Chapter VII · Śloka 18
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् ।
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥
udārāḥ sarva evaite jñānī tv ātmaiva me matam |
āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā mām evānuttamāṃ gatim ||
āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā mām evānuttamāṃ gatim ||
All these are indeed noble, but the wise one I regard as My very Self; for he, with mind steadied in yoga, is established in Me as the unsurpassed goal.
Krishna elevates the jñānī to identity with himself (ātmaiva me matam — 'the wise one is My very Self') — a statement of the non-dual summit. The other devotees travel toward the divine; the jñānī has, through perfect yoga, dissolved the distance entirely.