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prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ I yaḥ paśyati tathātmānam akartāraṁ sa paśyati II 13.30

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

yadā bhūta-pṛthag-bhāvam ekasthamanupaśyati I tata eva ca vistāraṁ brahma saṁpadyate tadā II 13.31

13.31 When a person can see the Supreme Self in all living entities, then he will cease to see the separateness among the living entities. He will see that the whole Universe (Brahman) is an expansion and expression of the same truth.

anāditvānnirguṇa tvāt paramātmāyamavyayaḥ I śarīrastho'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate II 13.32

13.32 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 attached.

yathā sarvagataṁ saukṣmyād ākāśaṁ nopalipyate I sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate II 13.33

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

yathā prakāśayatyekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokamimaṁ raviḥ I kṣetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ prakāśayati bhārata II 13.34

13.34 O son of Bhārata, as the Sun alone illumines the entire Universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illumines the entire consciousness.

kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor evam antaraṁ jñāna-cakṣuṣā I bhūta-prakṛti-mokṣaṁ ca ye viduryānti te param II 13.35

13.35 Those, who see with the eyes of knowledge, the difference between the body-mind, kṣetra and the knower of the body-mind, kṣetrajña, can understand the process of liberation from the bondages of the material nature and attain Paramātman.

iti śrīmad bhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu brahmavidyāyām yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjuna saṁvāde kṣetra kṣetrajña vibhāgayogo nāma trayodaśo'dhyāyaḥ II

In the Upaniṣad of Śrimad Bhagavad Gītā, the scripture of yoga dealing with Brahmavidyā Yogaśāstra, the science of Brahman, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṁvād, dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Arjuna, this is thirteenth chapter named, Kṣetra Kṣetrajña Vibhāga Yogaḥ**,** 'the Field and Kṣetrajña, the Knower of the Field.'

n this chapter, Kṛṣṇa speaks to enrich Arjuna about kṣetra (Field) and kṣetrajña (Knower of the Field).

I Kṛṣṇa clearly talks about the physical matter in which we exist and the Consciousness that stays in the matter. The whole Universe, the Universal Consciousness, is the space in which we all happen. Kṛṣṇa uses the wave and the ocean as an analogy. The ocean is the Universal consciousness, Ātma or Brahman. Kṛṣṇa reveals the secret that we are like the waves, and the whole is the ocean. He explains how we can experience completion with the ocean.

We have forgotten that we are a part of the ocean, that we belong to kṣetrajña. Kṣetrajña means Consciousness, the cause for the field. Kṣetra means field, the body-mind and kṣetrajña means knower of the field, the Consciousness. Kṛṣṇa reveals the sacred secrets of kṣetra and kṣetrajñya. If we don't know the secrets of kṣetrajña, the kṣetra acts as if it is the owner.

What You Know Is Not You (13.1-13.7)

Kṛṣṇa explains, 'O Kaunteya, this body is called the field, kṣetra; the person who knows this body is called the knower of the field or kṣetrajña (13.1).'

Whatever you know is not you. For instance, you can read this book because it is separate and apart from you. If you can know your body, then it is not you. If you can know your thoughts, then they are not you. You are separate or above that. That is why you are able to know it. Once we separate these two, the body will be complete, blissful and joyful! Consciousness will be liberated. When these two join, that is where the problem starts.

Kṛṣṇa starts to explain the difference between kṣetra and kṣetrajña. When we understand that something is separate from us, we never feel that we must renounce it. We simply need to renounce the inadequate cognition that we are that thing, that's all.

Here, Kṛṣṇa makes two statements. He says, 'I am the Knower in all the bodies, kṣetrajñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi and to understand the knower and the body is knowledge, kṣetra kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ (13.3).' He says, 'I Myself reside as the Consciousness inside the beings, sarva kṣetreṣu bhārata.' Our Consciousness is God. There is no separate thing as God. A person who carries the right cognition that he is Consciousness liberates himself.

You Are Consciousness, Kṣetrajña

Whether we believe it or not, we are Consciousness, the knower, kṣetrajña. A person who has already experienced that he is Consciousness enriches us saying, 'This is Consciousness and that is body-mind. Understand, you are Consciousness.' Here, the same story is happening between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.

