LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

    SUMMARISED THEME 

    CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

    • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
    • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
    • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
    • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
    • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
    • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
    • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
    • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
    • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
    • Situated in one’s hearT
    • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
    • Supreme proprietor and controller
    • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
    • Transcendental enjoyer
    • Overseer and permitter
    • Maintainer and real friend
    Text 13.19

    THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

    Learnings from Purport 13.19

    (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

    (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

    • But the devotees do not agree to this

    (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

    • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

    (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

    • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

      LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

      SUMMARISED THEME 

      CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

      • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
      • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
      • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
      • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
      • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
      • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
      • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
      • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
      • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
      • Situated in one’s hearT
      • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
      • Supreme proprietor and controller
      • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
      • Transcendental enjoyer
      • Overseer and permitter
      • Maintainer and real friend
      Text 13.19

      THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

      Learnings from Purport 13.19

      (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

      (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

      • But the devotees do not agree to this

      (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

      • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

      (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

      • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

      (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

      (b) “As devouring all”

      LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

      Text 13.18

      THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

      • Source of light in all luminous objects
      • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
      • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
      • He is situated in everyone’s heart
      Learnings from Purport 13.18

      (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

      • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
      • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

      (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

      • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

      (c) His knowledge is transcendental

      • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
      • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
      • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
        o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

      (d) He is everyone’s heart

      • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
        o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
        o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

      LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

      SUMMARISED THEME 

      CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

      • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
      • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
      • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
      • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
      • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
      • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
      • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
      • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
      • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
      • Situated in one’s hearT
      • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
      • Supreme proprietor and controller
      • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
      • Transcendental enjoyer
      • Overseer and permitter
      • Maintainer and real friend
      Text 13.19

      THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

      Learnings from Purport 13.19

      (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

      (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

      • But the devotees do not agree to this

      (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

      • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

      (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

      • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

        (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

        (b) “As devouring all”

        LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

        Text 13.18

        THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

        • Source of light in all luminous objects
        • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
        • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
        • He is situated in everyone’s heart
        Learnings from Purport 13.18

        (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

        • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
        • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

        (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

        • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

        (c) His knowledge is transcendental

        • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
        • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
        • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
          o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

        (d) He is everyone’s heart

        • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
          o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
          o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

        LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

        SUMMARISED THEME 

        CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

        • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
        • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
        • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
        • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
        • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
        • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
        • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
        • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
        • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
        • Situated in one’s hearT
        • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
        • Supreme proprietor and controller
        • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
        • Transcendental enjoyer
        • Overseer and permitter
        • Maintainer and real friend
        Text 13.19

        THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

        Learnings from Purport 13.19

        (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

        (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

        • But the devotees do not agree to this

        (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

        • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

        (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

        • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

        (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

        (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

        Text 13.17

        THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

        • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
        • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
        Learnings from Purport 13.5

        (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

        • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
           o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
        • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
        • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

        (b) “As devouring all”

        • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

        LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

        Text 13.18

        THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

        • Source of light in all luminous objects
        • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
        • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
        • He is situated in everyone’s heart
        Learnings from Purport 13.18

        (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

        • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
        • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

        (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

        • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

        (c) His knowledge is transcendental

        • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
        • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
        • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
          o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

        (d) He is everyone’s heart

        • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
          o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
          o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

        LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

        SUMMARISED THEME 

        CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

        • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
        • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
        • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
        • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
        • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
        • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
        • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
        • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
        • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
        • Situated in one’s hearT
        • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
        • Supreme proprietor and controller
        • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
        • Transcendental enjoyer
        • Overseer and permitter
        • Maintainer and real friend
        Text 13.19

        THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

        Learnings from Purport 13.19

        (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

        (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

        • But the devotees do not agree to this

        (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

        • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

        (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

        • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

          (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

          (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

          Text 13.17

          THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

          • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
          • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
          Learnings from Purport 13.5

          (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

          • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
             o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
          • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
          • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

