Chapter 13 · Verse 33

Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते।सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथाऽऽत्मा नोपलिप्यते

yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣhmyād ākāśhaṁ nopalipyate sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate

Word Meanings

yathā — as; sarva-gatam — all-pervading; saukṣhmyāt — due to subtlety; ākāśham — the space; na — not; upalipyate — is contaminated; sarvatra — everywhere; avasthitaḥ — situated; dehe — the body; tathā — similarly; ātmā — the soul; na — not; upalipyate — is contaminated

Language:

Translation

As the all-pervading space, being subtle, is not tainted by anything, so too the Self, though dwelling everywhere in the body, is never tainted.

Commentary

यथा as? सर्वगतम् the allpervading? सौक्ष्म्यात् because of its subtlety? आकाशम् ether? न not? उपलिप्यते is tainted? सर्वत्र everywhere? अवस्थितः seated? देहे in the body? तथा so? आत्मा the Self? न not? उपलिप्यते is tainted.Commentary Ether pervades everything. All are immersed in it. There is no point whereunto ether does not penetrate and pervade and yet it is not tainted by anything. Even so the Self pervades the whole body and the whole world. Being subtler than the body the Self is never tainted by it or anything else. It is unattached and actionless. It has no parts or limbs. So virtuous and vicious actions cannot contaminate the Self. It is ever pure and stainless.