Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 11: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  I reward each seeker precisely according to the aim (phala-arthitā) with which they approach Me: those who desire fruits receive fruits, those who desire liberation receive jñāna, those who are already knowers receive mokṣa itself — never out of rāga (attraction) or dveṣa (aversion). Yet this reciprocal dispensation does not elevate fruit-seekers to the level of mumukṣus (liberation-aspirants), for one cannot simultaneously desire results and desire liberation. All human beings everywhere traverse My path (mama vartma), each constrained by the karma for which they hold adhikāra (eligibility) — thus the Lord's response mirrors the seeker's orientation without partiality.

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  As devotees conceive Me according to their own aspiration (svāpekṣā) and approach with samāśraya (refuge-taking), so I manifest Myself to them in exactly that form — I do not impose a single mode but reveal My svabhāva (own nature) in the register each soul can receive. All human beings, moved by the sole desire to follow My path, experience My nature (mat-svabhāvam) through their own faculties in every possible way (sarvataḥ) — even those still moving through karma-yoga draw near to Me. This universal responsiveness is not partiality but the fullness of Bhagavān's inexhaustible svarūpa (essential form).

• Madhvadvaita

  I give fruit proportionally (sāmānurūpyeṇa) to all who approach Me — I serve them by granting results (phala-dāna), not by becoming one with them (na tu guṇa-bhāvena), for the jīva (individual soul) eternally remains distinct from Hari. Even those who worship other devatās (deities) are in truth treading My path alone, for I am the sole kartṛ (doer) and bhoktṛ (enjoyer) underlying all action; the Ṛgveda declares this: yo devānāṃ nāmadhā eka eva — 'the one who bears all the names of the gods is but one.' Worshipping other gods does yield fruit, but it is still My fruit flowing through My universal sovereignty.

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Like a wish-fulfilling tree (kalpa-taru), I reflect each devotee back to themselves — sākāma (desire-bearing) or niṣkāma (desireless) alike — accepting and mirroring their approach as one's face is reflected in a mirror (pratimukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ). This is not partiality toward the puṣṭi-pravāha (grace-stream devotees) over others, for all people in every mode traverse My path, even those who worship Indra and other devatās — the worship of any form ultimately returns to Me (tad-aṃśitva), though the unwise do not discern this. What reaches Me does so because I am the aṃśin (whole) of which all devatās are parts.

• Śrīdharabhakti

  Whether a devotee approaches Me with sākāma-bhāva (desire-motivated devotion) or niṣkāma-bhāva (desireless devotion), I honor that approach by granting exactly the fruit they seek — I do not neglect even those who, driven by desire, worship Indra and other gods in My stead. For in every possible mode (sarvataḥ), humans follow My bhajana-mārga (path of worship), since even Indra and the other devatās are but My own forms; worshipping them is ultimately serving Me. There is thus no vaiṣamya (inequality or partiality) in My response — the form of approach determines the form of receipt.

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  The four types of devotees — ārta (afflicted), arthārthin (wealth-seeker), jijñāsu (knowledge-seeker), and jñānin (the realized knower) — each approach Me in their characteristic way, and I bless each with precisely the relief or reward fitting their request: the afflicted I free from suffering, the wealth-seeker I provide wealth, those who follow Vedic injunctions I grant jñāna, and the jñānin seeking mokṣa I grant liberation itself — I never give the seeker of one thing the reward of another. Even those who worship other devatās receive fruit from Me alone, as the mantra confirms: indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇam agnim āhuḥ — all divine names are one Lord's names; Bhagavān Vāsudeva is that sole dispenser underlying every upāsanā (practice of devotion).