Kṛṣṇa details out the five great elements, the false ego, the intelligence or the mind that makes decisions and all ten senses. He says, 'ten senses, indriyāṇi daśakaṁ ca'. We have five karmendriya and five jñānendriya. Karmendriya are the senses or organs responsible for actions. Jñānendriya are our five senses that receive knowledge such as smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing. So, all the ten senses, plus attachment, aversion, joy, sorrow, the body, mutual attraction and the Consciousness contribute to the field of activities.

Inner Science Technology (13.8-13.12)

In these five verses, Kṛṣṇa gives the inner science technology to liberate our inner space! A precise technique to liberate oneself from the kṣetra, the body-mind.

First, the moment we understand that we are more powerful than the body-mind, we are liberated from the body-mind.

Kṛṣṇa mentions a long list of qualities with many instructions. Humility, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching the enlightened spiritual master....many more qualities. He declares all these to be knowledge and besides these, whatever there may be, is ignorance.

If we straightaway practice these qualities, we will feel we are going

mad! All we can do is help the Consciousness to happen in us so that we start radiating these qualities. If we work on our being, we will flower and simply radiate the right energy, the right Consciousness!

Consciousness Is Eternal (13.13-13.18)

Kṛṣṇa says, 'I shall explain the knowable, knowing which, you will taste the Eternal Being, the beginning-less consciousness that lies beyond the causes and effects of this material world.' Now, He reveals to Arjuna that Consciousness is eternal.

The Master Exists Everywhere

When we are in front of an Enlightened Master, who is in a no-mind state of completion, the thoughts in us just comes down. So without even trying, we become calmer, more peaceful, and more complete!

Please listen! Every thought inside us affects the functioning of the whole Cosmos. Thoughts present in the space that we live in affect our mental setup. Positivity and negativity, creation and destruction, are all properties of the changing world, of the kṣetra that we live in. The minute we know that we are not this changing kṣetra but the eternal and unmoving kṣetrajñya (consciousness*)*, we are liberated.

Kṛṣṇa calls this eternal bliss, jñeya, knowable. When the knowing happens, the knowable (jñeya), knower (jñātā), and the knowledge (jñāna) merge. In this experience, the knower, known, and knowledge become one. No separate experience, experiencer or object of experience exists. It is called tripuṭi.

Kṛṣṇa explaines that His eternal nature, the eternal Self, is not bound by time and space. Now He says that He exists everywhere, sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati (13.14). Normally we understand the presence or absence of an object or person in terms of physical attributes. If our pañca indriya, five senses, cannot sense anything, we think nothing exists.

Here, Kṛṣṇa uses the phrase, 'Hands and feet everywhere, sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ, eyes, heads, faces, ears everywhere, sarvato akṣi-śiromukham (13.14).' What does He mean by this? Listen. Enlightened Master is more present in His absence than in His physical presence. His energy is beyond time and space, beyond any barriers.

Kṛṣṇa further gives qualities of the Self. He says all life happens because of the thread of the Universal energy flowing through. The life force that conducts the whole show of the Universe, is pure Intelligence. Even a blade of grass cannot move without the will of the Divine. Kṛṣṇa is sending a message to us about how much we depend on Him, the Cosmic Intelligence, for anything to happen. At the same time, without getting involved, the Universal energy is a witness to all activities and all life forms.

The Indivisible Space Within

You live in this space enclosed by your physical boundary called ghaṭākāśa. The next is cidākāśa, the space that you are aware and conscious of, the space of thoughts and mind. The third is mahākāśa, the whole space, cosmos, everything put together. The problem is, we think Consciousness is bound by ghaṭākāśa, limited to this body.

Enlightened Masters, Incarnations, who have moved beyond ghaṭākāśa into mahākāśa, understand that all this division of space is due to our ignorance.

Space can never be divided. All fears, including the fear of death, happen because we try to protect the space covered by our body and mind. When we understand that we are mahākāśa, we transcend all boundaries. Whatever space we may be in, the possibility of achieving a higher space is available to every one of us. Kṛṣṇa says that the Supreme truth is inside and outside all living entities, bahir antaś ca bhūtānām. It is moving and non-moving, acaraṁ caram eva ca (13.16). This is the absolute space of mahākāśa.

I am the Source of All Light

When the same Universal energy is unmanifest, unexpressed, it exists in potential form. This is referred to as Puruṣa in the scriptures. When this energy manifests itself in this world, taking various names, forms, and shapes, it expresses itself as Prakṛti. Prakṛti is the creative expression of Puruṣa.

