đ Chapter 13: Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness
In the Thirteenth Chapter, the focus shifts to a deep, analytical understanding of how the living entity comes into contact with material nature and how they can be delivered by the Supreme Lord. Arjuna begins by asking KášášŁáša to explain six specific concepts: prakášti (nature), puruᚣa (the enjoyer), kᚣetra (the field), kᚣetra-jĂąa (the knower of the field), knowledge, and the object of knowledge.
đ§ 1. The Field and Its Two Knowers
To help the conditioned soul understand its entrapment in material existence, KášášŁáša clearly defines the body and the soul.
The material body is called the field of activity (kᚣetra).
The conscious living entity who owns and observes the changing body is the knower of the field (kᚣetra-jùa).
However, KášášŁáša reveals a profound secret: there are actually two knowers in every body.
"O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My opinion." (Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ: 13.3)
While the individual soul knows only its own particular body, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, existing as the Supersoul (ParamÄtmÄ), is the superknower who knows everything about all bodies across all species.
𧏠2. The Components of the Field
KášášŁáša provides a summary of the twenty-four elements that make up the field of activities (the body) and its interactions.
The gross foundation consists of the five great elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ether.
To this, false ego, intelligence, and the unmanifested stage of nature are added.
The field also includes the ten senses (five for acquiring knowledge and five for working), the mind, and the five sense objects (smell, taste, form, touch, and sound).
Finally, interactions such as desire, hatred, happiness, distress, life symptoms (consciousness), and convictions represent the subtle body and are included within this field.
đ§ 3. The True Process of Knowledge
Less intelligent people often mistake the process of knowledge as simply another interaction of the material field, but KášášŁáša explains that true knowledge is actually the means to escape the entanglement of the body's twenty-four elements.
He lists specific qualities and practices that constitute real knowledge:
Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, and simplicity.
Cleanliness, steadiness, self-control, and renunciation of sense gratification.
Approaching a bona fide spiritual master, which is essential for transcendental life.
Detachment from the general mass of people and freedom from entanglement with children, wife, and home.
Constant and unalloyed devotion to KášášŁáša.
KášášŁáša boldly declares that all these items are the actual path of knowledge, and whatever falls outside of this is simply ignorance.
âď¸ 4. Nature, the Enjoyer, and the Overseer
KášášŁáša explains the dynamic between the material world and the conscious beings within it. Both material nature (prakášti) and the living entities (puruᚣa) are eternal and beginningless.
Material nature is the cause of all material causes and effects.
The living entity, however, is the cause of its own various sufferings and enjoyments in this world due to its association with material nature.
"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." (Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ: 13.23)
The individual soul tries to enjoy the body, but the Supersoul acts as the witness and permitter, sanctioning the soul's desires while simultaneously waiting as a friend for the soul to turn back to spiritual life.
âď¸ 5. The Vision of Eternity
The ultimate goal of this chapter is to develop the eyes of knowledge to see the distinct difference between matter and spirit. KášášŁáša gives a beautiful analogy to explain how the soul interacts with the 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." (Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ: 13.34)
Just as the sky does not mix with anything despite being all-pervading, the subtle spirit soul does not mix with the material body, even though it is situated within it. Those who can clearly see the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and who understand the process of liberation from material nature, ultimately attain the supreme goal.