BG 2.69
What all beings consider as day is the night of ignorance for the wise, and what all creatures see as night is the day for the introspective sage.
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः
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yā — which
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niśhā — night
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sarva-bhūtānāṁ — of all living beings
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sarva — all
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bhūtānāṁ — living beings
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tasyāṁ — in that
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jāgarti — is awake
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sanyamī — self-controlled
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yasyāṁ — in which
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jāgrati — are awake
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bhūtāni — creatures
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sā — that
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niśhā — night
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paśhyato — see
paśhyataḥ—see -
muneḥ — sage
Therefore, one whose senses are restrained from the sense objects of their environment is fixed in steady wisdom. What all beings consider as day is the night of ignorance for the wise, and what all creatures see as night is the day for the introspective sage. Just as the ocean remains undisturbed by the incessant flow of waters from rivers merging into it, likewise the sage who is unmoved despite the flow of desirable objects all around him attains peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy desires. That person, who gives up all material desires and lives free from a sense of greed, proprietorship, and egoism, attains perfect peace. Such is the realization of Brahma. By attaining this, one attains freedom from delusion in life and liberation from reincarnation in death.
Similar verses
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It is the light of all lights, beyond the reach of darkness. It is wisdom, attained only through knowledge, which is present in the hearts of all.
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At the dawn of each cosmic day, all manifested things emerge from the unmanifest, and when night comes, they are dissolved back into it again.
- Verse 8.18
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These multitudes of beings, who have lived many lives on earth, are dissolved as the cosmic night approaches, and come back to life at the approach of the next day.
- Verse 8.19
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The sage looks upon all with equanimity - a humble and wise priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog, or even an outcaste.
- Verse 5.18
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The sage who passes away on a gloomy night, or during the fortnight of the waning moon, or in the six months prior to the winter solstice, reaches only the lunar light and will be reborn.
- Verse 8.25