Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 10 (BG 9.10) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

9.10 मया by Me? अध्यक्षेण as supervisor? प्रकृतिः Nature? सूयते produces? सचराचरम् the moving and the unmoving? हेतुना by cause? अनेन by this? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya? जगत् the world? विपरिवर्तते revolves.Commentary The Lord presides only as a witness. Nature does everything. By reason of His proximity or presence? Nature sends forth the moving and the unmoving. The prime cause of this creation is Nature. For the movable and the immovable? and for the whole universe? the root cause is Nature itself.Although all actions are done with the help of the light of the sun? yet? the sun cannot become the doer of actions. Even so the Lord cannot become the doer of actions even though Nature does all actions with the help of the light of the Lord.As Brahman illumines Avidya (ignorance)? the material cause of this world? It is regarded as the cause of this world. The magnet is ite indifferent although it makes the iron pieces move on account of its proximity. Even so the Lord remains indifferent although He makes Nature create the world.As the Lord and the Witness? He presides over this world which consists of moving and unmoving objects the manifested and the unmanifested wheel round and round.What is the purpose of creation Why has God created this world when He has really no concern with any enjoyment whatsoever This is a transcendental estion or Atiprasna. It is therefore irrelevant to ask or to answer this estion. You cannot say that God created this world for His own enjoyment because He really does not enjoy anything. He is a mere witness only. (Cf.X.8)

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

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.

Modern

In Vedanta, the relationship between the actionless Self and the active non-self is clarified through numerous analogies. Each analogy sheds particular light on one aspect of this paradoxical relationship that transcends ordinary connection. The rays of the sun warm the objects upon which they fall, yet they do not warm the medium through which they pass to reach those objects. Similarly, the Self remains established in its infinite glory, and through its presence, the non-self becomes capable of functioning as though conscious. The non-self and nature are synonymous terms. Once, a king conceived the intention to visit a sacred pilgrimage site on the full moon day of the coming month. After sharing this resolve with his minister, the king forgot about the matter. But one day before the full moon, the minister approached the king and reminded him of his pilgrimage intention. The next day, when the king emerged from his palace to begin his journey, he beheld his entire people gathered along the route, with welcoming gates erected at various places. An elaborate plan had been devised for the king's pilgrimage and return, and it was executed successfully and with great enthusiasm. All the royal officials and subjects poured forth their complete capacity and effort so that the king's pilgrimage might succeed. In all these bustling activities, each person possessed the authority and power to act only because of the king, yet the king himself was not present in any of these works. Because the king had granted permission, everyone faithfully obeyed the minister's commands. Had the minister, as merely an ordinary citizen, attempted to organize such a display, he could never have succeeded. In the same way, through the mere existence of the Self, nature acquires the capacity to work and becomes capable of planning and executing the creation of the universe. When examined from the perspective of the individual, this principle becomes even clearer. The Self, through its mere presence, illuminates the mind and intellect, and creates the external material world and the sense organs and organs of action necessary for the expression and fulfillment of the desires dwelling within them. Under my presidency, nature brings forth the animate and inanimate universe. Here, nature means the unmanifest. This dance of the manifold world—with its rhythm of change and dissolution—continues solely through the existence of the Self. For this reason, the wheel of the world keeps turning. The ultimate conclusion of the foregoing reflection is this: the Self always remains the non-doer. Through the presence of the Self, nature acquires consciousness and projects creation. Its existence and consciousness derive from the Self as the instrumental cause, not from itself. This is the relationship between the Self and the non-self, between Purusha and Prakriti. By reflecting upon the relationship between the pillar and the ghost superimposed upon it in the analogy of the ghost upon the pillar, the seeker will gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti. If, in this manner, the eternal, ever-liberated Self is the fundamental nature of the entire universe, then what is the reason that all beings cannot know it as their own Self? In answer to this question, the Blessed Lord speaks—