Commentary

Commentary

The word jnana-chakshushaah — “those whose eyes are trained in knowledge” — is extremely significant in this verse. Without genuine spiritual knowledge, no one can understand how the soul leaves one body and enters another, or how it enjoys through the senses under the influence of the three modes.

The ordinary person witnesses death — the body ceases to function, is cremated or buried — but cannot perceive what happens to the conscious entity that was animating it. Where does it go? What carries it forward? What determines its next destination? These questions remain invisible to the materially absorbed person (vimoodha), no matter how educated they may be in worldly sciences.

But one who has studied the Bhagavad Gita and similar authentic scriptures under the guidance of a genuine teacher can see the entire process clearly. They understand that the soul does not die with the body, that the subtle body of mind and impressions carries the soul forward, and that the modes of nature determine the quality of the next embodiment.

This is not merely intellectual understanding but a transformation of perception. When genuine knowledge awakens, one begins to see beyond the surface of physical events. The birth of a child is not merely a biological event but the arrival of an eternal soul. The death of a loved one is not annihilation but a transition. This vision — jnana-chakshus — changes everything about how one relates to life, death, and the beings around them.

Those who are advancing in Krishna consciousness are encouraged to develop this vision through consistent study, practice, and association with wise persons. Such training in knowledge opens the inner eye that perceives reality as it truly is.