          (b) “As devouring all”

          • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

          LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

          Text 13.18

          THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

          • Source of light in all luminous objects
          • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
          • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
          • He is situated in everyone’s heart
          Learnings from Purport 13.18

          (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

          • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
          • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

          (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

          • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

          (c) His knowledge is transcendental

          • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
          • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
          • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
            o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

          (d) He is everyone’s heart

          • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
            o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
            o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

          LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

          SUMMARISED THEME 

          CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

          • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
          • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
          • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
          • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
          • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
          • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
          • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
          • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
          • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
          • Situated in one’s hearT
          • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
          • Supreme proprietor and controller
          • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
          • Transcendental enjoyer
          • Overseer and permitter
          • Maintainer and real friend
          Text 13.19

          THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

          Learnings from Purport 13.19

          (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

          (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

          • But the devotees do not agree to this

          (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

          • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

          (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

          • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

          (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

          (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

          (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

          Text 13.16

          THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

          Learnings from Purport 13.16

          (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

          • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

          (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

          • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
          • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
          • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
          • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
          Text 13.17

          THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

          • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
          • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
          Learnings from Purport 13.5

          (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

          • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
             o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
          • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
          • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

          (b) “As devouring all”

          • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

          LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

          Text 13.18

          THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

          • Source of light in all luminous objects
          • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
          • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
          • He is situated in everyone’s heart
          Learnings from Purport 13.18

          (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

          • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
          • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

          (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

          • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

          (c) His knowledge is transcendental

          • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
          • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
          • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
            o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

          (d) He is everyone’s heart

          • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
            o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
            o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

          LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

          SUMMARISED THEME 

          CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

          • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
          • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
          • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
          • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
          • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
          • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
          • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
          • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
          • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
          • Situated in one’s hearT
          • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
          • Supreme proprietor and controller
          • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
          • Transcendental enjoyer
          • Overseer and permitter
          • Maintainer and real friend
          Text 13.19

          THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

          Learnings from Purport 13.19

          (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

          (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

          • But the devotees do not agree to this

          (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

          • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

          (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

          • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

            (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

            (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

            (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

            Text 13.16

            THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

            Learnings from Purport 13.16

            (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

            • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

            (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

            • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
            • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
            • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
            • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
            Text 13.17

            THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

            • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
            • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
            Learnings from Purport 13.5

            (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

            • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
               o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
            • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
            • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

            (b) “As devouring all”

            • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

            LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

            Text 13.18

            THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

            • Source of light in all luminous objects
            • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
            • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
            • He is situated in everyone’s heart
            Learnings from Purport 13.18

            (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

            • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
            • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

            (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

            • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

            (c) His knowledge is transcendental

            • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
            • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
            • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
              o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

            (d) He is everyone’s heart

            • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
              o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
              o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

            LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

            SUMMARISED THEME 

            CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

            • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
            • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
            • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
            • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
            • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
            • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
            • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
            • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
            • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
            • Situated in one’s hearT
            • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
            • Supreme proprietor and controller
            • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
            • Transcendental enjoyer
            • Overseer and permitter
            • Maintainer and real friend
            Text 13.19

            THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

            Learnings from Purport 13.19

            (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

            (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

            • But the devotees do not agree to this

            (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

            • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

            (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

            • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

            Text 13.15

            THEME: Supersoul is “Transcendental

            Learnings from Purport 13.15

            (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

            • Does not have material senses like ours
            • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19: Distinction between Supersoul and conditioned soul
              o Supreme Lord has no hands which are materially contaminated but has transcendental hands – accepts whatever sacrifice offered to Him
              o Has no material eyes – but has spiritual eyes because He can see past, present and future (e.g. Bg. 7.26)
              o Has no material legs but has spiritual legs – can travel throughout the universe
            • Conclusion – The Lord is not impersonal but definitely has spiritual senses
              o How can we expect ‘part and parcel’ to have something which the Lord (the original source) does not have

