|| 5.18 ||
विद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि। शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः।।
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
Word by Word
vidyā (with education) vinaya (and gentleness) sampanne (fully equipped) brāhmaṇe (in the brāhmaṇa) gavi (in the cow) hastini (in the elephant) śuni (in the dog) ca (and) eva (certainly) śva-pāke (in the dog-eater/outcaste) ca (and) paṇḍitāḥ (the learned) sama-darśinaḥ (who see with equal vision)
Translation
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa defines the famous ‘Equal Vision’ of a sage. A humble person, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with an equal eye a learned and gentle priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater. They look past the material ‘costume’ to see the spiritual essence.
The sage is ‘sama-darśinaḥ’. They don’t say a dog is the same as a priest in *behavior*, but they see that the same spark of life—the soul—and the same Supersoul exist within both. They see the gold in the jewelry and the gold in the rock; the form differs, but the substance is identical.
This vision destroys the roots of prejudice and envy. If Arjuna can see Kṛṣṇa in his enemies as well as his friends, his personal hatred will dissolve. He will realize that he is not fighting ‘people’, but participating in a cosmic recalibration of energies. True knowledge is the ability to see the unity of the Divine everywhere.