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Bhagavad Gita · 13.15 · Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field·15 of 35

सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च

sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam

asaktaṁ sarva-bhṛich chaiva nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛi cha

Sanskrit recitation

The field and the knower · 13.1–13.18 · Teaching

Translation

Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without being attached to them; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet the experiencer of them.

Meaning

Brahman sees without eyes, hears without ears, smells without nose, eats without mouth, feels without skin, grasps without hands, walks without feet. He is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the unthought thinker. Other than Him there is no seer, no hearer, no thinker. He is the Self, the Inner Ruler, the Immortal. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III.7.23) He is free from the,alities of Nature and yet He is the enjoyer of the alities.All the senses The five organs of knowledge and the five organs of action, the inner senses, mind and intellect come under the term all the senses. The organs of action and those of knowledge perform their functions in conjunction with the mind and the intellect. They cannot function independently. Therefore, the mind and the intellect are included in the term all the senses.Brahman is transcendental and unmanifest, but It manifests Itself through the limiting adjuncts of the extrnal and the internal senses. As It is destitute of the senses It is unattached and yet It supports all. It is the support or substratum of everything. It is destitute of the alities of Nature and yet It is the enjoyer of those alities. Brahman is really mysterious.This verse is taken from the Svetasvataropanishad 3.17.

After Swami Sivananda

The field and the knower· 13.1–13.18

Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.

Word-by-word
cha
although
eva
indeed
sarva
all
guṇa
sense-objects
asaktam
unattached
indriya
senses
ābhāsam
the perciever
nirguṇam
beyond the three modes of material nature
vivarjitam
devoid of
sarva-bhṛit
the sustainer of all
guṇa-bhoktṛi
the enjoyer of the three modes of material nature

Related verses

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