Bhagavad Gita 9.29 · BG 9.29
Chapter 9Verse 29
Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रियः। ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम्॥
samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ, ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham
Translation
I am the same toward all beings. No one is hateful to me, and no one is dear. But those who turn to me with devotion live in me, and I live in them.
Fairness and closeness aren't opposites. One can be the ground the other grows from.
What does this mean?
A description of impartiality that doesn't rule out closeness. Fairness and genuine relationship aren't presented as opposites here. One is simply the ground that the other grows from.
In simple words
Krishna says he's equal toward everyone, with no favorites and no one he rejects. And yet those who turn to him with devotion end up living in him, and he in them. Fairness and closeness aren't opposites here.
The deeper idea
The verse holds together two things that usually seem to conflict. Perfect impartiality sounds cold, like a system that treats everyone identically and connects with no one. Krishna says that's not how it works. The evenness is the ground, available to all equally, and genuine closeness grows out of it for anyone who turns toward it. The relationship isn't favoritism. It's what the impartial openness becomes when someone actually engages with it.
How it applies to life
Good teachers, mentors, and parents often work this way. They're fair to everyone, no student is written off, no child is the favorite, and the ones who lean in, ask, show up, end up with a real relationship anyway. That closeness isn't unfairness. It's what the fairness makes possible for whoever meets it halfway. The door is open to everyone, and it still matters whether you walk through it.