Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 20 (BG 10.20) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

# BG 10.20 I am the atman dwelling in the heart of all beings. This is the universal truth with which Sri Krishna begins this discourse. Just as a well-trained professor of scientific inquiry commences the discussion of his cherished subject of research with a concise and substantive statement, and then, after examining that subject in detail through reasoned analysis, arrives at the conclusion of that same initial statement—so too shall we observe that at the conclusion of this chapter, the Blessed Lord reiterates this truth with even greater force: that I sustain this entire cosmos by a mere fraction of My being. In the first line of this verse, the Lord reveals His all-pervading nature, and in the second line, He expresses this same truth in another form: I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings. In truth, the external world of the moving and the stationary is the projection of the mind. In other words, the external world is the infinite perceived otherwise through the lens of the limited mind. This reality may also be understood in relation to the inner realm of thought. Every modification of consciousness arises in and dissolves back into consciousness itself. Without consciousness, no mental modification can arise. This truth is reiterated further on. The Blessed Lord Sri Krishna never tires of repeating this supreme reality. Now, while dwelling in this world of the moving and the stationary, He teaches the disciplines and methods of the worship of the Divine.