Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 5 (BG 4.5) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

BG 4.5 The teachers of Hindu scripture are ever ready to dispel all doubts that arise in the minds of their students. We can witness in them boundless patience and the capacity to understand the difficulties of those who seek knowledge. Here, Sri Krishna endeavors to help Arjuna understand how he possesses infinite form and how, at the beginning of creation, he imparted the knowledge of Brahman to the sun god. The principle of avatara, as described in the Puranas, is explained in detail in this passage. This section on Hindu philosophy and the Hindu belief in avatara may appear extremely perplexing to many foreigners. Many scholars have expressed such views, but perhaps none has offered as sharp a critique as Max Müller. Regarding avatara, he declares it to be "spiritual nonsense." Yet if we examine this matter with understanding of the Vedantic principles concerning creation, the doctrine of avatara becomes comprehensible. In another place, in the section on the fall of humanity, it is explained in detail how the infinite, eternal Brahman—the supreme truth and almighty God—manifests through the medium of a nature dominated by sattva guna, expressing itself in divine form. Further in this chapter, Sri Krishna will explain how, through his own will and complete freedom, he assumes these limiting conditions and works among humanity, which to him is merely divine play. He never loses remembrance of his divine nature. The birth of no living being is mere chance. According to Darwin's theory of evolution as well, each person has come into the world as a result of advancement on the ladder of evolution. The life of every embodied being reflects the long spiritual history of that soul. Only after dwelling in countless and various forms does the soul attain its present evolved state. With each new body, the soul forgets its past lives, yet it carries with it the impressions and tendencies acquired in previous births. However, the state of Lord Sri Krishna should not be understood as that of an ordinary soul. Because of his omniscience, he knows the past of Arjuna and his own past; therefore he said, "I know all these, but you do not know." For you, what is the necessity of birth in the absence of dharma and adharma? How is your birth possible? The answer is—