विवेचन सारांश

Bhagavan reveals the most confidential and supreme knowledge about Jñāna-Vijñāna, HIS divinity and the temporal nature of Prakṛiti

Here, ‘Idam' refers to ‘This' (knowledge). Here Bhagavān refers to the knowledge HE had already started imparting to Arjuna in the earlier chapters about Jñāna-Vijñāna. Guhyatamaṃ means ‘the most secret knowledge’ of this world compared to other worldly knowledge and sciences, which everyone possesses.

Bhagavān imparts the knowledge of Bhagavadgītā to us through Arjuna, as HE believes Arjuna has a right to this knowledge since he is Anasuyā, a person who does not find fault with others and thus is devoid of envy and jealousy. This is one amongst 25 names by which Śrī Krishna addresses Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gītā.

In Atri Smriti, it is said that

na guṇān guṇino hanti stauti manda-guṇān api|
nānya-doṣeṣu ramate sānasūyā prakīrttitā||

It describes the three characteristics of a person who is free from envy (Anasuyā), which is a person

1. The one who does not try to find faults in others and does not destroy the virtues of a virtuous person
2. The one who praises the less virtuous and less knowledgeable.
3. The one who does not laugh at the faults of others

Bhagavān says that one can acquire this secret knowledge only and only when one becomes Anusuya (without jealousy) like Arjuna. Without this personality, one will not have the capability to comprehend this knowledge.

Śrī Bhagavān continues to explain to Arjuna the difference between Jñāna and Vijñāna. While Jñāna is theoretical knowledge, Vijñāna refers to experiential knowledge gained through the practice of the theoretical knowledge. When we read the Gītā, we acquire Jñāna, the theoretical knowledge as imparted by Bhagavān. However, when we start living our lives in the manner recommended in the Gītā, through Sādhanā (practice), we acquire Vijñāna, the experiential knowledge. This is possible as we are living and practicing the knowledge we acquired through Jñāna.

Pujya Swami Govind Dev Giri Ji Maharaj says one must ‘Learn Gītā, Teach Gītā, Live Gītā’. Learning to chant the Shlōkas of Bhagavadgītā correctly is acquiring Jñāna, while living one’s life following the principles described therein is Vijñāna.

Another example could be of a person who is given an Apple. We can provide a lot of explanation about the taste of the fruit and how it is red in colour, and so forth. However, for the person to truly experience the taste of the Apple, he must personally eat and taste it. No amount of detailed explanation would give him as much understanding of the taste as the experience of one bite of the Apple. This tasting of the Apple is Vijñāna.

The Supreme knowledge likewise cannot be theoretically imbibed. While the Guru may teach us, that is give us Jñāna, but to truly understand and appreciate it one must personally experience it.

Bhagavān further uses the word guhyatamam, the most confidential knowledge.

Three degrees of secrecy are expressed here:

• guhya — secret. This represents the Karma Yoga
• guhyatara — more secret. This represents the Jñāna Yoga
• guhyatama — most secret. Both the above merge into Bhakti Yoga and is the supreme secret.

The knowledge being imparted here is parama guhyam, the supreme secret. However, secrecy implies that this knowledge is only shared with those who are truly qualified to receive it.

It is as though one were to attempt teaching a child in the very first standard, the material that belongs to a Master’s level of education. The child, being yet unprepared, would naturally fail to grasp even a fraction of what is being taught, not because the teaching itself is obscure, but because the listener lacks the requisite maturity and capacity to comprehend it. Thus, the knowledge, though openly available, remains a secret to the child.

In the same way, the sacred truth that Bhagavān is now about to reveal is not hidden by design, but veiled by the limitations of the seeker. Guhya or secrecy in spiritual parlance does not mean that the truth is deliberately concealed; it means that it cannot be perceived without inner preparedness. Only when one develops the necessary adhikāra (qualification), which includes purity of mind, humility, reverence, and above all, faith (śraddhā), does the heart become capable of receiving divine wisdom.

Hence, in spiritual life, qualification precedes revelation. The higher the knowledge, the subtler the qualification required. Ordinary knowledge can be gained through study, analysis, and reasoning, but divine knowledge, knowledge of Paramātmā HIMSELF, requires refinement of the very instrument through which one receives: the mind and heart.

Bhagavān therefore, begins by declaring that HE shall impart this most confidential teaching only to one who is anasūyave, free from envy and malice, receptive to truth, and humble before the Divine. This is not a condition of exclusion but of readiness. To one whose mind is clouded by pride or cynicism, even divine revelation will appear as mere words; but to one whose heart is pure, even a few words from Bhagavān are enough to awaken realisation.

