Bhagavad Gita 13.13-14 - Krishna Pervades As Supersoul In Everything (download mp3)
by Gopinath Candra Prabhu at ISKCON Chowpatty
www.iskcondesiretree.net
Bg 13.13
jñeyam yat tat pravaksyami
yaj jñatvamrtam asnute
anadi mat-param brahma
na sat tan nasad ucyate
I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal. Brahman, the spirit, beginningless and subordinate to Me, lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world.
Purport:
The Lord has explained the field of activities and the knower of the field. He has also explained the process of knowing the knower of the field of activities. Now He begins to explain the knowable, first the soul and then the Supersoul. By knowledge of the knower, both the soul and the Supersoul, one can relish the nectar of life. As explained in the Second Chapter, the living entity is eternal. This is also confirmed here. There is no specific date at which the jiva was born. Nor can anyone trace out the history of the jivatma's manifestation from the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is beginningless. The Vedic literature confirms this: na jayate mriyate va vipascit (Katha Upanisad 1.2.18). The knower of the body is never born and never dies, and he is full of knowledge.
The Supreme Lord as the Supersoul is also stated in the Vedic literature (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.16) to be pradhana-ksetrajña-patir gunesah, the chief knower of the body and the master of the three modes of material nature. In the smrti it is said, dasa-bhuto harer eva nanyasyaiva kadacana. The living entities are eternally in the service of the Supreme Lord. This is also confirmed by Lord Caitanya in His teachings. Therefore the description of Brahman mentioned in this verse is in relation to the individual soul, and when the word Brahman is applied to the living entity, it is to be understood that he is vijñana-brahma as opposed to ananda-brahma. Ananda-brahma is the Supreme Brahman Personality of Godhead.
Bg 13.14
sarvatah pani-padam tat
sarvato 'ksi-siro-mukham
sarvatah srutimal loke
sarvam avrtya tisthati
Translation:
Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.
As the sun exists diffusing its unlimited rays, so does the Supersoul, or Supreme Personality of Godhead. He exists in His all-pervading form, and in Him exist all the individual living entities, beginning from the first great teacher, Brahma, down to the small ants. There are unlimited heads, legs, hands and eyes, and unlimited living entities. All are existing in and on the Supersoul. Therefore the Supersoul is all-pervading. The individual soul, however, cannot say that he has his hands, legs and eyes everywhere. That is not possible. If he thinks that under ignorance he is not conscious that his hands and legs are diffused all over but when he attains to proper knowledge he will come to that stage, his thinking is contradictory. This means that the individual soul, having become conditioned by material nature, is not supreme. The Supreme is different from the individual soul. The Supreme Lord can extend His hand without limit; the individual soul cannot. In Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that if anyone offers Him a flower, or a fruit, or a little water, He accepts it. If the Lord is a far distance away, how can He accept things? This is the omnipotence of the Lord: even though He is situated in His own abode, far, far away from earth, He can extend His hand to accept what anyone offers. That is His potency. In the Brahma-samhita (5.37) it is stated, goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah: although He is always engaged in pastimes in His transcendental planet, He is all-pervading. The individual soul cannot claim that he is all-pervading. Therefore this verse describes the Supreme Soul, the Personality of Godhead, not the individual soul.
