Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 11: The Vision of the Cosmic Form

Bhagavad Gita 11.53

nāhaṃ vedairna tapasā na dānena na cejyayā | śakya evaṃvidho draṣṭuṃ dṛṣṭavānasi māṃ yathā ||

Not through the Vedas, nor through austerity, nor through gifts, nor through sacrifice can I be seen in the form in which you have seen me.

Modern context

Krishna repeats the point of verse 48: not by scripture, austerity, charity or sacrifice can this be seen. The repetition is deliberate. He wants Arjuna, and every reader, to be sure that the highest is not reached by a checklist of practices. What, then, does open the way? The next verse gives the answer.