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The Field and the Knower of the Field · 35 verses
Ask Krishna about this chapterArjuna said: O Keshava, I wish to know Prakriti and Purusha, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and that which is to be known.
The Blessed Lord said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field; he who knows it is called the knower of the field by those who are knowers of that truth.
Know Me also as the knower of the field in all fields, O Bharata. The knowledge of the field and the knower of the field — that is true knowledge in My view.
What is called Matter, of what it is composed, whence it came, and why it changes, what the Self is, and what its power - this I will now briefly set forth.
This has been sung by the sages in manifold ways, separately in various Vedic hymns, and also through the words of the Brahma Sutras, which are full of reasoning and…
The five great elements, egoism, intellect, and the Unmanifest as well; the eleven senses, and the five objects of the senses;
Desire, aversion, happiness, sorrow, the aggregate, consciousness, and fortitude — this is the field, briefly described along with its modifications.
Humility, sincerity, harmlessness, forgiveness, rectitude, service to the Master, purity, steadfastness, and self-control;
Renouncing the delights of the senses, being without pride, having a right understanding of the painful problem of birth and death, and of age and sickness;
Non-attachment and absence of clinging to sons, spouse, home, and the like, and constant even-mindedness upon the occurrence of the desirable and the undesirable;
Unswerving devotion to Me, with concentration on Me and Me alone, a love for solitude, and indifference to social life;
Constancy in knowledge of the Self, and contemplation directed toward the goal of knowledge of Reality — this is declared to be knowledge, and what is contrary to this…
I shall declare that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality — the beginningless supreme Brahman, subordinate to Me, which is called neither being…
It has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, ears everywhere in the world — it exists pervading all.
Beyond the senses, it yet shines through every sense perception; bound to nothing, it yet sustains everything; unaffected by the qualities, it still enjoys them all.
It is within all beings, yet outside; motionless yet moving; too subtle to be perceived; far away yet ever near.
In all beings, undivided yet living in division, it is the upholder of all, both creator and destroyer alike.
It is the light of lights, beyond the reach of darkness; the wisdom, the only thing worth knowing or that wisdom can teach; the presence in the hearts of all.
Thus the field, knowledge, and the knowable have been briefly described. My devotee, understanding this, becomes worthy of attaining My nature.
Know that both Prakriti and Purusha are beginningless; and know that all modifications and the gunas are born of Prakriti.
Nature is said to be the cause in the production of effects and their instruments, while the soul is said to be the cause in the experience of pleasure and pain.
The soul seated in Nature indeed experiences the qualities born of Nature; its attachment to the qualities is the cause of its birth in good and evil wombs.
Thus, in the body of man dwells the Supreme God; He who sees, permits, upholds, and enjoys is the Highest God and the Highest Self.
He who understands God and Nature, along with her qualities, whatever his condition in life may be, will not come back to earth.
Some realize the Supreme by meditating, with its aid, on the Self within; others by pure reason; and still others by right action.
Others, again, having no direct knowledge but only hearing from others, still worship, and, if they are true to the teachings, they too will cross the sea of death.
Whatever being comes into existence, whether moving or unmoving, know that it arises from the union of the field and the knower of the field, O best of the Bharatas.
He who can see the Supreme Lord in all beings, the Imperishable amidst the perishable, he is the one who truly sees.
For one who sees the Lord equally present everywhere does not destroy the Self by the self, and thereby attains the supreme goal.
He who understands that it is only the Law of Nature that brings action to fruition, and that the Self never acts, alone knows the Truth.
He who sees the diverse forms of life all rooted in One and growing forth from Him, shall indeed find the Absolute.
The Supreme Spirit, O Prince, is without beginning, has no qualities, and is imperishable. Though it is within the body, it does not act, nor is it affected by action.
As space, though present everywhere, remains unaffected due to its subtlety, so too the Self, though present in all forms, retains its purity unalloyed.
Just as the one sun illumines this entire world, so does the knower of the field illumine the entire field, O Bharata.
Those who, with the eyes of wisdom, thus see the difference between Matter and Spirit, and know how to liberate life from the Law of Nature, attain the Supreme.