अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः ।
प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥ १५.१४ ॥

aham vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇinām deham-āśrita: |
prāṇāpānasamāyukta: pacāmy-annam catur-vidham || 15.14 ||

Discovering the Supreme as the Inner Presence

The idea is that the magnitude and splendour of the Soul is not just subtle, hidden within the body. It is infinite, extensive and manifest in the smallest as well as biggest forms of existence and expression. Going up to the sun, transiting to the moon, then descending to the earth and coursing through plants and vegetables, Krishna leads the seeker to be lodged in himself and feel closer:

Manifesting as life-fire in the bodies of creatures and uniting prāṇa and apāna, the supreme Reality digests the four-fold food.

Krishna says that in the matter of eating and providing nourishment to the body, to empower its ceaseless activity like breathing, circulating blood, stimulating signals to different parts, etc., the potential and powers of the supreme Reality alone are manifest. In particular, he says that the supreme Reality resides in the bodies of beings as Vaiśvānara, the enlivening fire. Linked with prāṇa and apāna (the upward and downward breath), Vaiśvānara digests the four kinds of food.

Bhakṣya, bhojya, coṣya and lehya are the four different types of food the humans take. Bhakṣya refers to those items to be chewed or masticated before gulping in. Bhojya consists of semisolid items, which can be taken in without chewing. Pāyasam (a kind of sweet) and such other items fall in this group. All that can be sipped in are called coṣya. They need not touch the teeth at all. Lehya is to be licked in.

Human system is meant to assimilate all these four kinds uniformly. Vaiśvānara helps this process. How intimate is then the presence and function of the Supreme in our life!

In the 10th chapter Krishna has referred to the vibhūtis of the Supreme. He has explained how the Supreme, otherwise imperceptible and omnipresent, remains incomprehensible, though manifest in the whole creation. In order to facilitate a full comprehension of the Supreme, Krishna lists a variety of objects and qualities. The references include letters, words, mountains, war-weapons, fame, patience, will, memory, spirituality and the rest. Finally he declares that all put together, the entire visible glory around us is merely one small fraction of the Supreme (10.42).