Bhagavad Gita 18.22 · Krishna
Mistaking a part for the whole
यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम्।
अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्॥
yattu kṛtsnavadekasminkārye saktamahaitukamatattvārthavadalpaṃ ca tattāmasamudāhṛtam
Knowledge that clings to one small thing as if it were everything, without reason, blind to truth, and narrow, is called heavy.
Words
- tamas
What it means
Krishna describes tamasic knowledge, the narrowest kind. It grabs one small thing and treats it as everything. No reasoning. No real grasp of truth. Just a tiny fixed view, held stubbornly. It's the mind that says, this one thing explains it all, and refuses to look further.
The story
Duryodhana fixed on one idea, the kingdom must be mine, and saw nothing else. Krishna shows how narrow knowledge leads to disaster.
In your life
Think of someone who decided one diet, one politician or one theory explained everything, and stopped listening to anyone. Read one view this week that you'd normally dismiss.
A part is never the whole.