Bhagavān further assures Arjuna that by knowing this secret, this Rāja-Vidyā and Rāja-Guhya, one shall become liberated from aśubhāt, the impurities and miseries born of saṃsāra. The term aśubha signifies all that is inauspicious, bondage, sorrow, delusion, fear, and the endless cycle of birth and death. To be freed from aśubhāt is to transcend the realm of suffering and duality, to rise above the turbulence of worldly existence, and to rest in the eternal peace of mokṣa, the ultimate and irreversible liberation.

To know this knowledge, therefore, is not to accumulate information, but to undergo transformation. It is the knowledge that dissolves ignorance, severs bondage, and restores the soul to its original, divine nature.

And Arjuna possessed that rare qualification. Having surrendered his pride, doubts, and confusion at the feet of Bhagavān, he had become a fit vessel for this parama-rahasya—the supreme secret. His heart was cleansed by humility, his intellect sharpened by discrimination, and his will softened by devotion. Thus, he stood worthy of receiving the most exalted wisdom, not as an intellectual concept but as vijñāna, direct realisation born of divine grace.

It is to such a disciple that Bhagavān now unveils the mystery of HIS own being, the supreme essence of Paramātmā, the truth that liberates and sanctifies all who hear it with faith and devotion.

In this Shlōka, Bhagavān gives 8 characteristics of this very important Supreme Knowledge.

Bhagavān glorifies the Supreme Knowledge, as the knowledge (of both the theory and experience) that is a sovereign secret, kingly and supremely Holy or pure. The reason why this is Supreme is that once a person realises this knowledge, he becomes omniscient, a person who is all-knowing. Post attaining this Supreme Knowledge, all other knowledge seems irrelevant, illusoryand temporary. It brings the realisation from within.

This is the top-most-secret knowledge and cannot be understood in one go. We need to study several times and do our Sādhanā, and continue doing our karma to truly understand it.

The knowledge is said to be Pavitra (Holy) as against Shuddha (Pure). We can use a filter to purify water, but we cannot make it Holy. There are only specific sources of Holy water, like the water from the river Ganga. The knowledge is referred to as Pavitra as it sanctifies one’s thoughts and mind.

Bhagavān next says the knowledge to be uttamam, of the highest order, the best.

The fifth quality of the knowledge, Bhagavān says, is pratyakṣhāvagamaṁ, that which is directly perceivable and realisable, leading to eternal bliss.

It is Dharmyaṁ, in complete alignment with Dharma, the highest principles of righteousness, harmony, and moral order. The term Dharma here does not refer merely to religious duty or ritual observance, but to the universal law that sustains balance, within the individual, society, and cosmos alike.

In the Vedic vision of life, Dharma expresses itself through the harmonious functioning of the four Āśramas (stages of life) and the four Varnas (natural social categories). The four Āśramas are:

• Brahmacharya – the stage of disciplined learning, where one cultivates purity, restraint, and knowledge.
• Gṛhastha – the stage of household life, where one fulfils duties towards family, society, and the Divine through selfless service.
• Vānaprastha – the stage of gradual withdrawal, turning inward through reflection and detachment from material pursuits.
• Sannyāsa – the stage of complete renunciation, where one lives solely in the awareness of the Supreme Self.

It is Susukhaṁ Kartum, easy to practice, as Bhagavān is attained very naturally if we can learn to love HIM. In the seventh Shlōka of Chapter 15, HE says mamaivamso jivaloke jivabhutah sanatanah, that is, All living beings are part of HIM, the Paramātmā.

Finally, it is Avyayam, timeless, changeless and eternal.

A Shlōka in Isha Upanishad best describes the concept Avyayam, which says

Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Puurnnam-Udacyate |
Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
That is the Full, this is the Full; from Fullness arises Fullness; Fullness remains even if Fullness is taken away from Fullness.

Bhagavān thus describes the characteristics of this Supreme knowledge.

Addressing Arjuna as Parantapa (the conqueror of enemies, the invincible), Bhagavān tells that people who are faithless, do not have faith in Dharma, fail to reach HIM, and they continue to be caught in the cyclical path of birth and death.

In our worldly attachment, we may find momentary happiness, but that would be transient and will eventually lead to pain and sorrow.