            (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

            • Vedic literatures explains His whole embodiment is ‘spiritual’ – some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are as follows
              o Full of all opulences
              o Proprietor of all wealth and all energies
              o Most intelligent and full of knowledge
              o Maintainer of all living entities and witness of all activities

            (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

            • We are materially contaminated; even the impersonalists are materially affected
            • Only by transcendental elevation, one can see the Lord’s form
            Text 13.16

            THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

            Learnings from Purport 13.16

            (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

            • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

            (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

            • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
            • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
            • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
            • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
            Text 13.17

            THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

            • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
            • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
            Learnings from Purport 13.5

            (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

            • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
               o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
            • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
            • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

            (b) “As devouring all”

            • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

            LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

            Text 13.18

            THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

            • Source of light in all luminous objects
            • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
            • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
            • He is situated in everyone’s heart
            Learnings from Purport 13.18

            (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

            • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
            • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

            (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

            • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

            (c) His knowledge is transcendental

            • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
            • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
            • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
              o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

            (d) He is everyone’s heart

            • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
              o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
              o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

            LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

            SUMMARISED THEME 

            CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

            • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
            • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
            • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
            • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
            • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
            • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
            • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
            • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
            • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
            • Situated in one’s hearT
            • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
            • Supreme proprietor and controller
            • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
            • Transcendental enjoyer
            • Overseer and permitter
            • Maintainer and real friend
            Text 13.19

            THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

            Learnings from Purport 13.19

            (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

            (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

            • But the devotees do not agree to this

            (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

            • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

            (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

            • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

              Text 13.15

              THEME: Supersoul is “Transcendental

              Learnings from Purport 13.15

              (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

              • Does not have material senses like ours
              • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19: Distinction between Supersoul and conditioned soul
                o Supreme Lord has no hands which are materially contaminated but has transcendental hands – accepts whatever sacrifice offered to Him
                o Has no material eyes – but has spiritual eyes because He can see past, present and future (e.g. Bg. 7.26)
                o Has no material legs but has spiritual legs – can travel throughout the universe
              • Conclusion – The Lord is not impersonal but definitely has spiritual senses
                o How can we expect ‘part and parcel’ to have something which the Lord (the original source) does not have

              (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

              • Vedic literatures explains His whole embodiment is ‘spiritual’ – some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are as follows
                o Full of all opulences
                o Proprietor of all wealth and all energies
                o Most intelligent and full of knowledge
                o Maintainer of all living entities and witness of all activities

              (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

              • We are materially contaminated; even the impersonalists are materially affected
              • Only by transcendental elevation, one can see the Lord’s form
              Text 13.16

              THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

              Learnings from Purport 13.16

              (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

              • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

              (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

              • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
              • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
              • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
              • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
              Text 13.17

              THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

              • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
              • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
              Learnings from Purport 13.5

              (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

              • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
                 o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
              • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
              • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

              (b) “As devouring all”

              • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

              LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

              Text 13.18

              THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

              • Source of light in all luminous objects
              • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
              • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
              • He is situated in everyone’s heart
              Learnings from Purport 13.18

              (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

              • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
              • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

              (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

              • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

              (c) His knowledge is transcendental

              • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
              • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
              • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
                o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

              (d) He is everyone’s heart

              • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
                o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
                o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

              LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

              SUMMARISED THEME 

              CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

              • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
              • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
              • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
              • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
              • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
              • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
              • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
              • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
              • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
              • Situated in one’s hearT
              • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
              • Supreme proprietor and controller
              • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
              • Transcendental enjoyer
              • Overseer and permitter
              • Maintainer and real friend
              Text 13.19

              THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

              Learnings from Purport 13.19

              (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

              (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

              • But the devotees do not agree to this

              (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

              • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

              (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

              • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

              (a) Living entity as the “knowable”

              (b) Supreme Lord as ‘Supersoul’: Srila Prabhupada gives references for the presence of the Supersoul as the supreme knower and thus different from the individual soul

