Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 5 (BG 9.5) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

9.5 न not? च and? मत्स्थानि dwelling in Me? भूतानि beings? पश्य behold? मे My? योगम् Yoga? ऐश्वरम् Divine? भूतभृत् supporting the beings? न not? च and? भूतस्थः dwelling in the beings? मम My? आत्मा Self? भूतभावनः bringing forth beings.Commentary Brahman or the Self no connection with any object as It is very subtle and attributes and formless and so It is unattached (Asanga). There cannot be any real connection between matter and Spirit. Saakara (an object with form) can have no connection with Nirakara (the formless). How could this be Devoid of attachment It is never attached. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad? III.9.26) Though unattached? It supports all beings It is the efficient or instrumental cause It brings forth all beings but It does not dwell in them? because It is unconnected with any object. This is a great mystery. Just as the dreamer has no connection with the dream object? just as ether or air has no connection with the vessel? so also Brahman has no connection with the objects or the body. The connection between the Self and the physical body is illusory.The Adhishthana or support (Brahman) for the illusory object (Kalpitam) superimposed on,Brahman has no connection whatsoever with the alities or the defects of the objects that are superimposed on the Absolute. The snake is superimposed on a rope. The rope is the support (Adhishthana) for the illusory snake (Kalpitam). This is an example of superimposition or Adhyasa. (Cf.VII.25X.7.XI.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 the previous verse, Lord Sri Krishna stated that all beings—the entire animate and inanimate creation—dwell within Him, yet He does not dwell within them. Now, continuing this line of reasoning, He clarifies: In truth, these beings do not dwell within Me. That is to say, the finite has never emerged from the Infinite. Using the analogy of a pillar and a ghost, the Lord's utterance would be comparable to the pillar saying: "In truth, the ghost never truly existed within me." In the infinite, pure conscious Absolute, this manifold universe has never existed, does not exist now, and shall never exist. Just as the waking person never experiences the pleasures of dreams, so too in Self-realization, this manifold creation is not perceived. The reason for its apparent existence in the present is ignorance—the forgetting of one's true Self. This Self generates all beings and sustains them, just as the ocean gives birth to all waves and nourishes them. Yet I do not dwell within them. How? Just as the ocean does not reside in the waves—it remains forever free from their limitations. All pots originate, exist, and are sustained by clay, yet no single pot or collection of pots can define clay or grant complete knowledge of it. The divine, eternal, pure conscious Absolute is that substratum which upholds and illuminates the vast heart of this ever-changing, manifold creation. Through the sense organs, external objects produce mental impressions, which the conscious Self pervading all forms illuminates. Without this consciousness, we could never experience the continuous stream of life. Just as cotton exists in cloth, gold in ornaments, and heat in fire, so the imperishable principle exists within the perishable creation. Without the waking person, there can be no dreamer. The waking person pervades the dream world, yet remains untouched and unstained by it. From the perspective of the waking person, the dream has no existence whatsoever. Lord Sri Krishna perceives that this language of paradox has become a riddle for ordinary people like Arjun. Therefore, the Ocean of Compassion offers His disciple an illustration.