Kṛṣṇa reminds Arjuna that the Supreme Spirit appears to be divided into puruṣa and prakṛti because of the different creations and expressions of prakṛti. However, He is beyond all this and exists undivided.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'He is the Supreme Self that is the source of all light in all luminous objects. He is knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the goal of knowledge, jñanaṁ jñeyaṁ jñana-gamyaṁ. He is situated in everyone's heart, hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam (13.18).' Kṛṣṇa calls this Self the 'Source of light—jyotiṣam api taj jyotis'. The sun, the moon and lightning derive their energy from that self-luminous Self.

The Self is pure intelligence and this knowledge dispels ignorance. An Enlightened Master uses the lamp of Consciousness to see the truth as it is, without any filters. Using this lamp, he experiences his surroundings in completion with the whole. That is why the Master sees 360 degrees around him. Focus on bringing the lamp into your being. When your entire Consciousness has become a flame, the ego is no more.

Understanding The Energy (13.19-13.24)

Only when we understand the kṣetra, do we understand that we are not the kṣetra; we are the kṣetrajña. When we realize that we are the kṣetrajña, we have transcended the kṣetra.

How do we understand the kṣetra? Only an Enlightened Master who has experienced the truth can awaken us to reality. Out of their compassion, these Masters descend on planet Earth to tell us that everything we see around us is a projection of our minds.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'Go beyond and beyond and beyond. When you are able to see the body, move beyond. If you are able to witness your thoughts, go further beyond. If you are able to witness your emotions, go further beyond. You are not that either.'

Witness the Consciousness that is witnessing. When you watch, detach from the thoughts, sit back, relax and watch. Do not try to create, nourish or destroy the thoughts. This last thought that you are witnessing is like a bridge between you and God, between you and the thoughtless space of completion. Go beyond. Witness the thought that you are witnessing. Then the pure, untouched, inner space of completion happens in you, where God manifests. Understand, Completion is God.

Witnessing is the Master Key

Here Kṛṣṇa presents the master key that opens all locks. Witnessing the body and the mind, witnessing your being. Witnessing is the master key. If we can enter the witnessing technique and experience the witnessing space of completion for at least a few minutes, we will get a taste of it.

Kṛṣṇa goes one step further. Now, He says that one who does so attains liberation, regardless of his present position, sarvathā vartamāno 'pi na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate (13.24). An understanding of kṣetra or prakṛti straightaway liberates us.

All our incompletions arise due to the ignorance of our true nature. A cognitive shift happens that transforms and frees us from the bondage of material things. This cognitive shift can happen at any time, to anyone. And when it happens, it is a quantum jump in the level of consciousness. It is spontaneous enlightenment, not gradual. It is like pressing a switch and the whole room is lit up in one shot.

Your Cognition is Transformable, Be Complete

Understand, your cognition is changeable, transformable is the first cognition you need. Whenever people realize that they are beyond the bondages of body and mind, that their cognition is changeable, spontaneous Enlightenment happens. Just know your incompletions with this clarity that cognition is changeable, the incompletions of kṣetra will lose power over you. With this understanding of kṣetrajña, start living and thinking. Your very thinking will be completion. This is the science of spontaneous completion, instant completion.

Completion does not mean blindly accepting everything that happens in your life, in the kṣetra. It simply means not resisting life as it happens to us. The root of all our incompletions is the idea we carry—Life should not be this way.

Many People, Many Paths (13.25-13.27)

Kṛṣṇa now gives different techniques, like meditation, yoga, knowledge. You see, all the techniques must be done out of completion. Kṛṣṇa gives it as a path to attain the Ultimate Consciousness. Kṛṣṇa talks about sāṅkhyena, through knowledge or philosophical discussion. He says you can attain the goal using knowledge. He gives a wonderful, ultimate technique, the technique of surrendering. He says, 'Surrender the outcome of your actions to Me.' This is the most effective technique throughout the Gītā.

Just surrender the fruits of your actions to Him, the Universal Consciousness. Just surrender everything to the Cosmic energy of Kṛṣṇa. Once we do, we will feel liberated. This is the easiest path to reach the truth.

Whatever you see is a combination of matter and energy. The whole Universe is seen as kṣetra and kṣetrajña, māyā and ātman, prakṛti and puruṣa, matter and energy, body-mind and Consciousness. Existence, as we see it, cannot be with only one of them. If we believe that what we see is simply matter, we are in illusion or māyā.

