Bhagavad Gita 7.5 · Krishna
The life behind it all
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम्।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत्॥
apareyamitastvanyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parāmjīvabhūtāṃ mahābāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat
This is My lower nature. But know My higher nature, mighty-armed one, the life within all beings, which holds up this world.
Words
- prakṛti
What it means
Krishna reveals two natures. The lower one is the eight elements, matter and mind. The higher prakriti is the jiva, the life-principle, the consciousness in every living being. This higher nature holds up the whole world. Matter is the stage. Life is what moves on it.
The story
Arjuna sees bodies and fears for them. Krishna points to the life within them, his own higher nature. The soldiers on both sides carry the same divine spark.
In your life
Watch a sleeping child or a pet breathing. The body is the same awake or asleep, yet something makes it alive. Pause today to wonder at that life, in you and in others.
Life itself is the divine's higher nature.