Chapter 13

Based on its content, the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita can be divided into three sections. The first six chapters describe Karm Yog or the path of duty.  The second set, from chapters seven to twelve, glorify the path of bhakti or loving devotion of God. They also describe the opulence of God as the divine nectar that nourishes devotion. The third set, starting from this chapter, expounds upon tattva jñāna or the of knowledge scriptural terms and principles.  In this chapter, Shree Krishna introduces two terms—kṣhetra (the field) and kṣhetrajña (knower of the field). In simple terms, the ‘field’ may be considered the body and the soul as the ‘knower of the field.’ However, the field is actually much more than just the physical body—it includes the mind, intellect, ego, and all other components of material energy that are part of our personality. In broader terms, except for the soul, who is the ‘knower of the field,’ all material aspects of our entire personality are considered—the ‘field’ of the body. When a farmer sows’ paddy in his field, he can only harvest paddy and not wheat or maize from that field. Similarly, the good or bad thoughts and actions that we sow in our field, that is our body, we harvest the resultant destiny. The Buddha taught: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts, and it is made of our thoughts.”  Thus, as we think, that is what we become.  The great American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “The ancestor of every action is a thought.” Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate appropriate thoughts and actions in the field of our body. For this, we should be able to differentiate between kṣhetra, the field, and kṣhetrajña, the knower of the field. Shree Krishna gives a detailed analysis of these two aspects of human existence. He starts by enumerating the material elements that encompass kṣhetra, the field of the human body. He calls the feelings, sentiments, emotions, etc., that arise in this field (body) as modifications, and the virtues and pious good qualities purify the field and illuminate it with knowledge. This knowledge helps us realize and understand the existence of our soul, which is the kṣhetrajña or the knower of the field. Shree Krishna then starts describing God, the supreme knower of the fields of all living creatures. He says that the Supreme Lord possesses opposite attributes at the same time, which seem contradictory. Understand that God is all-pervading in His creation, yet, He sits in the heart of every living being. Thus, He is the Supreme Soul. After describing the Supreme Soul, the soul, and the material nature of the living beings, Shree Krishna explains which of these is responsible for their actions. Also, who is responsible for the cause and effect in the universe at large. Those who understand these differences and identify the correct causes of actions; are the ones who see the ultimate truth; and are situated in knowledge. They do not degrade themselves by the illusions of their minds and perceive the presence of the Supreme Soul in every living being. In the same material nature, they are able to identify a variety of living beings and look at all existence pervaded by a common spiritual substratum. With this knowledge, they attain consciousness of the Brahman or God-realization.

Verse 1

Arjuna said, "I wish to learn about Nature and the Spirit, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and that which ought to be known, O Kesava."

Verse 2

The Blessed Lord said, "O Arjuna, this body is called the field; he who knows it is called the knower of the field by those who know them."

Verse 3

Do thou also know Me as the knower of the field in all fields, O Arjuna. Knowledge of both the field and the knower of the field is considered by Me to be the knowledge.

Verse 4

Hear from Me in brief what the field is, of what nature it is, what its modifications are, whence it is, who He is, and what His powers are.

Verse 5

Sages have sung in many ways, with various distinctive chants and also with suggestive words indicative of the Absolute, full of reasoning and decisive.

Verse 6

The great elements, egoism, intellect, and also the Unmanifested Nature, the ten senses, and one mind, and the five objects of the senses.

Verse 7

Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate (body), intelligence, and fortitude—the field has thus been briefly described with its modifications.

Verse 8-12

Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, and self-control. Indifference to the objects of the senses and also absence of egoism; perceiving the evil in birth, death, old age, sickness, and pain. Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home, and the rest, and constant even-mindedness in the face of the attainment of both desirable and undesirable. Unswerving devotion to Me through the Yoga of non-separation, resorting to solitary places, and a distaste for the company of people. Constancy in Self-knowledge, the perception of the end of true knowledge—this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.

Verse 13

I will declare that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality; the beginningless Supreme Brahman, which is neither being nor non-being.

Verse 14

With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds, enveloping all.

Verse 15

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.

Verse 16

It is within and without all beings, both the unmoving and the moving; It is subtle and unknowable, and It is near and far away.

Verse 17

Undivided yet, It exists as if divided in beings; It is to be known as the supporter of beings; It devours and It generates.

Verse 18

That Light of all lights is said to be beyond darkness: knowledge, the knowable, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.

Verse 19

Thus, the field, as well as knowledge and the knowable, have been briefly stated. My devotee, knowing this, enters into My being.

Verse 20

Know that Nature (matter) and the Spirit are both beginningless, and know also that all modifications and qualities are born from Nature.

Verse 21

In the production of the effect and the cause, Nature (matter) is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, the soul is said to be the one responsible.

Verse 22

The soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of its birth in good and evil wombs.

Verse 23

The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the observer, the permitter, the sustainer, the enjoyer, the great Lord, and the Supreme Self.

Verse 24

He who thus knows the Spirit and Matter together with their qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.

Verse 25

Some behold the Self within themselves through meditation, others through the Yoga of knowledge, and still others through the Yoga of action.

Verse 26

Others, too, who do not know thus, worship, having heard of It from others; they, too, cross beyond death, regarding what they have heard as the supreme refuge.

Verse 27

Wherever a being is born, whether unmoving or moving, know thou, O best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), that it is from the union of the field and its knower.

Verse 28

He who sees the Supreme Lord existing truly in all beings, the imperishable within the perishable, sees indeed.

Verse 29

For he who truly sees the same Lord dwelling everywhere does not destroy the Self by the self; rather, he attains the highest goal.

Verse 30

He sees, who sees that all actions are performed solely by Nature and that the Self is without action.

Verse 31

When a person sees all beings as resting in the One and emanating from the One alone, they then become Brahman.

Verse 32

Being without beginning, devoid of any qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted.

Verse 33

As the all-pervading ether is not tainted, due to its subtlety, so the Self seated everywhere in the body is not tainted either.

Verse 34

Just as the one sun illuminates the entire world, so too does the Lord of the field (Supreme Self) illuminate the entire field, O Arjuna.

Verse 35

They who, by the eye of knowledge, perceive the distinction between the field and its knower, as well as the liberation from the Nature of being, go to the Supreme.