              (c) This verse refers to the living entity, i.e Vijnana Brahman and not Ananda Brahman

              Text 13.14

              THEME : Supersoul is ‘’All Pervading’’

              Learnings from Purport 13.14

              Srila Prabhupada’s strongly confirms that this verse, which refers to the All-pervading, describes the Supersoul, not the living entity

              (a) Supersoul has hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces everywhere

              • Supersoul is All-pervading – Analogy: Sun is all pervading by diffusing unlimited rays
              • In Him exist all unlimited individual living entities (Brahma to small ant)

              (b) Purport proves that Text 13.14 talks about Supersoul and not the individual soul – as follows:

              • Individual soul cannot claim that he has legs, hands, etc everywhere
                o To think this, is the effect of ignorance – If one thinks that under ignorance one is not conscious that his legs and hands are diffused everywhere, but when he attains to proper knowledge he attains to that stage, his thinking is contradictory
                    ▪ Refutation: If living entity has become conditioned by material nature, then how can he be Supreme
                o Individual soul cannot extend his hands and legs etc everywhere
                    ▪ Supreme Soul can extend without limit as shown by Ref. Bg. 9.26: ‘’patram pushpam…” and Brahma Samhita 5.37: “goloka eva…”

              Text 13.15

              THEME: Supersoul is “Transcendental

              Learnings from Purport 13.15

              (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

              • Does not have material senses like ours
              • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19: Distinction between Supersoul and conditioned soul
                o Supreme Lord has no hands which are materially contaminated but has transcendental hands – accepts whatever sacrifice offered to Him
                o Has no material eyes – but has spiritual eyes because He can see past, present and future (e.g. Bg. 7.26)
                o Has no material legs but has spiritual legs – can travel throughout the universe
              • Conclusion – The Lord is not impersonal but definitely has spiritual senses
                o How can we expect ‘part and parcel’ to have something which the Lord (the original source) does not have

              (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

              • Vedic literatures explains His whole embodiment is ‘spiritual’ – some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are as follows
                o Full of all opulences
                o Proprietor of all wealth and all energies
                o Most intelligent and full of knowledge
                o Maintainer of all living entities and witness of all activities

              (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

              • We are materially contaminated; even the impersonalists are materially affected
              • Only by transcendental elevation, one can see the Lord’s form
              Text 13.16

              THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

              Learnings from Purport 13.16

              (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

              • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

              (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

              • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
              • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
              • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
              • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
              Text 13.17

              THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

              • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
              • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
              Learnings from Purport 13.5

              (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

              • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
                 o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
              • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
              • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

              (b) “As devouring all”

              • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

              LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

              Text 13.18

              THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

              • Source of light in all luminous objects
              • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
              • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
              • He is situated in everyone’s heart
              Learnings from Purport 13.18

              (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

              • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
              • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

              (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

              • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

              (c) His knowledge is transcendental

              • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
              • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
              • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
                o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

              (d) He is everyone’s heart

              • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
                o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
                o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

              LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

              SUMMARISED THEME 

              CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

              • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
              • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
              • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
              • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
              • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
              • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
              • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
              • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
              • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
              • Situated in one’s hearT
              • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
              • Supreme proprietor and controller
              • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
              • Transcendental enjoyer
              • Overseer and permitter
              • Maintainer and real friend
              Text 13.19

              THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

              Learnings from Purport 13.19

              (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

              (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

              • But the devotees do not agree to this

              (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

              • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

              (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

              • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

                (a) Living entity as the “knowable”

                (b) Supreme Lord as ‘Supersoul’: Srila Prabhupada gives references for the presence of the Supersoul as the supreme knower and thus different from the individual soul

                (c) This verse refers to the living entity, i.e Vijnana Brahman and not Ananda Brahman

                Text 13.14

                THEME : Supersoul is ‘’All Pervading’’

