200. Soul Illuminates the Body


Krishna says, “Just as one Sun illuminates the entire solar system, the individual soul illuminates the entire body” (13.34). The soul is needed to bring life to the body which is like electricity bringing life to appliances.

The thirteenth chapter of the Gita is titled ‘Kshetra (field) Kshetrajna (knower of field) Vibhag Yoga’ where Krishna clarifies that the physical body is called kshetra whose attributes include ahankaar (I am doer), intellect (buddhi), mind, ten senses, five objects of the senses, desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, material body and consciousness (chetana). The knower of kshetra is called kshetrajna.

Krishna mentions about twenty aspects of knowledge, and he keeps humility at the beginning indicating that it is a virtue rather than a weakness. Other aspects of knowledge include forgiveness, self-control, dispassion (vairagya) towards sense-objects, absence of ahankaar, non-attachment and eternal equanimity towards desirable and undesirable circumstances. Krishna further explains about the object of this knowledge. One enjoys immortality once one attains ‘That’ which is to be known. It is neither existent (sat) nor nonexistent (asat) and dwells in the world enveloping all. He gives a path to attain ‘That’ through meditation (dhyan), awareness, karma or listening to the saints.

Krishna talks about prakriti (nature) which is responsible for cause-and-effect; and purush  (spirit) who is responsible for the experience of sukh (pleasure) and dukh (pain) through subjective interpretation. Both are anaadi (beginningless).

Krishna concludes the thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita and says, “Those who perceive with the eyes of knowledge - the difference between the kshetra and the kshetrajna, and the process of prakriti moksham (ultimate freedom from nature), attain the param (supreme)” (13.35). This is an assurance from Lord Krishna that we reach the eternal state once we attain existential understanding of kshetra and kshetrajna.


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