2.69 Night for all beings Krishna speaks
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः
yā niśhā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti sanyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśhā paśhyato muneḥ
What is night for all beings is waking for the self-controlled; what is waking for all beings is night for the sage who sees.
Explanation
Night for all beings.
What is night for everyone else is waking for the self-controlled — and what everyone else is awake to is night for the sage.
The inversion is complete and it is not flattering to either side. Whatever this state is, it does not run alongside ordinary life; it is oriented the other way.
Going further
Word by word
- yā
- which
- niśhā
- night
- sarva-bhūtānām
- of all living beings
- tasyām
- in that
- jāgarti
- is awake
- sanyamī
- self-controlled
- yasyām
- in which
- jāgrati
- are awake
- bhūtāni
- creatures
- sā
- that
- niśhā
- night
- paśhyataḥ
- see
- muneḥ
- sage
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What is night for everyone else is waking for the self-controlled, and what everyone else is awake to is night for the sage.
This is the chapter's most alienating verse and it should not be softened. It says plainly that the person Krishna is describing is inverted relative to everyone around them — awake to what others sleep through, indifferent to what others chase. Whatever the Gita is offering, it is not adjustment.