Prakrtim Purusam Caiva Ksetram

Arjuna said: O my dear Krsna, I wish to know about prakrti [nature], purusa
[the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and
the end of knowledge. The Blessed Lord then said: This body, O son of Kunti, is
called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the
field.

O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all
bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is
My opinion.

Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is
constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of
the field of activities is, and what his influences are.

That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is
described by various sages in various Vedic writings--especially in the
Vedanta-sutra--and is presented with all reasoning as to cause and effect.

The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten
senses, the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress,
the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions--all these are considered, in
summary, to be the field of activities and its interactions.

Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona
fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation
of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of
the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife,
home and the rest, and even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events;
constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment
from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization,
and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth--all these I thus declare to be
knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.

I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal.
This is beginningless, and it is subordinate to Me. It is called Brahman, the
spirit, and it lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world.

Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes and faces, and He hears everything.
In this way the Supersoul exists.

The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses.
He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He
transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all
modes of material nature.

The Supreme Truth exists both internally and externally, in the moving and
nonmoving. He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know.
Although far, far away, He is also near to all.

Although the Supersoul appears to be divided, He is never divided. He is
situated as one. Although He is the maintainer of every living entity, it is to
be understood that He devours and develops all.

He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond the darkness of
matter and is unmanifested. He is knowledge, He is the object of knowledge, and
He is the goal of knowledge. He is situated in everyone's heart.

Thus the field of activities [the body], knowledge and the knowable have been
summarily described by Me. Only My devotees can understand this thoroughly and
thus attain to My nature.

Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be
beginningless. Their transformations and the modes of matter are products of
material nature.

Nature is said to be the cause of all material activities and effects, whereas
the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this
world.

The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying
the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material
nature. Thus he meets with good and evil amongst various species.

Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer who is the Lord,
the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is
known as the Supersoul.

One who understands this philosophy concerning material nature, the living
entity and the interaction of the modes of nature is sure to attain liberation.
He will not take birth here again, regardless of his present position.

That Supersoul is perceived by some through meditation, by some through the
cultivation of knowledge, and by others through working without fruitive
desire.

Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge,
begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because
of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of
birth and death.

O chief of the Bharatas, whatever you see in existence, both moving and
unmoving, is only the combination of the field of activities and the knower of
the field.

One who sees the Supersoul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, and
who understands that neither the soul nor the Supersoul is ever destroyed,
actually sees.

One who sees the Supersoul in every living being and equal everywhere does not
degrade himself by his mind. Thus he approaches the transcendental destination.

One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created
of material nature, and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees.

When a sensible man ceases to see different identities, which are due to
different material bodies, he attains to the Brahman conception. Thus he sees
that beings are expanded everywhere.

Those with the vision of eternity can see that the soul is transcendental,
eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material
body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.

The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, although it is
all-pervading. Similarly, the soul, situated in Brahman vision, does not mix
with the body, though situated in that body.

O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the
living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.

One who knowingly sees this difference between the body and the owner of the
body and can understand the process of liberation from this bondage, also
attains to the supreme goal.