                Learnings from Purport 13.14

                Srila Prabhupada’s strongly confirms that this verse, which refers to the All-pervading, describes the Supersoul, not the living entity

                (a) Supersoul has hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces everywhere

                • Supersoul is All-pervading – Analogy: Sun is all pervading by diffusing unlimited rays
                • In Him exist all unlimited individual living entities (Brahma to small ant)

                (b) Purport proves that Text 13.14 talks about Supersoul and not the individual soul – as follows:

                • Individual soul cannot claim that he has legs, hands, etc everywhere
                  o To think this, is the effect of ignorance – If one thinks that under ignorance one is not conscious that his legs and hands are diffused everywhere, but when he attains to proper knowledge he attains to that stage, his thinking is contradictory
                      ▪ Refutation: If living entity has become conditioned by material nature, then how can he be Supreme
                  o Individual soul cannot extend his hands and legs etc everywhere
                      ▪ Supreme Soul can extend without limit as shown by Ref. Bg. 9.26: ‘’patram pushpam…” and Brahma Samhita 5.37: “goloka eva…”

                Text 13.15

                THEME: Supersoul is “Transcendental

                Learnings from Purport 13.15

                (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

                • Does not have material senses like ours
                • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19: Distinction between Supersoul and conditioned soul
                  o Supreme Lord has no hands which are materially contaminated but has transcendental hands – accepts whatever sacrifice offered to Him
                  o Has no material eyes – but has spiritual eyes because He can see past, present and future (e.g. Bg. 7.26)
                  o Has no material legs but has spiritual legs – can travel throughout the universe
                • Conclusion – The Lord is not impersonal but definitely has spiritual senses
                  o How can we expect ‘part and parcel’ to have something which the Lord (the original source) does not have

                (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

                • Vedic literatures explains His whole embodiment is ‘spiritual’ – some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are as follows
                  o Full of all opulences
                  o Proprietor of all wealth and all energies
                  o Most intelligent and full of knowledge
                  o Maintainer of all living entities and witness of all activities

                (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

                • We are materially contaminated; even the impersonalists are materially affected
                • Only by transcendental elevation, one can see the Lord’s form
                Text 13.16

                THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

                Learnings from Purport 13.16

                (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

                • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

                (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

                • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
                • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
                • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
                • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
                Text 13.17

                THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

                • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
                • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
                Learnings from Purport 13.5

                (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

                • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
                   o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
                • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
                • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

                (b) “As devouring all”

                • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

                LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

                Text 13.18

                THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

                • Source of light in all luminous objects
                • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
                • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
                • He is situated in everyone’s heart
                Learnings from Purport 13.18

                (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

                • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
                • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

                (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

                • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

                (c) His knowledge is transcendental

                • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
                • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
                • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
                  o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

                (d) He is everyone’s heart

                • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
                  o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
                  o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

                LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

                SUMMARISED THEME 

                CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

                • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
                • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
                • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
                • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
                • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
                • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
                • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
                • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
                • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
                • Situated in one’s hearT
                • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
                • Supreme proprietor and controller
                • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
                • Transcendental enjoyer
                • Overseer and permitter
                • Maintainer and real friend
                Text 13.19

                THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

                Learnings from Purport 13.19

                (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

                (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

                • But the devotees do not agree to this

                (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

                • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

                (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

                • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

                KRISHNA EXPLAINS ‘THE OBJECT OF KNOWLEDGE’ (JNEYA) (13.13-13.19)

                Text 13.13

                THEME :

                Jneya (knowable) – Soul and Supersoul are the real objects to be known

                • Text 13.13 describes the first object of knowledge, i.e. the Soul (living-entity)
                • Benefit of knowing the knowable: Relishes the nectar of life
                Learnings from Purport 13.13

                (a) Living entity as the “knowable”

                • Chapter 2 describes the living entity as eternal
                  o No history of date of jiva’s manifestation available (therefore called ‘anadi’)
                • Supporting Ref. Katha Upanisad: “na jayate mriyate…” – knower of body has no birth and death, but is full of knowledge

