What is the difference between the Gita 9.34 and 18.65?
Transcription by– Keshavgopal Das & Ambuj gupta
Question: What is the difference between Bhagavad Gita 9.34 and 18.65?
Answer: The difference is primarily on the emphasis about the call and the promise. Both of them have all most three lines and more which are similar.
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ
One who is engaged thus will come back to Me (9.34). 18.65 is
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ‘si me
True if a person come to Me. oh! Arjuna I declaire this pratijane, because you are very dear to Me. In one sense in 9.34 Krishna is emphasizing on the commitment of the devotee. That if the devotee does this mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam, if you do this you will come back to Me. So Krishna in one sense in that chapter is laying out what all devotee should do and emphasizing on that part.
Where as in 18.65 Krishna is focusing more on what He will do. mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te, this
is truth I am speaking to you, Arjuna. You will come back to Me because you are very dear to Me.
Actually in 9.34 Krishna is more like a teacher, telling the conditions, you do this, this will happen. But in 18.65 as the message is concluding Krishna glorifies bhakti unambiguously and that’s what He do even more emphatically in next verse 18.66
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
Just surrender to Me alone, Krishna says. Now here Vishwanath Thakur explains that Krishna heart over flows with compassion. When in 18.63, He says to Arjuna, deliberate deeply and decide what you want to do. When He saw Arjuna lost in thought then Krishna’s heart flows in compassion, don’t bother about all these things, I will tell what you should do clearly. Then He says 18. 65 is the most confidential knowledge that I am giving you. 18.65 gives that knowledge and that He says you are most dear to Me.
So 18.65 expresses Krishna’s love much more strongly. Because I love you so much, whatever I am expecting you to do, you do this, I guarantee you, you will come back to Me. In this way the emphasis in 9.34 is on what we should do and 18.65 is on what Krishna will do, if we do our part. Thank you.