Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 - Sanyasa Yoga - Sloka 16

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Chidbhavananda's translation of The Bhagavad Gita, published by Ramakrishna Mission.

Karma pertains to Prakriti & not Purusha 14-17


If it is a fact that the Lord does not take note of the good and bad acts of people, why then should they be exhorted to do good and eschew evil? The answer is given in this sloka

1 Gita Sloka every day - Chapter 5 -Sanyasa Yoga - Sloka 16

 Krishna grazing at Goverdhana

Gyanena tu tad agyanam yesham nashitam atmanah I

Tesham aditya vat gyanam prakashyati  tad param II sloka 16

ज्ञानेन तु तद अज्ञानां येषां नाशितं आत्मनः ।

तेषां आदित्य वत् ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तद परम् ।। श्लोक १६

Shining like the sun, knowledge reveals the supreme in them, in whom ignorance is destroyed by self-knowledge.

Darkness vanishes when the sun rises; ignorance ceases to be with the dawn of knowledge. As the sunlight reveals things in their true perspective, Self knowledge or brahma gyanam posits the reality of brahman and the evanescence of Prakriti. The knower of Brahman knows he is brahman and none else. 

The process of then acquiring this self knowledge is explained further.