                (b) Supreme Lord as ‘Supersoul’: Srila Prabhupada gives references for the presence of the Supersoul as the supreme knower and thus different from the individual soul

                • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad: Supersoul is the chief knower of body and master of three modes
                • Ref. Smrti: Living entities are eternally servant of the Lord
                • Ref. Lord Caitanya: “Only Krishna is the Supreme Lord, all others are His servants’’

                (c) This verse refers to the living entity, i.e Vijnana Brahman and not Ananda Brahman

                • Ananda Brahman is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
                Text 13.14

                THEME : Supersoul is ‘’All Pervading’’

                Learnings from Purport 13.14

                Srila Prabhupada’s strongly confirms that this verse, which refers to the All-pervading, describes the Supersoul, not the living entity

                (a) Supersoul has hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces everywhere

                • Supersoul is All-pervading – Analogy: Sun is all pervading by diffusing unlimited rays
                • In Him exist all unlimited individual living entities (Brahma to small ant)

                (b) Purport proves that Text 13.14 talks about Supersoul and not the individual soul – as follows:

                • Individual soul cannot claim that he has legs, hands, etc everywhere
                  o To think this, is the effect of ignorance – If one thinks that under ignorance one is not conscious that his legs and hands are diffused everywhere, but when he attains to proper knowledge he attains to that stage, his thinking is contradictory
                      ▪ Refutation: If living entity has become conditioned by material nature, then how can he be Supreme
                  o Individual soul cannot extend his hands and legs etc everywhere
                      ▪ Supreme Soul can extend without limit as shown by Ref. Bg. 9.26: ‘’patram pushpam…” and Brahma Samhita 5.37: “goloka eva…”

                Text 13.15

                THEME: Supersoul is “Transcendental

                Learnings from Purport 13.15

                (a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

                • Does not have material senses like ours
                • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19: Distinction between Supersoul and conditioned soul
                  o Supreme Lord has no hands which are materially contaminated but has transcendental hands – accepts whatever sacrifice offered to Him
                  o Has no material eyes – but has spiritual eyes because He can see past, present and future (e.g. Bg. 7.26)
                  o Has no material legs but has spiritual legs – can travel throughout the universe
                • Conclusion – The Lord is not impersonal but definitely has spiritual senses
                  o How can we expect ‘part and parcel’ to have something which the Lord (the original source) does not have

                (b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

                • Vedic literatures explains His whole embodiment is ‘spiritual’ – some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are as follows
                  o Full of all opulences
                  o Proprietor of all wealth and all energies
                  o Most intelligent and full of knowledge
                  o Maintainer of all living entities and witness of all activities

                (c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

                • We are materially contaminated; even the impersonalists are materially affected
                • Only by transcendental elevation, one can see the Lord’s form
                Text 13.16

                THEME:  Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

                Learnings from Purport 13.16

                (a) Supreme Truth is outside and inside of all living beings

                • Ref. Vedic Literatures explains that “Narayana is residing both outside and inside of every living entity”; present in both the spiritual world and the material world and He is far away, but also near.

                (b) Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know

                • Material mind and senses cannot understand Him
                • Only possible, if senses are purified by Krishna consciousness
                • Ref. Bg. 11.54: “bhaktya tv….” and Brahma Samhita: “premanjana…”
                • That Krishna described the knowable in Text 13.16 as avijneyam, unknowable, indicates that the Supersoul cannot be understood by the material senses. Only by hearing with devotion from transcendental sources can He be understood.
                Text 13.17

                THEME : Supersoul is “Undivided”

                • Although Supersoul appears divided, but is situated as one
                • Although maintainer of all living entities, He devours and develops all
                Learnings from Purport 13.5

                (a) Examples in Vedic Literatures

                • Lord’s presence in everyone’s heart does not imply that He is divided
                   o e.g. Analogy: Sun, if at meridian, is in one place but if we go 5000 miles in all directions; everyone experiences the sun’s presence on their head.
                • Vedic literatures say: “One Vishnu” is present everywhere by His omnipotence
                • Vedic Hymns confirm Him as the ‘origin of all’ and ‘rest of all’.

