रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः ।
प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ।। ७.८ ।।
पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ ।
जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ।। ७.९ ।।

raso’ham-apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ |
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu || 7.8 ||
puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṁ ca tejaś-cāsmi vibhāvasau |
jīvanaṁ sarva-bhūteṣu tapaś-cāsmi tapasviṣu || 7.9 ||

In order to help the seeking mind, Krishna provides a graded process of expansion. He first described the whole creation as a display of the One. All objects, big and small, are verily strung in One, like the beads in a single thread. The beads are not made of any material different from the thread; they are knots in the same thread.

The Supreme is omnipresent

But can the mind absorb and actualize such a grand concept of Oneness, all at once, dissolving all notes of plurality and contradiction? The elevation has to be gradual, for which the mind has to cultivate the necessary outlook and vision. Even if the seeker thinks of the endless existence as something like the waves in the expanse of the sea, that would still be a fantasy! Krishna therefore advocates an orderly spiritual ascent.

O Kaunteya, I am the taste in waters, brilliance in the sun and moon, the pranava in all the Vedas, the primordial sound in space and the valour in humans; I am the divine odour of the earth, brilliance of lights, life in all beings and austerity in ascetics.

The master teacher that he is, Krishna begins with the gross and then gently proceeds to take the seeker’s mind to the subtle, showing the fabric of the Supreme in each of the illustrations.

First of all he enlists a number of prime constituents that make up the world and shows how each of them is imprinted with supreme Divinity. For instance, the taste (rasa) in waters and the brilliance (prabha) in the sun and moon signify supreme Divinity, because both are part of Himself, he points out. The sight, proximity and use of water as well as light should instantly associate the seeker’s mind with Divinity. The implication is clear. Spiritual thoughts cannot be rare, exclusive or distant. They are near and dear, like the water one drinks and the light one sees.

Water is vital and indispensable in our life. It forms our bodies. No living being can be born or exist without water! Life itself has evolved from water. Most part of our body is, in fact, water. How well, wholesomely, does the body then signify and reveal supreme Divinity! Similarly, the brilliance seen anywhere is also part of the supreme Divinity, points out Krishna. In drinking water, or while looking at anything whatever, is not one then swimming in the expanse of the Supreme? What an abundant opportunity is the seeker gifted with, to feel the presence of the supreme Divinity!

Of all our organs of perception, the most important are the eyes. We also use them maximum. Right from waking up till one falls asleep, the eyes are given to seeing whatever is around. But can the eyes do their task in the absence of light? Light and the consequent vision it bestows on the eyes reveal the supreme Divinity, explains Krishna. But every one misses this truth. That is why Krishna spends time in driving home the message in detail.

Whether yoga, devotion or karma, the pursuit is thus primarily one of perception, not merely of some practice. It consists in expanding and elevating the vision of the seeker. Arjuna had already undergone severe austerity for years, in forests and elsewhere. But of what avail? When he faced the complex event of war, which he had all along been preparing for, what happened? Is his failure due to lack of any practice or is it due to lack of right perception? It is a faulty perception that the mind breeds. Unless the gap, the disorder, is identified precisely, and the right remedial measures taken, the discomfiture is bound to prevail.

The five elements (panca-bhutas) constitute the entire world. Of them akasa (space or sky) is the most conspicuous and endless. Sound is the property or quality of akasa. Krishna says, this also equally signifies Divinity. The whole Vedas are an elaboration and explanation of the basic sound ‘Om’, which represents the Self in all its three states: wakefulness, deep sleep and dream. Krishna says that this ‘Om’ represents Him, the Supreme.

As in seeing, so too in hearing, the seer and hearer are interacting continuously with the Supreme, emphasizes Krishna. And by employing the respective organs for the purpose, every one, in truth, is coursing through the supreme Divinity.

Two other elements are left: The earth and the fire. Smell is the quality of earth (bhumi), and earth’s products. Heat is the quality of fire. Both smell and heat signify the same supreme Divinity.