Bhagavad Gita 9.7 · Krishna
Breathing out the universe
सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम्।
कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम्॥
sarvabhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṃ yānti māmikāmkalpakṣaye punastāni kalpādau visṛjāmyaham
At an age's end, all beings return into My nature. At the next age's dawn, I send them forth again.
Words
- prakṛti
What it means
Krishna describes cosmic breathing. At the end of each kalpa, a vast cosmic age, all beings return into his prakriti, his nature. At the start of the next, he sends them out again. Universes come and go like breath, in and out, within him.
The story
Arjuna has been terrified of endings. Krishna places every ending inside a larger rhythm. Nothing is ever truly lost. It returns and is sent forth again.
In your life
Take three slow breaths right now. In, out. Each out-breath ends, and the next begins. Let endings in your life feel like breathing out, making room for the next breath in.
Every ending makes room for a new breath.