“I have shared with you this wisdom, the deepest of secrets. Reflect on it fully, and then do as you choose.”

Reflect fully, then choose

This verse comes near the very end of the Gita. Lord Krishna has spent eighteen chapters answering Arjuna’s questions: about duty, the self, the mind, devotion and how to live. And then, instead of giving an order, he says something remarkable.

Vimṛśya etad aśeṣeṇa: “reflect on this completely”. Yathā icchasi tathā kuru: “then do as you wish.”

The teacher of the Gita trusts his student to think. He doesn’t want blind obedience. He wants Arjuna to understand, to weigh it all up, and to choose with his own mind and heart. Vimṛśya means to examine, to consider, to turn something over carefully.

It’s a model for every teacher and every parent. Our tradition has always valued questions: the Upanishads are full of students asking “why?”. Real understanding can’t be forced. It can only be offered, and then trusted.

For a student: don’t just accept or reject an idea. Think it through first. For a parent: explaining the “why”, and then trusting your child, builds a faith that lasts. For everyone: after all that teaching, Lord Krishna’s request is “reflect”, not just “obey”.

For kids: “Grown-ups share what they know, and I think about it carefully.”