Sanskrit
उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् । विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥
utkrāmantaṃ sthitaṃ vāpi bhuñjānaṃ vā guṇānvitam vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñānacakṣuṣaḥ
Translation
The deluded do not perceive (Him) when He departeth or stayeth or enjoyeth, swayed by the qualities; the wisdom-eyed perceive.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The tree metaphor and the jiva metaphor now converge on a single diagnostic question: can you actually perceive the self moving through its bodies, enjoying its objects, governed by the gunas? Most people, the verse says bluntly, cannot — they are vimūḍhāḥ, deluded — while those with “the eye of wisdom” (jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ) do see it. The phrase recalls Arjuna’s request in chapter 11 for a divine eye to see Krishna’s cosmic form, which suggests perception itself, not just conduct, is being treated here as the real dividing line between bondage and freedom.