This śloka describes the vision that comes from steady nidhidhyāsanam.

In the previous verses, Bhagavān described how the seeker practices meditation: withdraw the mind, give up saṅkalpa-born desires, bring the wandering mind back again and again, quieten rajas, remove impurity, and gain the happiness connected with Brahman. Now He describes the vision of such a yogī.

Yogayuktātmā means one whose mind is disciplined through yoga. Here ātmā means the mind. This is not merely a person who has sat for a few meditation sessions. This is a person whose mind has been made steady, refined, and saturated with Vedāntic understanding through repeated nidhidhyāsanam.

Whatever the mind is deeply soaked in, it naturally sees everywhere. A musician hears rhythm and melody even in ordinary sounds. A scientist sees laws in falling objects. A businessperson may see cost and profit in every event. In the same way, a Vedāntic mind, repeatedly trained in Self-knowledge, begins to see from the standpoint of the Self.

The verse says such a yogī īkṣate — sees or perceives. This seeing is not physical seeing with the eyes. The eyes see bodies: human bodies, animal bodies, young bodies, old bodies, healthy bodies, weak bodies, pleasant forms, unpleasant forms. The eyes see difference. Vedāntic vision sees the truth behind those differences.

Sarvabhūtastham ātmānam means the yogī sees the Self as present in all beings. The same consciousness that illumines this body-mind is the consciousness because of which every body-mind is known and alive. The body differs. The mind differs. The personality differs. The life story differs. But the consciousness principle, the ātma, is not divided into many separate consciousnesses.

At first, the seeker understands: “I am not merely this body.” Then the vision deepens: “The ātma is the inner reality behind this body.” Then it matures further: “The same ātma is the reality behind all bodies.” This is a major expansion of identity. The person no longer takes one body alone as “me” in the absolute sense.

The second phrase is sarvabhūtāni ca ātmani — the yogī sees all beings in the Self. This means all names and forms exist in, depend upon, and are pervaded by the one ātma, Brahman. Just as many ornaments exist in gold, many waves exist in water, and many pots exist in clay, all beings exist in the one reality. The forms are many; the substance is one.

This vision must not be reduced to a sentimental idea such as “be nice to everyone.” Kindness is a natural outcome, but the teaching is deeper. It is not merely ethical sameness; it is ontological sameness. The one Self is the truth of all beings.

Sarvatra samadarśanaḥ means he has the same vision everywhere. Sama-darśanam does not mean he cannot distinguish a teacher from a student, a cow from a tiger, or a child from an elder at the transactional level. Practical differences are respected. One does not feed grass to a child or embrace a tiger in the name of sameness. Functional differences remain.

But behind the functional differences, the yogī sees the same ātma. Therefore, he does not divide the world into “worthy of respect” and “unworthy of respect” at the level of essential reality. He does not think consciousness in one body is superior and consciousness in another body is inferior. Bodies and minds vary, but ātma is sama, the same.

This vision also changes how one seeks security. The ignorant person expects permanence from impermanent bodies, relationships, and situations. That leads to fear and disappointment. The wise person knows what belongs where. Food is needed for hunger. Medicine is needed for illness. Relationship has its place for affection and responsibility. But permanence, immortality, and absolute security belong only to the Self. Therefore, the yogī does not demand from the world what only the Self can provide.

This verse is not asking us to artificially imagine unity. It is describing the vision born of disciplined meditation on the teaching. When the mind is saturated with Vedānta, the seeker no longer sees merely separate bodies. He recognizes the same Self in all beings and all beings in the Self.