192. He is and He is Not



In the following verses, Krishna used the word ‘Tat’ which is translated as ‘That’. When we remember or worship Paramatma, we still remain as separate entity. To end this separation ‘Tat’ or ‘That’ is used to describe a state of oneness. ‘Tat’ is also interpreted as the ‘All’, the All-pervading Reality.

Krishna says, “I will declare ‘That’ (‘Tat’) which is to be known, which having known one enjoys immortality; beginningless is the Supreme Spirit who is spoken of as neither existent (sat) nor non-existent (asat) (13.13). With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, ears and mouths everywhere, ‘That’ dwells in the world enveloping all (13.14). Shining in all the sense faculties yet transcending the senses; unattached to creation yet supporting all; free from the gunas (qualities of nature), yet the Enjoyer of them” (13.15). This is in response to Arjuna’s question about ‘what is to be known’.

The fear of death is the foundation of our fears. The loss of reputation or possessions is also a type of death. In other words, overcoming fear is nothing but immortality. Krishna assures that one enjoys immortality as one is freed from all fears once ‘That’ is known.

Earlier, Krishna described ‘sat’ as eternal and ‘asat’ as the one which wasn’t there in the past and which wouldn’t be there in the future (2.16); and learn to differentiate between them. A rope-snake analogy is often quoted to understand this intricacy. Krishna earlier said He is both and further says ‘That’ is neither. It’s about developing the ability to separate both and subsequently realising that ‘That’ is both as well as neither. Similarly, ‘That’ is both sagun (form) and nirgun (formless). With eyes and ears everywhere, ‘That’ perceives everything; with hands everywhere, ‘That’ helping hand is available to everyone who approaches ‘That’ with shraddha (trust) and bhakti (devotion).

Our mind is trained to divide whereas ‘ought to be known’ is an assimilation of apparent contradictions. It’s like a mixture of all colours into white and the wave particle duality of light. In this context, Krishna had earlier mentioned, “Once that is known, there is nothing else left to be known” (7.2).


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