• Mala (Impurity of the Mind) – This is the dirt or stain that accumulates in the inner instrument (antaḥkaraṇa). It consists of desires, attachments, anger, greed, pride, and delusion, qualities that make the mind impure and unsteady. As long as this impurity remains, clarity of perception is impossible.
• Vikṣepa (Restlessness or Distraction) – The flickering tendency of the mind that constantly jumps from one thought to another, unable to remain still even for a moment. As Arjuna himself once said, “Cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa”—the mind is restless, turbulent, and difficult to restrain. This instability prevents deep meditation and true understanding.
• Āvaraṇa (Veiling Power of Ignorance) – The covering of avidyā that conceals the ever-present reality of Bhagavān. Just as a mirror covered with dust cannot reflect one’s face, the heart covered by ignorance cannot reflect the light of divine knowledge. The soul remains untouched and pure, but its brilliance is hidden under layers of worldly tendencies.

The aśraddadhānāḥ, due to these three defects, fail to recognise the presence of the Paramātmā within themselves. They remain absorbed in external nature and superficial appearances, declaring, “This world is everything; there is nothing beyond.” Such persons, Bhagavān says, are adharmika, not because they are immoral, but because they are unaware of the eternal Dharma, the underlying law that governs both creation and conduct.

Bhagavān compassionately addresses Arjuna as Parantapa, “the conqueror of foes”, to highlight his strength, both external and internal. Among warriors, Arjuna was supreme; no one equalled him in courage, perseverance, and determination. The title Parantapa also signifies one who can subdue the enemies within—the six inner foes: kāma (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (pride), and mātsarya (jealousy). Arjuna’s mind was steady and his heart devoted, making him the ideal recipient of this highest knowledge.

Bhagavān also calls him Paramatapa, meaning “the greatest among those who perform tapas.” Tapa means steadfast effort amidst difficulty—the burning resolve to pursue truth despite all obstacles. Arjuna embodied this quality, whether in battle or in learning. He could endure fatigue, hunger, and sleep deprivation in his pursuit of excellence. Such inner discipline is what qualifies one for divine knowledge.

The aśraddadhānāḥ, however, remain aprapya māṁ, unable to attain Bhagavān, and mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani, they revolve endlessly in the wheel of birth and death. Their ignorance binds them to the mortal plane, where joy and sorrow alternate endlessly.

We need to remove these shortcomings within us to come out of ignorance and follow the path of Dharma. That will help us to feel the presence of the Paramātmā within us, ultimately leading to everlasting bliss.

Śrī Bhagavān says that the entire world is permeated by HIS presence. Despite HIM being omnipresent, HE is hidden and can neither be seen or experienced. HE also adds a postscript saying that despite HIM being everywhere and in all beings, unlike the mortal beings who are driven by Prakṛiti, HE is indestructible and the Eternal Supreme Power.

Bhagavān declares here that by His avyakta-mūrtina, His unmanifest, formless essence, He pervades the entire jagat (universe). This is not His personal form, but His all-pervasive reality as Paramātma.

All beings, whether moving or unmoving, all species, all forms of life, reside in Him. They are established in Him because He is their substratum, the source from which they arise and in which they are sustained.

Yet, He clarifies: though all beings dwell in Him, He is not in them.

This is the subtle point. We live, move, and have our being in Him; He creates, sustains, and governs the universe. But His true essence, as Paramātma, does not reside inside the inert, material constitution of beings.

Why? Because within beings operates prakṛti, the insentient energy. Though prakṛti is His power (śakti), it is still jaḍa (inert). Without the enlivening touch of His consciousness as Puruṣa, it cannot function. Thus, He is the ultimate source and energiser but not limited or contained by the inert matter of creation.

Bhagavān has created prakṛti and through it runs the entire cosmos. But prakṛti itself is not conscious. It is His lower energy, whereas He is the supreme consciousness. Thus, while all beings and all creation are situated in Him, He remains transcendental to them.

Just as puppets move because of the puppeteer, but the puppeteer is not bound within the puppets, similarly, all beings exist in Him, yet He is not established within them.

This also explains the paradox of pervasiveness and transcendence. Bhagavān is sarvavyāpaka (all-pervading), yet He is asanga (unattached and unbound). He pervades all as the substratum, but He is not affected by the mutable, destructible nature of beings.

Therefore, though He has created prakṛti, He remains untouched by its limitations. Though all creatures are impermanent in form, He is imperishable and eternal. The destructible cannot contain the indestructible

Bhagavān says that even though all the living beings dwell in HIM, they are not in HIM since HE is not influenced by them or by the material nature.

This may sound confusing and contradictory to what HE said in the earlier Shlōka.

