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Bhagwad Gita (English) | Chapter 13 | Verse 22

Chapter 13, Verse 22

Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness

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.

Verse

पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्।कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु।।13.22।।


puruṣhaḥ prakṛiti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛiti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

Meaning of each word

puruṣhaḥ — the individual soul;
prakṛiti-sthaḥ — seated in the material energy;
hi — indeed;
bhuṅkte — desires to enjoy;
prakṛiti-jān — produced by the material energy;
guṇān — the three modes of nature;
kāraṇam — the cause;
guṇa-saṅgaḥ — the attachment (to three guṇas);
asya — of its;
sat-asat-yoni — in superior and inferior wombs;
janmasu — of birth

Interpretation

This verse talks about how living beings experience life by being part of the material world. Let’s break this down into simpler parts.

Firstly, it says that every living being is influenced by material nature. This means that the surroundings, the world we live in, and everything around us shape how we live and what we experience. Just like how different weather affects us, material nature affects our feelings, thoughts, and actions.

The verse mentions three modes of nature, which basically means different ways of being or types of experiences in life. These are often called goodness, passion, and ignorance.
- **Goodness** represents peace, happiness, and balance. It is like how you feel when you help someone or when you’re in a calm, lovely place.
- **Passion** is about energy and action, but sometimes it can lead to stress and desire. Imagine the excitement of chasing after a goal, but also feeling overwhelmed.
- **Ignorance** represents confusion and chaos. It’s like when someone is sad and doesn’t understand why or when they make poor choices without realizing the consequences.

Now, because living beings are connected to this material nature, they go through a cycle of experiences. Sometimes life is good, and sometimes it’s tough. This can happen in different forms—like being born as a human, an animal, or even in other forms of life such as a bird or a bug.

This cycle is compared to changing clothes. Just like we wear different clothes for different occasions, living beings take on different forms based on their experiences and influences. If you are always drawn to material pleasures—like wealth, power, or fame—you may find yourself in situations that lead you away from peace and enlightenment.

The verse suggests that as long as a person is attached to the material world and its temptations, they will continue to go through this cycle of birth and rebirth. So even though we think we control our lives or that we are making our own choices, in truth, we are often being driven by the material nature surrounding us.

This means that each being has the potential to experience different kinds of life based on the nature of their desires. If someone really wants to experience joy and peace, they must learn to step back from their attachments and desires.

In conclusion, this verse teaches us to be aware of the influences of material nature and to understand that our experiences can lead us to good or bad situations depending on how we engage with our surroundings. We have the ability to seek a higher understanding rather than just getting lost in the cycle of desires and attachments.

Other Verses of Chapter 13
Verse 1
Arjuna said, "I wish to learn about Nature and the Spirit, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and that which ought to be known, O Kesava."
Verse 2
The Blessed Lord said, "O Arjuna, this body is called the field; he who knows it is called the knower of the field by those who know them."
Verse 3
O scion of Bharat, 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.
Verse 4
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.
Verse 5
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.
Verse 6
The great elements, egoism, intellect, and also the Unmanifested Nature, the ten senses, and one mind, and the five objects of the senses.
Verse 7
Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the body, intelligence, and willpower—these things have been briefly described as aspects of the field of our activities.
Verse 8
Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, and self-control.
Verse 9
Indifference to the objects of the senses and also absence of egoism; perceiving the evil in birth, death, old age, sickness, and pain.
Verse 10
Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home, and the rest, and constant even-mindedness in the face of the attainment of both desirable and undesirable.
Verse 11
Unswerving devotion to Me through the Yoga of non-separation, resorting to solitary places, and a distaste for the company of people.
Verse 12
Constancy in Self-knowledge, the perception of the end of true knowledge—this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.
Verse 13
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.
Verse 14
Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes and faces, and He hears everything. In this way the Supersoul exists.
Verse 15
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.
Verse 16
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.
Verse 17
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.
Verse 18
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.
Verse 19
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.
Verse 20
Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless. Their transformations and the modes of matter are products of material nature.
Verse 21
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.
Verse 23
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.
Verse 24
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.
Verse 25
That Supersoul is perceived by some through meditation, by some through the cultivation of knowledge, and by others through working without fruitive desire.
Verse 26
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.
Verse 27
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.
Verse 28
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.
Verse 29
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.
Verse 30
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.
Verse 31
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.
Verse 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 entangled.
Verse 33
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.
Verse 34
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.
Verse 35
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.
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