Bhagavad Gita 13.15 · Krishna
Through the senses, beyond them
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्।
असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च॥
sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitamasaktaṃ sarvabhṛccaiva nirguṇaṃ guṇabhoktṛ ca
It shines through every sense, yet has no senses. Unattached, it holds all. Beyond the gunas, yet it enjoys them.
Words
- guṇa
What it means
Krishna offers a string of paradoxes. Brahman shines through every sense, yet has no senses of its own. It's unattached, yet supports everything. It's nirguna, beyond the gunas, yet it experiences them. Like sunlight that lights up colours without being any colour itself.
The story
Krishna is stretching Arjuna's mind past simple categories. The divine is both inside life and beyond it. Not either-or, but both-and.
In your life
Look at a sunbeam through a window, lighting dust, a table, a plant, without being any of them. Notice the light today, not just what it falls on.
Like light, it touches all and holds to none.