If we consider Prakṛiti or Nature and Bhagavān, the Consciousness, as two separate entities (Dwaita), then we can say that the two entities can reside in each other. But what if they are one and the same (Adwaita)? In that case, they are a single entity, and hence there is no question of one residing in the other. They are a singular entity.

Analogy: Let's take the relationship between the ocean and the waves within it. The waves are present in the ocean due to the ocean itself. This is analogous to the living beings of the Saṃsāra being present in the Almighty due to HIM only. However, the waves and the ocean are one and the same, as the very existence of the wave is due to the ocean. The wise sages are able to see this singularity in apparent plurality, whereas common people see them as two separate entities.

Likewise, if we consider ourselves synonymous with the temporal Prakṛiti and Bhagavān as the separate Eternal entity, then we can say that the two entities can reside in each other. Alternatively, if we think they are one and the same, then we are a single entity, and there is no question of one existing in the other.

We have so many species in the world, each with seemingly their own Ātmā. There are about 300 Sadhaks listening to the Vivechan session, appearing as if each with their own Ātmā, their own consciousness. But there is only a single Ātmā appearing in different forms in front of us.

We come from the Sukshma or micro to the Sthula or macro.

Bhagavāns presence is the most Sukshma.  

Let us consider the example of this material world is made of the Pañca-mahā-bhūta (5 primordial elements).

• First, we have Akasha (ether), which is the most Sukshma.
• Next come Vayu (air), which too is Sukshma, though it consists of ether elements in it too.
• Next is Agni (fire), which consists, besides itself, of a proportion of Akasa and Vayu
• Agni is followed by Jala (water)
• And finally, Prithvi (earth), which is the most Sthula.

Bhagavān's presence is everywhere but is not visible because it is Sukshma and Avyakta, and we can only see that which is Sthula.

To help Arjuna grasp this subtle truth, Bhagavān offers a beautiful analogy. He compares His relationship with the universe to that of ākāśa (space) and vāyu (air).

He says,  “Understand this through an example.”
Just as the mighty Vayu or wind moves everywhere but always rests in the Akash or Ether. Thus, wind has no existence independent of the sky.

The ākāśa (space) is all-encompassing, infinite, and unchanging. It provides the ground of existence for vāyu, which constantly moves and pervades all directions. Yet, even though vāyu moves within space, space itself does not move within vāyu.

Thus, ākāśa is the base,  and vāyu is dependent upon it. The existence of vāyu is possible only because of space; without space, vāyu has no existence.

In the same way, all beings, sarvāṇi bhūtāni, the countless living entities across millions of species and forms, exist within Bhagavān. Their birth, actions, and death all occur within His vast presence.

Similarly, all beings abide in Bhagavān and have no existence independent of HIM. They move in time, place, and consciousness, through transitory bodies, sometimes rapidly and sometimes slowly, and yet, they always exist within the Supreme Paramātmā.

Bhagavān Śrī Krishna uses the analogy of wind to illustrate HIS all-pervading and omnipresent nature, and helps us understand how all living beings exist within Paramātmā.

Śrī Krishna explains that all living beings (Sarvabhutani) merge and unite into HIS primordial material energy (Prakṛitim) at the end of a kalpa i.e, 4.320 billion human years (kalpakṣaye). At the beginning of a Kalpa (kalpādau), HE again creates them (visṛjāmyaham).

Here are the explanations for the calculation of the cosmic timelines.

Kalpa: One Kalpa is of 4.320 billion human years and equals 12 hours of Bhagavān Brahmādev’s day. It consists of a thousand Chaturyugas or fourfold Yugas. Each Chaturyuga is approximately 4,320,000 human years this leading to one Kalpa being 4.320 billion human years.

Yuga: There are four Yugas, namely

• Satya Yuga: The first age with 1,728,000 human years.
• Treta Yuga: The second age with 1,296,000 human years.
• Dvapara Yuga: The third age with 864,000 human years.
• Kali Yuga: The final age with 432,000 human years. We are currently about 5000 years in this Yuga

A complete cycle of four Yugas mentioned above or Chaturyuga is also called a Mahayuga and lasts for 4,320,000 human years.

As mentioned earlier, 100 such Mahayugas or 4.32 billion human years make one Kalpa, which happens to be the length of one waking day of Brahmā Ji. Therefore, two Kalpas or 8.64 billion human years make one complete day and night for HIM.

Brahmā Ji’s lifespan is said to be 100 Brahmā years. Surely, none of us, not even a calculator, can compute how many Human Years that is going to be!!

