the stage of fulfilment of all reisities . That is why those who, even after receiving the means like the inititation etc. necessary for the realisation of the Supreme Lord, continue to have their inner vision filled with the collection of the knots (granthi) of anger, bewilderment etc., in the manner as before-in their case, even the means does never bear any fruit. This must be borne in mind. For, it is has been said :

‘When anger etc., are seen, then even the initiated one never gets emancipation’.

Sri Ramanuja

15.11 The ‘striving Yogins’ i.e., those striving in the path of Karma Yoga etc., after practising Prapatti (self-surrender), purify their inner organs of perception and percieve the self as established in Its own form as distinct from the body, with the eye of Yoga, But those of ‘unrefined minds,’ namely those who do not practise Prapatti to Me, and are therefore of ‘uncultivated minds, and devoid of intelligence’ find themselves incapable of perceiving the self. They do not perceive It in distinction from the body.

Thus, it has been said that the self, whether released or not, is a manifestation of the glory (Vibhuti) of the Lord, Its light of knowledge illuminates even the luminaries such as the sun, moon and fire which help the senses to see by removing the darkness that prevents the contact of the senses with their objects as described (in the verses): ‘That supreme light ৷৷. is Mine’ (15.6) and ‘An everlasting part of Myself having become the (bound) self in the world of life’ (15.7). Now, He declares that even the lights of the sun and other luminaries, which form particular developments of Prakrti, are Vibhutis of the Lord:

Sri Shankaracharya

15.11 And some, however, yoginah, the yogis of concentrated minds; yatantah, who are diligent; pasyanti, see; evam, this one, the Self under discussion; as avasthitam, existing; atmani, in themselves, in their own intelligence. They realize, ‘I am This.’ Acetasah, the non-discriminating ones; akrta-atmanah, who lack self-control, who have not purified themselves through austerity and control of the organs, who have not desisted from bad conduct, who are not tranil and are proud by nature; na, do not; pasyanti, see; enam, this one; api, though; (they be) yatantah, diligent-even though they be striving with the help of the valid means of knowledge such as the scriptures. With a view to speaking of the all-pervasiveness of the State and the fact of Its being the substratum of all empirical dealings, the Lord speaks in brief through the following four verses of the divine manifestations of that State which the light of fire, sun, etc. do not illumine though they are the illuminators of everything; and reaching which the aspirants of Liberation do not return again towards mundane existence; and of which State the individual souls, owing to their conformity with the diversity of limiting adjuncts, are parts, just as spaces enclosed in pot etc. are ‘parts’ of Space:

Swami Adidevananda

15.11 The striving Yogins see It established in themselves. But, though striving, those of unrefined minds, devoid of intelligence, perceive It not.

Swami Gambirananda

15.11 And the yogis who are diligent see this one as existing in themselves. The non-discriminating ones who lack self-control do not see this one-though (they be) diligent.

Swami Sivananda

15.11 The Yogins striving (for perfection) behold Him dwelling in the Self; but, the unrefined and unintelligent, even though striving, see Him not.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

15.11 यतन्तः striving (for perfection)? योगिनः the Yogins? च and? एनम् this? पश्यन्ति see? आत्मनि in the Self? अवस्थितम् dwelling? यतन्तः striving? अपि also? अकृतात्मानः the unrefined? न not? एनम् this? पश्यन्ति see? अचेतसः unintelligent.Commentary The description of the evolution of the individual soul is now complete.The Yogins who strive with an iron determination? fiery resolve? faith? earnestness and wellbalanced mind? see Him established in their hearts. They behold Him dwelling in their own mind or intellect. They recognise Him – This I am. But those who are of full intellect and without proper discipline of the mind and the senses? who have not been purified by austerity? selfless service and charity? who have not subdued their senses? who have not practised regular meditation? who have not given up their evil ways? who have not eradicated lust? pride? egoism? anger? greed and hypocrisy? who have not developed true discrimination between the Real and the unreal? however hard they may struggle to know Him by means of the study of the sacred scriptures? do not behold Him. They are not able to attain Selfrealisation. Mere study of scriptues alone cannot help one who has an impure mind to attain Selfrealisation. The aspirant should have a calm and pure mind. He should practise constant? protracted and profound meditation on the Self. Only then will he realise? recognise and behold the Self abiding in his own heart.That Goal (the Supreme Being) which the fire? stars? lightning? sun and moon do not illumine? having reached which the aspirants do not return to this Samsara or the world of birth and death? of which the individual souls are only imaginary parts appearing so on account of the limiting adjunct (ignorance)? just as the ether in the pot appears to be limited though it is one with the,universal ether – is the essence of all worldly experiences.Just as the ether in the pot becomes identical with the universal ether when the limiting adjunct (pot) is broken? so also the individual soul becomes identical with the Supreme Being when the limiting adjunct (ignorance) is destroyed through the knowledge of the Self or Selfrealisation born of meditation on the right significance of the great sentences of the Upanishads? viz.? TatTvamAsi (That thou art) or AhamBrahmaAsmi (I am the Supreme Being). Then he realises that Brahman is the essence of all and tht He is the basis of all experiences.In order to make Arjuna understand this? the Lord gives a brief summary of His manifestations in the following four verses. A description is given here of the allpervasiveness of the Self.