Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verse 5

Chapter 7 – Jnana Vijnana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥

Transliteration

apareyamitastvanyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parām .
jīvabhūtāṃ mahābāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat ॥

Meaning

This is My lower nature. But know, O mighty-armed, that different from it is My higher nature, the very life-principle, by which this whole universe is sustained.

Word meanings

अपरा – lower
इयम् – this
इतः – from this
तु – but
अन्याम् – different, other
प्रकृतिम् – nature
विद्धि – know
मे – My
पराम् – higher
जीवभूताम् – the life-principle, the individual souls
महाबाहो – O mighty-armed one
यया – by which
इदम् – this
धार्यते – is sustained
जगत् – universe

Anvaya (word order)

महाबाहो, इयम् अपरा; इतः तु अन्यां जीवभूतां मे परां प्रकृतिं विद्धि, यया इदं जगत् धार्यते ।

Explanation

Krishna now calls the eightfold nature of the previous verse apara, the lower. It is lower because it is insentient, ever-changing and devoid of consciousness in itself. Now he describes His second, higher power — para prakriti, which is jiva-bhuta, the life-principle, conscious by nature.

This higher nature is the consciousness present in all living beings — the principle that sees, knows and experiences. The lower nature builds body and mind, but it is the higher nature that gives them life and awareness. Just as without electricity a bulb, a fan and a machine all lie idle, so without consciousness body and mind are lifeless.

Yayedam dharyate jagat — by this higher nature the universe is sustained. Shankara explains it as the nature in the form of the knower of the field, which enters the world and upholds it. Ramanuja says that insentient matter is the object of experience and the conscious soul the experiencer; the soul upholds and uses the material world for its own karma.

The deep message of the verse is that both matter and spirit are powers of the Lord. All of us living beings belong to the Lord's higher nature; our true nature is divine. The acharyas differ on whether the relation of soul and Lord is ultimately identity (Shankara), part and whole (Ramanuja), or eternal distinction (Madhva), but all agree that the soul depends on the Lord.

Context

Verse 7.4 described the lower nature of eight elements; here the conscious higher nature is described. In the next verse (7.6) Krishna says that all beings arise from these two natures, and that He Himself is the origin and dissolution of the whole universe.

Life lesson

You are not merely a combination of body and mind but a part of divine consciousness. When you look at others, recognise the same divine consciousness in them. This vision increases both self-respect and respect for others.

Key terms

Para prakriti: the Lord's higher, conscious nature
Jiva-bhuta: the life-principle; of the nature of consciousness
Apara: lower, material nature
Dharyate: is sustained, is upheld