Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 12 (BG 15.12) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

We who are acquainted with the conclusions of modern science become unsettled upon reading the meaning of this verse and are unable to accept it. Yet if we set aside our prejudices and reflect with patience, we shall come to understand that our confusion arises solely from the limitations of our own intellect. We forever engage in intellectual study of material objects alone; therefore we encounter difficulty in comprehending spiritual matters. Even in the elementary classes of science, we are taught that the Earth is a portion separated from the Sun, held in its present position through the mutual attractions of the planets. This Earth has gradually cooled and reached its present temperature. Yet if we ask that science teacher how the Sun itself came into being, he becomes not only unsettled but even somewhat angered—which is understandable. Where sensory facts can be gathered and demonstrated, material science can proceed. But the purpose of philosophy is to satisfy the human intellect's inquiry concerning the primordial source of the universe. It may be that the scientific facts necessary for this endeavor are not available in the laboratory. The intellect possesses only a certain definite limit for reflection through its own reasoning. Upon reaching that boundary, the intellect and its observations, its inferences and conclusions, its logic and established opinions—all these must inevitably grow weary and fall silent. Yet even then the inquiry remains not fully satisfied, for the truth-seeking intellect continues to ask: Why? How? What? But there science falls mute. Where science's purpose is exhausted, where it cannot illuminate the path ahead, there begins philosophy's pilgrimage toward supreme contentment. Here Lord Sri Krishna declares: The radiance that dwells in the Sun and illuminates the entire universe is verily the light of My own conscious nature. Similarly, the light expressed through the Moon and Fire is also My manifestation in diverse forms. The diversity of expression arises from the difference in the limiting adjuncts that exist. One and the same electrical power expresses itself in different forms through bulbs, fans, and other devices. In like manner, the difference in the light of the Sun, Moon, and Fire is due to these three limiting adjuncts, not in the consciousness expressing itself through them. The Supreme Self manifests Itself in diverse forms so that a favorable environment may be created for the universe to endure, and so that It may engage in Its own play of diversity. He further says—