यथाकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान् ।
तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय ।। ९.६ ।।

yathākāśa-sthito nityaṁ vāyuḥ sarvatra-go mahān |
tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni mat-sthānīty-upadhāraya || 9.6 ||

The relationship between the visible existence and the invisible Supreme is as intriguing as it is unique. It gives abundant scope for reflection, rumination and introspection. In fact, one’s whole life can be devoted to the understanding and contemplation of the subject.

To lift the mind from the tangible ‘personal’ concepts of the Supreme to the ‘Impersonal Absolute’ is neither common nor easy. People prefer to cling to ‘forms’, even when they think about the Supreme Cause and Source of the endless universe. But as long as the ‘personality feeling’ is there about the Supreme, the seeker will not be able to imbibe stability and wholesomeness in his comprehension.

It is the apparent prevalence of the perceptible world that makes the human being seek and enquire, leading him to unravel the truth of this mysterious and ultimately illusory existence.

The seeker must necessarily have a good understanding of the world around, the relationship between the Creation and its Cause, in order that his quest for Truth will be properly founded and reinforced. Intelligence is the key component in the human. It is only next to intelligence that everything else in him exists and operates. Intelligence always looks for, seeks and hunts knowledge. Knowledge is the best and most invaluable possession of man.

Intelligence will enquire into whatever is there before it, external or internal, gross or subtle. Just as it goes into the cause of happiness, a subject of the mind, it will also seek to know the cause behind the endless existence. Apart from being a valid inevitable pursuit, knowledge also enhances the scope and joy of human life, elevating it from the mere sensory level of animals to the lofty levels of comprehension and discovery. It is this knowledge, scope and mission that fulfills human life. This is an undeniable fact.

Religion may at first be an outcome of emotions operating in the mind level, but very soon it has to respond to the quests of intelligence. Thus in Hindu thinking, the religious thoughts very soon become philosophical and spiritual. There is no religious discussion that does not take up the relationship between the perceived objects, the subject involved in these, and the causal nature of both.

Krishna now takes his discussion to the practical level of day-to-day life of the individual, the society and the world at large. Like individuals and their society, the world, as a whole also has its behavioural pattern, subject to some laws and sequences. It is important that religion, philosophy and spirituality probe into and understand these. It comes under vijnana, the expanse of jnana. Everything is explained, so that no question remains a cause of discontent or doubt.

All-pervasiveness explained

All beings inhering in one cause is rather a difficult proposition. As we see around, all gross forms of existence, small or big, are circumscribed by their size and form. Separateness is characteristic of everything. Stringing them all together is unthinkable. To overcome this difficulty, Krishna gives the example of air and space.

Know that just as the all-pervading, ever-moving air inheres in akasa, space, so too all beings inhere in the Supreme.

Air, though one of the pancabhutas, is unlike earth or water. It is very subtle, imperceptible to the eyes, and permeates everywhere. Air enters into living beings, and while present in them individually, it is also present everywhere, without getting divided by its individual association.

As air, present in all beings, is itself inhering in the all-permeating space, so too the myriad beings inhere in the Supreme. By this example, the seeking mind is able to visualize with some ease and clarity, a close inseparable connection between all beings and the all-pervading, omnipresent, Supreme.

This linking up of the Created with the Creator’s presence, is a necessary part of devotional growth, and a means to build up strength, courage and invincibility of the mind. The concept that began from the 2nd chapter, continues. Krishna had introduced the idea of all-pervasiveness (Dehi nityam-avadhyo’yam dehe sarvasya bharata 2.30). He has also repeated many times that the Soul is nitya, eternal, and sarvagatah, all-pervading. The idea of all-pervasiveness is inevitable in the discussion of spiritual wisdom.

Now Krishna slowly builds up the other part, the object-world part along with its laws, cycles and sequences. He is, in fact, moving to the vibhuti yoga of the next chapter and the visvarupadarsana of the 11th. The philosophy apart, the religious needs of the mind are also taken note of and answered even more, from now on.

Do not think that the world is merely an aggregate of matter and energy, although in the extensive creation around us, the animate part is significantly less than the inanimate. This should not lead anyone to conclude that the inanimate world will behave in an unpredictable manner. If it were, then how could we have any stability and continuity in our life and interactions in the world? We can and do expect with regularity, the day and night, the week, month and seasons. They recur unfailingly. Based on this do we live and move in the world. If everywhere and every day, uncertainty and instability surround us, how can life and activities be possible at all?

So there is a character in every particle, form and being as well as their aggregates. There is law. There is order. There is definite behaviour. It is always within this static-ness and constant-ness that the variables reign and express themselves. There is cyclicness in all Creation. It is imbued into each by the Cosmic Source, the Supreme. As is the supreme Cause beyond invalidation, so too is its effect beyond negation.