Thus, even Brahmā Ji’s life also comes to a completion wherein he too gets merged into the Supreme Divine.

It is interesting to note that this innumerable number of Brahmā Ji’s lifespans is but a moment in the cosmic lifecycle. This should give us an idea of the inconsequentiality of our own existence in the larger scheme of the existence of the cosmos.

At the kalpa-kṣhaya, that is the end of Brahmā Ji’s lifespan of 100 Brahmā years,  the entire cosmic construct is destroyed and goes into an unmanifested state. After this destruction, when Brahmā Ji wakes up again, kalpādau or a new Kalpa begins.

Thus continues the cosmic cycle.

Bhagavān explains that HE assumes HIS own primordial material energy (Prakṛitim svam) to repeatedly (punah punah) create and recreate.

The multitude of beings (bhutagraman) is born, dies, and is reborn again according to their respective Karmas. This is beyond the control (avaśhat) of Prakṛti, who is under the control of the Paramātmā, the Supreme Consciousness.

Śrī Krishna explains to Arjuna, whom He addresses as Dhananjaya (one who has collected a lot of money for Anusuya yagna), that HIS actions do not bind HIM (na ca māṃ tāni karmāṇi, nibadhnanti dhanañjaya). HE remains indifferent, equipoised and unattached (udāsīnavadāsīnam).

Despite being the creator of actions, HE is not bound by them (asaktaṃ teṣu karmasu) though HE does keep an account of the good and the bad deeds one performs in their mortal lives.

The session was followed by a Questions and Answers session and concluded with Prayers and chanting of Hanuman Chalisa.

Questions and Answers

Radha Kumari Ji

Q: The conflict between duality and non-duality is always going on within us. It is said in the Gītā that in the end there is only one Supreme Being. Like the Supreme Being, the water of the ocean and the waves are the same. The soul of ourselves and other living entities is also the same consciousness energy. After death, everything merges into that Supreme Being. So not everyone's actions were different. Then why do we confine ourselves to our actions? Who is reincarnated? Who was responsible?

A: There is a soul that is pure and imperishable. After entering the living entity, the soul becomes Jīvātmā and forgets its existence by becoming part of Prakṛti. With the imperfections in the Jīvātmā, the soul gets involved with the impurities of doership and desire. To remove this impurity, one has to take rebirth multiple times. As long as this dirt remains, the Jīvātmā cannot become a soul. One has to keep on taking birth till one comes out of attachment and doership to move to become a soul.

Lata Amin Ji

Q: In the Bhagavadgītā, Śrī Krishna told Arjuna that one has to take up arms to kill Adharma. Duryodhana was sinful, and Ravana was also sinful and unrighteous. However, their soldiers were not necessarily unrighteous, so why did they have to die?

A: Every creature has to suffer the consequences of its actions. The deeds of Ravana or Duryodhana are visible but not of the soldiers. They too had to bear the fruits of the deeds of their previous lives. That is why Bhīṣma Pitāmaha, the grandfather, also had to side with the impious Duryodhana.

Śrī Raghavendra Rao Rayalpada Ji

Q: If the sky is nothing, how can there be air in it?

A: The sky is empty. We know that we cannot see something that is very subtle. Just as an atom is not visible to our normal vision. We can feel air, but we cannot see it. Standing on the seashore, we can see as much of the sea as our eyes can, but the sea is unfathomable and infinite, just as the sky is infinite.

Aruna Ji

Q: It is said that salvation will be achieved only by getting rid of the fruits of one's Karma. However, if we do not remember the Karmas of our previous birth, then how can we get salvation by removing them?

A: Forgetting is a gift. Carrying a memory is a curse because it distracts the mind. We do not even need to know this because Bhagavān knows everything. Chitragupta keeps an account of our deeds, and according to him, our tendency is Sattvik, Rajasik and Tamasik. We see little children reciting the Gītā and becoming Gītāvratis, though they do not even understand the meaning of those verses. This can only be done through their past actions. The actions we are doing in this birth are based on the accumulated actions of our previous births.

The Sanchit or accumulated Karmas become mature and become Prarabdha Karma, which are completed. Our Kriyamana Karma or new Karmas are, however, converted into accumulated Karmas. Doing good deeds in this birth will reduce our sins and increase our virtues. Bhagavān Śrī Krishna has also asked Arjuna to fight according to the inherent action of a Kṣatriya. HE says that when Arjuna is victorious, he will enjoy the kingdom; otherwise, he will reach heaven. This is because Arjuna is fighting to uphold Dharma. It is only in human birth that we can improve over our previous deeds.