Prakṛti is the manifest, gross and puruṣa is the unmanifest, subtle. So, the combination of kṣetra and kṣetrajña is necessary. Kṣetra and kṣetrajña are not separate entities. For existence to happen, both the subtle and gross forms must be there.

We Are Brahman (13.28-13.31)

Kṛṣṇa says, 'Anyone who has reached Self-realization or the Ultimate Consciousness sees that the Supreme Self is present in all living and non-living entities. He perceives the Supreme Self as the indestructible, beginning-less witnessing consciousness.'

The Existence we see is not comprised of individual entities. In reality, we are all in oneness. The same Supreme Self, Parameśvara that Kṛṣṇa speaks about is present in us and in everything we see around us.

We are all Brahman. God is everywhere. Divine energy fills all places. We see God as someone different. We create a big gap between God and us. We have confidence that the Supreme Spirit , Param Īśvara will take care of us, but we do not believe that the same Supreme Spirit is in us also!

Everything Is The Supreme Spirit, Parameśvara

Our body is the temple of our Soul. We should look at our body with gratitude, not greed. We should thank our body, prakṛti for holding our spirit, our soul, ātma. Kṛṣṇa says the soul, ātma that is in us and the soul, ātma that is in others is the Supreme Spirit and the Supreme Soul. But we isolate our soul. We define a boundary for our soul and separate it from the Supreme Spirit, Parameśvara.

'When we see that the Supreme Soul that resides in us and in everything around us, samaṁ sarveśu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhaṁ parameśvara, is indestructible, avinaśyantam, we see the truth (13.28).'

Here Kṛṣṇa says, whatever we think we are enjoying, actually it is the body that is enjoying all the material comforts. Our soul is Pure Consciousness. Kṛṣṇa gives us a technique here. He says, when we watch our body enjoying and associating with the sense pleasures and external material comforts, and not our Soul, we see the Truth, yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati. You will see that your Soul has nothing to do with the pleasures you are enjoying.

When you do this, you witness your body and mind as an outsider. Kṛṣṇa gives the great truth of Advaita (non-duality) in this verse. When we see the Supreme Soul in all living beings, we no longer see the separateness. We see the whole Universe as one single body expressing the same truth of oneness. We see that everything is Pure Consciousness and experience the space of non-duality, Advaita. We see that the whole Universe is the expansion of the same Consciousness—tata eva ca vistāraṁ brahma sampadyate tadā (13.31). This is Kṛṣṇa's message.

Soul Situated in Body Does Nothing (13.32-13.35)

Kṛṣṇa again reminds about the true nature of the Self. He tells Arjuna that the Soul is free, eternal and transcendental. Though the Soul has come into contact with the material body, it still is free. It is like the lotus plant in a lake. Water droplets fall on the lotus leaves do not get attached to the leaves. They simply roll off and merge with the water again. Same way, the Soul that rests inside this body is completely free from worldly joys and sorrows, like the drops of water. The soul, Ātma can simply merge into the Supreme Soul, Paramātma.

Kṛṣṇa says that just as the sun illuminates our whole world, one Supreme Self, Paramātma; that is one kṣetrajña, illuminates all beings in the Universe, animate or inanimate. Everything has the same Consciousness which lights up the entire Universe. Just as the Sun illumines the Universe, the Soul in this body illumines not only this body, but also everything surrounding it, the entire Universe (13.34).

Kṣetri is the Self. This Self illumines all the kṣetra, all the bodies. Not just our body or kṣetra is illumined but all the kṣetras are illumined. So there is no separation between the Consciousness in our body and in a plant or a rock. Everything is the same energy.

Actually, soul and Supreme Soul, ātma and parmātma, are not two separate entities. There is only Soul. Here Kṛṣṇa ends by saying, 'If we can witness as pure consciousness, we will be liberated from the bondages of the body-mind and achieve the eternal consciousness.'

Becoming the witness of the kṣetra is the only way to keep us away from the bondages of the body-mind. We must witness as the kṣetrajña, Consciousness. Witness the mind like a friend with integrity. Just witness and be complete. Witnessing acts like fire. All the thoughts are burned away and what remains is the pure space of completion.

The ultimate expression of our being happens when we are Whole. Whenever we are whole, we are holy. Witnessing consciousness or being in the space of completion is the only path to Wholeness or Holiness.

Let us pray to Parabrahman, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Universal Consciousness, to give us the space of completion, the pure witnessing consciousness; to give us the ultimate experience and establish us in eternal bliss, Nityānanda.