                (b) “As devouring all”

                • Explained in Chapter 11 – “I have come to devour all in the form of time”.

                LINK BETWEEN 13.17 & 13.18 : Finally, in Text 13.18, Krishna clearly reveals the identity of the one He has been describing. The jneyam is the Supersoul, who is hrdi-sarvasya, within the heart of all. Srila Prabhupada kindly informed us earlier in his translations and purports to Texts 13.14, 13.15, and 13.17 that the supreme knowable object, who has been described as unknowable, is nevertheless situated in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. Srila Prabhupada cites several verses from the Svetasvatara Upanishad to substantiate that, these Bhagavad-gita texts have been describing neither the living entity nor Brahman, but the Supersoul.

                Text 13.18

                THEME: He is the “Source of all knowledge and enlightenment”

                • Source of light in all luminous objects
                • Is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested
                • He is knowledge, object of knowledge and goal of knowledge
                • He is situated in everyone’s heart
                Learnings from Purport 13.18

                (a) Supersoul is the source of light of sun, moon, stars

                • Ref. Vedic literatures: Spiritual kingdom has no need of sun or moon because the effulgence of the Lord is there
                • Material world – Brahmajoyti is covered by mahat-tattva and therefore we need the sun, moon etc.

                (b) This establishes that the Supreme Lord is not in the material world but far far away – beyond the darkness of the material world

                • Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8 – “aditya varnam tamsah parastat”

                (c) His knowledge is transcendental

                • Ref. Vedic literatures – “Brahman is concentrated transcendental knowledge”
                • To one anxious to go to spiritual world, knowledge is given by the Lord in the heart
                • Ref. Vedic literatures (Svetasvatara Upanisad) explains the goal of ultimate knowledge:
                  o “Only by knowing Him – One can surpass the boundaries of birth and death”

                (d) He is everyone’s heart

                • But He is different from the soul (There are two knowers)
                  o He has hands and legs everywhere, but jiva’s hands and legs are localized
                  o Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad – Supreme Personality of Godhead is Prabhu or master of all living entities and therefore He is the shelter of all living entities

                LINK BETWEEN 13.18 & 13.19 : Krishna ends his explanation of the ‘knowable’ by describing to Arjuna the qualifications of one able to understand these topics.

                SUMMARISED THEME 

                CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERSOUL 

                • All pervading – His hands, legs, eyes, ears, heads and faces are everywhere
                • Original source of all senses, yet He is without senses
                • Unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living entities
                • Transcendental to the modes of material nature, although He is the master of all modes
                • All reconciling – Outside and inside of all living beings
                • Subtle and beyond the perception of material senses
                • Undivided – Although appears divided among all beings
                • Maintainer of all, also devours and develops all
                • Source of all knowledge and enlightenment
                • Situated in one’s hearT
                • Superknower – Knower of all bodies
                • Supreme proprietor and controller
                • Infallible and always superior to the spirit soul
                • Transcendental enjoyer
                • Overseer and permitter
                • Maintainer and real friend
                Text 13.19

                THEME: Science of Kshetra, Kshetra-jna, Jnana and Jneyam is most fully understood only by devotees (madbhakta).

                Learnings from Purport 13.19

                (a) Vijnana – Knower, knowable and process of knowing is called “Science of knowledge” or vijnana

                (b) Opinion of monists – At ultimate stage the above mentioned three items become one

                • But the devotees do not agree to this

                (c) Knowledge means understanding oneself in Krishna consciousness and realizing Krishna in everything

                • Knowledge is nothing but preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfect.

                (d) Conclusion – Texts 13.13 – 13.18 explain the “Soul and Supersoul as the knowable”

                • Supersoul is the ultimate object to be known

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