Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
14.3 मम My? योनिः womb? महत् the great? ब्रह्म Brahma? तस्मिन् in that? गर्भम् germ? दधामि bears? अहम I? संभवः the birth? सर्वभूतानाम् of all beings? ततः thence? भवति is? भारत O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna).Commentary My womb is the great Nature. The cosmos is evolved out of His Nature. Nature is called the great Brahma for She is the resting place of the five subtle elements and also the Mahat (cosmic mind). She is callled the great Brahma? because through Her the whole manifestation takes place.All changes arise out of this great Nature. So She has got the name Mulaprakriti or Primordial Nature or the original principle. From the point of view of the Unmanifest She is called Avyakta. The Vedantins call Her Maya (illusion). The Sankhyas call Her Prakriti.This Prakriti is called great because She is greater than all Her effects. This Nature? made of the three alities? is the material cause of all beings. As She is the source or cause of all Her,modifications and also nourishes all the modifications with Her energy? She is called Brahma.I place in it (the Mahabrahma) the embryo of life then all beings begin to come to life therefrom. In the great Brahma or Nature I place the germ or the seed for the birth of Hiranyagarbha and the seed gives birth to all beings. The birth of Hiranyagarbha or Brahma (the Creator) gives rise to the birth of beings. The Primordial Nature is like the clay. She cannot create the forms Herself. She gives birth to Brahma Who creates all beings just as the potter creates various forms from the clay. I am endowed with the two Saktis? viz.? the superior and the inferior Natures (Cf. VII. 4 and 5)? the field and its knower. I unite these two (the Spirit and the matter). The individual soul comes under the influence of the limiting adjuncts? viz.? ignorance? desire and action. On account of ignorance (Avidya)? the individual soul forgets his original divine nature? gets himself entangled in the meshes of desire (Kama) and action (Karma)? and revolves in the wheel of birth and death. The individual soul turns towards ignorance without knowing his own true divine nature. The Jiva (individual soul) being overpowered by ignorance and the modifications? forgets its pristine purity and moves in various forms.The Primordial Nature or the Unmanifested is a dark matrix with infinite potentialities. It is not a substance. Sound and energy are in an undifferentiated state in It. The whole world gets involved into It during the cosmic dissolution. There is no relationship of substance or ality between It and the three Gunas. The alities are the Mulaprakriti and the latter is the former in a state of poise or eilibrium. This manifested world of the three alities is compared to a twisted rope of three colours? viz.? white? red and black. Each colour represents a Guna. Sattvic is white? Rajas is red and Tamas is black. The three are not in a state of eilibrium in the manifested world.Water and the seed coming in contact with the earth produce sprouts which grow into trees. In the womb of Nature? the seed develops into the eightfold elements -- earth? water? fire? air? ether? mind? intellect and egoism. The first fruit of the contact of Nature with the soul is the MahatTattva or intellect. From intellect mind is born from mind egoism from egoism? the five elements.There are four classes of beings? viz.? Jarayuja? Andaja? Svedaja and Udbhijja. The Jarayuja is born of the placenta (viviparous). Human beings? cows? elephants? horses? etc.? belong to this class. In this variety the five senses of knowledge exist. The Andaja is born of eggs (oviparous). In this variety the elements of wind and ether predominate. Lice come under the category of Svedaja they are born of sweat. In this variety fire and water predominate. Trees that are born of seeds are classified under the head Udbhijja in this variety earth and water predominate. (Cf.VII.6IX.17XV.7)
Swami Chinmayananda
# BG 14.3 — The Great Brahman as the Womb
Here, the Great Brahman is spoken of as the womb—the cause—of all elemental matter. Yet the term "Great Brahman" is not employed here to denote the Supreme Self, the foundation of all existence. Rather, it refers to the unmanifest state of the cosmos, to inert Nature itself. It is called "great" because it is vaster and more encompassing than the gross and subtle modifications that arise from it; and it is called "Brahman" because it sustains and nourishes its own transformations. Thus, by etymological understanding, Nature is here designated as the Great Brahman—the same principle that in earlier chapters was called the lower nature, the field, or prakriti.
**I impregnate it with My consciousness.** The Great Brahman, being inert by its own nature, cannot create the universe through its own independent will. When the Supreme Self, pure consciousness itself, is reflected within it, then Nature becomes endowed with consciousness and engages in the work of creation. The manifestation of the Supreme's consciousness within Nature is the act of impregnation. As a result, the Lord of all—He who sustains the cosmic mind, whom the Vedanta calls Hiranyagarbha in this state—first becomes manifest; and thereafter, countless individual souls and the universe of name and form come into being.
We may understand this creative process thus: every creative work originates and develops through the impulse that arises in the creator's mind. Infused with vital energy, this impulse becomes powerful and grows restless to express itself. Consequently, it manifests as thoughts and feelings, and finally transforms into action. A painter expresses his thoughts through colors; a musician through melody; a sculptor through stone; a writer through words. Yet if the imagination dies, none can express their vision in action. As is the creation of the individual, so too must we understand the creation of the cosmos.
The organized totality of universal desires, thoughts, feelings, and actions is called Nature—which, being composed of the three gunas of sattva, rajas, and tamas, is governed by these qualities. This very Nature is here called the Great Brahman, and in Vedanta it is also indicated by the term maya. The individual aspect of maya is called avidya, ignorance. The distinction between the individual soul and the Lord is this: the soul remains subject to ignorance, while the Lord holds maya within His command.
The Blessed Lord continues:
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.