Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 8 — Jnana Vijnana Yoga
Sanskrit
रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः | प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ||७-८||
Transliteration
raso.ahamapsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśisūryayoḥ . praṇavaḥ sarvavedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṃ nṛṣu ||7-8||
Hindi Meaning
।।7.8।। हे कौन्तेय ! जल में मैं रस हूँ, चन्द्रमा और सूर्य में प्रकाश हूँ, सब वेदों में प्रणव (ँ़कार) हूँ तथा आकाश में शब्द और पुरुषों में पुरुषत्व हूँ।।
English Meaning
O son of Kuntī, I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable oṁ in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.
Commentary
This verse explains how the Lord is all-pervasive by His diverse material and spiritual energies. The Supreme Lord can be preliminarily perceived by His different energies, and in this way He is realized impersonally. As the demigod in the sun is a person and is perceived by his all-pervading energy, the sunshine, so the Lord, although in His eternal abode, is perceived by His all-pervading diffusive energies. The taste of water is the active principle of water. No one likes to drink sea water, because the pure taste of water is mixed with salt. Attraction for water depends on the purity of the taste, and this pure taste is one of the energies of the Lord. The impersonalist perceives the presence of the Lord in water by its taste, and the personalist also glorifies the Lord for His kindly supplying tasty water to quench man’s thirst. That is the way of perceiving the Supreme. Practically speaking, there is no conflict between personalism and impersonalism. One who knows God knows that the impersonal conception and personal conception are simultaneously present in everything and that there is no contradiction. Therefore Lord Caitanya established His sublime doctrine: acintya bheda - and abheda-tattva – simultaneous oneness and difference. The light of the sun and the moon is also originally emanating from the brahma-jyotir, which is the impersonal effulgence of the Lord. And praṇava, or the oṁ-kāra transcendental sound in the beginning of every Vedic hymn, addresses the Supreme Lord. Because the impersonalists are very much afraid of addressing the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa by His innumerable names, they prefer to vibrate the transcendental sound oṁ-kāra. But they do not realize that oṁ-kāra is the sound representation of Kṛṣṇa. The jurisdiction of Kṛṣṇa consciousness extends everywhere, and one who knows Kṛṣṇa consciousness is blessed. Those who do not know Kṛṣṇa are in illusion, and so knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is liberation, and ignorance of Him is bondage.
Hinglish Commentary
Is verse mein yeh bataya gaya hai ki Bhagwan ka prabhav har jagah hai unki alag-alag material aur spiritual energies ke zariye. Supreme Lord ko hum unki energies ke through pehchaan sakte hain, aur is tarah se unka gyaan humare liye impersonal hota hai. Jaise suraj mein jo demigod hai, woh ek vyakti hai aur uski sab jagah maujood energy, yani suraj ki roshni, se samjha ja sakta hai, waise hi Bhagwan, jo apne eternal abode mein hain, unki sab jagah maujood energies se samjhe ja sakte hain. Pani ka swad uski asli pehchaan hai. Koi bhi samundar ka pani nahi peeta kyunki uska swad namak se mil gaya hota hai. Pani ka akarshan uske swad ki shuddhata par depend karta hai, aur yeh shuddh swad Bhagwan ki ek energy hai. Impersonalist pani ke swad se Bhagwan ki presence ko mehsoos karte hain, jabki personalist Bhagwan ki tarif karte hain kyunki unhone tasty pani diya hai insaan ki pyaas bujhaane ke liye. Yeh hai Supreme ko samajhne ka tareeka. Asal mein, personalism aur impersonalism mein koi conflict nahi hai. Jo Bhagwan ko jaanta hai, woh samajhta hai ki impersonal aur personal conception har cheez mein saath-saath hain aur ismein koi contradiction nahi hai. Isliye Lord Caitanya ne apni sublime doctrine establish ki: acintya bheda - aur abheda-tattva – yani ek saath ekta aur bhinnata. Suraj aur chand ki roshni bhi asal mein brahma-jyotir se nikalti hai, jo ki Bhagwan ki impersonal effulgence hai. Aur praṇava, yaani oṁ-kāra, har Vedic hymn ke shuruaat mein Supreme Lord ko address karta hai. Impersonalists Bhagwan Kṛṣṇa ko unke anek naamon se address karne se darte hain, isliye woh transcendental sound oṁ-kāra ko zyada pasand karte hain. Lekin unhe yeh nahi pata ki oṁ-kāra Kṛṣṇa ka sound representation hai. Kṛṣṇa consciousness ka prabhav har jagah hai, aur jo Kṛṣṇa consciousness ko jaanta hai, woh dhanya hota hai. Jo log Kṛṣṇa ko nahi jaante, woh bhram mein hain, aur Kṛṣṇa ka gyaan mukti hai, jabki unka ignorance bandhan hai.