Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 4 (BG 9.4) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

9.4 मया by Me? ततम् pervaded? इदम् this? सर्वम् all? जगत् world? अव्यक्तमूर्तिना by the unmanifested form? मत्स्थानि exist in Me? सर्वभूतानि all beings? न not? च and? अहम् I? तेषु in them? अवस्थितः placed.Commentary Avyaktamurti is Para Brahman or the Supreme Unmanifested Being invisible to the senses but cognisable through intuition. All beings from Brahma? the Creator? down to the blade of grass or an ant? dwell in the transcendental Para Brahman. They have no independent existence they exist through the Self which is the support for everythin? which underlies them all.Nothing here contains It. As Brahman is the Self of all beings? one may imagine that It dwells in them. But it is not so. How could it be How can the Infinite be contained in a finite object Brahman has no connection or contact with any material object? just as a chair or a table has contact with the ground or a man or a book. So It does not dwell in those beings. That which has no connection or contact with objects or beings cannot be contained anywhere as if in a vessel? trunk? room or receptacle. The Self is not rooted in all these forms. It is not contained by any of these forms just as the ether is not contained in any form though all forms are derived from the ether.All beings appear to be living in Brahman? but this is an illusion. If this illusion vanishes? nothing remains anywhere except Brahman. When ignorance? the cause of this illusion? disappears? the very idea of the existence of these beings also will vanish.In verses 4 and 5 the Lord uses a paradox or an apparent contradiction All beings dwell in Me and yet do not dwell in Me I do not dwell in them. For a thinker there is no real contradiction at all. Just as space contains all beings and yet is not touched by them? so also Para Brahman contains everything and yet is not touched by them. Even Mulaprakriti? the source or womb of this world? is supported by Brahman. Brahman has no support or root. It rests in Its own pristine glory. (Cf.VII.12?24VIII.22)

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

# BG 9.4 This entire universe is pervaded by My unmanifest form. The subtlety of a thing is measured by its pervasiveness, and therefore the most subtle thing must necessarily be all-pervading. All objects limited by space and time have form and undergo destruction; therefore, that which is all-pervading must be formless and imperishable. In this way, the principle of the Self pervades the entire universe in its original unmanifest nature—just as clay pervades all the pots of various shapes and forms made from it. If in this manner the infinite, unlimited principle pervades the finite and limited universe, what then is the relationship between these two? Did this universe emanate from the infinite principle? Or did the infinite create the finite? Or did the infinite itself undergo transformation and become this universe, as milk becomes yogurt? Or is there a relationship of father and son, or master and servant, between them? The world's various religions are filled with such questions. Only those who believe in duality can find solace in imagining some kind of relationship between the infinite and the finite, between God and the devotee. But the non-dualists cannot accept any such relationship, because relationship can exist only between two things, whereas according to their principle, only the Self alone is the one unique, absolute reality. In the second line of this verse, the scriptures describe this relationship-without-relationship between truth and illusion: All beings exist in Me, yet I do not exist in them. To those unfamiliar with scriptural methodology, this statement will appear to be an irreconcilable contradiction expressed through a jumble of meaningless words. But for one who has properly understood the principle of superimposition, the meaning of this statement is extremely simple. Superimposition is the imagining of one thing upon another due to ignorance of the first—as when a ghost is imagined upon a pillar. In scriptural language, the pillar is called the substratum, and the ghost is called the superimposed illusion. In this example, without the pillar as substratum, the appearance of the ghost could not have occurred. Now, from the pillar's perspective, what relationship exists between itself and that superimposed ghost? Imagine that a pillar, wishing to enlighten a person who has been deluded by seeing a ghost upon it, were to teach him. How would it instruct him? That innocent pillar, moved by infinite compassion toward that deluded person, would teach like Lord Sri Krishna Himself. It would say: "Certainly, that ghost exists in me, yet I do not exist in it. Therefore, I have never frightened any deluded traveler." Similarly, the Lord says here: I am the substratum of this entire manifested universe in My unmanifest form. Although the Supreme Self is the substratum of this multiform creation, He remains untouched by their qualities and defects, pleasures and pains, birth and death, because I do not exist in them. In this line, the principle stated earlier resonates again, where it was expressed in perhaps more flowing language: I do not exist in them; they exist in Me. In brief, it is indicated here that due to identification with inert limitations, the Self appears to exist in them, as if it has become a suffering, bound individual soul. And through the cessation of this false identification, it realizes that in truth, I, the imperishable, unmanifest Self, do not exist in them. From the above statement, one might think that the finite could have some other kind of existence within the infinite. But the Lord says—