(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

Divine Material Energy Has Manifested All That Exists In The Universe

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायु: खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च |
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा || 7.4||

bhūmir-āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva cha
ahankāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛitir aṣhṭadhā|| 7.4||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 7- Ver. 4:

This is my eight-fold divided nature, which includes earth, water, fire, wind, and space, as well as mind, ego, and intellect.

Explanation

The energy that makes up this material universe is very complicated and difficult to comprehend. We divided it into many categories and sub-categories to make it understandable to our limited intellect. The Bhagavad Gita and Vedic philosophy give a fundamentally different categorisation of the material universe. Prakiti refers to matter as a component of God’s energy. It is further subdivided into eight types, which are stated in this verse.

Divines material energy has manifested everything in the universe.” Only one material energy has manifested itself in the world’s many shapes, forms, and beings. Prakiti is the name given to the primal form of material energy. When God intends to construct the world, He takes a look at it.His glance agitates and creates mahān. Mahan manifests further into ahankar, The pancha-tanmatras, or the five senses of taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound, are formed by Ahankar. The five gross elements—space, air, fire, water, and earth—emerge from this.

The mind, intellect, and ego, as well as the five gross elements, are all expressions of Lord Shree Krishna’s material force. All of these eight elements, He says in this stanza, are essentially portions of Maya, His material force.
Here, the terms “earth,” “water,” “fire,” “wind,” and “space” do not refer to tangible physical components that we can see with our senses. They refer to the physical properties of the elements. When these elements are combined, they have the ability to build any object in the universe. In other words, Shri Krishna claims that the universe’s building blocks are nothing more than his manifestation.

Verse & what we can learn

If we understand that everything comes from Ishvara, we will have no room for bad feelings like jealousy or anger. We are not upset when we understand that Ishvara created and owns everything. We perceive everything as ultimately belonging to Ishvara, therefore when we consider all of these eight components, we recognise that Ishvara is the source of all material parts of the cosmos.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There are also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the Next verse, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna about another of His higher energies, the soul energy.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…