BHAGAVAD-GITA 7:8

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 7:8

 

raso 'ham apsu kaunteya

prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh

pranavah sarva-vedesu

sabdah khe paurusam nrsu

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

rasah--taste; aham--I; apsu--in water; kaunteya--O son of Kunti;

prabha--the light; asmi--I am; sasi-suryayoh--of the moon and the sun;

pranavah--the three letters a-u-m; sarva--in all; vedesu--the Vedas;

sabdah--sound vibration; khe--in the ether; paurusam--ability;

nrsu--in men.

 

TRANSLATION

 

O son of Kunti, I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the

moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether

and ability in man.

 

PURPORT

 

This verse explains how the Lord is all-pervasive by His diverse

material and spiritual energies. The Supreme Lord can be preliminarily

perceived by His different energies, and in this way He is realized

impersonally. As the demigod in the sun is a person and is perceived

by his all-pervading energy, the sunshine, so the Lord, although in

His eternal abode, is perceived by His all-pervading diffusive

energies. The taste of water is the active principle of water. No one

likes to drink sea water, because the pure taste of water is mixed

with salt. Attraction for water depends on the purity of the taste,

and this pure taste is one of the energies of the Lord. The

impersonalist perceives the presence of the Lord in water by its

taste, and the personalist also glorifies the Lord for His kindly

supplying tasty water to quench man's thirst. That is the way of

perceiving the Supreme. Practically speaking, there is no conflict

between personalism and impersonalism. One who knows God knows that

the impersonal conception and personal conception are simultaneously

present in everything and that there is no contradiction. Therefore

Lord Caitanya established His sublime doctrine: acintya

bheda-abheda-tattva--simultaneous oneness and difference.

 

The light of the sun and the moon is also originally emanating from

the brahmajyoti, which is the impersonal effulgence of the Lord. And

pranava, or the omkara transcendental sound in the beginning of every

Vedic hymn, addresses the Supreme Lord. Because the impersonalists are

very much afraid of addressing the Supreme Lord Krsna by His

innumerable names, they prefer to vibrate the transcendental sound

omkara. But they do not realize that omkara is the sound

representation of Krsna. The jurisdiction of Krsna consciousness

extends everywhere, and one who knows Krsna consciousness is blessed.

Those who do not know Krsna are in illusion, and so knowledge of Krsna

is liberation, and ignorance of Him is bondage.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.