Bhagavad Gita 10.11
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः | नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता ||
teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ | nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā ||
Translation
Out of compassion for them, dwelling within their own being, I destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the shining lamp of knowledge.
Reflection
Where might delusion be hiding the form already in front of you?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Ten
The means is named more precisely. Krishna dwells in the very being of those devotees, and from that inward place He destroys the darkness born of ignorance with the bright lamp of knowledge. Atma-bhava-stho, dwelling in their own being, locates the action where the change actually occurs. He is not handing the lamp across the room. He is the one already standing inside, lighting it. Anukampartham, out of compassion, names the motive. The verse is one of the warmest in the chapter. The image of the lamp will be picked up by the tradition again and again, including in the artis sung in any temple. Knowledge is not a load placed on the seeker. It is a small flame held up inside him by the very one he was looking for.