Gita 07.10 – All seeds are exhaustible, but Krishna is the inexhaustible seed
bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
viddhi pārtha sanātanam
buddhir buddhimatām asmi
tejas tejasvinām aham (Bg 7.10)
Word-for-word:
bījam — the seed; mām — Me; sarva-bhūtānām — of all living entities; viddhi — try to understand; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; sanātanam — original, eternal; buddhiḥ — intelligence; buddhi-matām — of the intelligent; asmi — I am; tejaḥ — prowess; tejasvinām — of the powerful; aham — I am.
Translation:
O son of Pṛthā, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.
Explanation:
Kṛṣṇa continues His analysis of how He is the essence of everything. In verse 8, He gave five examples; in verse 9, four; and now, in this verse, He gives three more.
bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ: I am the seed of all existences
viddhi pārtha sanātanam: Know Me, O son of Pṛthā, as the eternal seed
buddhir buddhimatām asmi: I am the intelligence of the intelligent
tejaḥ tejasvinām aham: And I am the splendor of the splendid.
Kṛṣṇa says “bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ.” There are seeds (bīja) for all the various things that grow in nature. From seeds, giant trees emerge; from seeds, shrubs grow; from seeds, grains sprout. Normally, a seed becomes exhausted once it produces what it is meant to give rise to. When a seed grows into a tree, the original seed is lost. Of course, the tree will later produce new seeds, but those are fresh ones—the original seed no longer exists.
Similarly, in this world, the various seeds that exist do produce things, but once they have done so, they are gone. Kṛṣṇa, however, says that He is bījaṁ sanātana—the eternal seed. This means that He never becomes exhausted or perishes. He does not lose His self-existence even when countless other things expand and manifest from Him.
This principle is also explained in the Īśopaniṣad, which states:
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate—
“The Absolute Truth is pūrṇa (perfect and complete). This world, which has emanated from Him, is also pūrṇa. Whatever is produced from the Complete Whole is complete in itself. Even though so many complete units emanate from the Complete Whole, the Absolute Truth still remains complete.”
In mathematics, there is the concept of infinite sets—where infinity minus infinity still remains infinity. Similarly, although innumerable universes may emanate from the Supreme Lord, He continues to remain infinite and complete. He is never diminished, depleted, or exhausted in any way. Thus, He is the eternal seed (bījaṁ sanātanam)—the inexhaustible, imperishable source. No matter how many manifestations emerge from Him, He continues to exist fully and eternally. That is His unique transcendental nature.
Nothing can manifest without a seed. Even in human reproduction—though no physical seed like a plant’s is used—the metaphor of the seed still applies. The man gives the seed to the woman, and from that seed, life develops within the womb. Just as a farmer plants a seed in the soil and the earth serves as the womb from which a tree grows, the seed is the essential starting point for all creation.
Similarly, the man gives the seed to the woman, and the woman’s womb becomes the place where the embryo develops. The seed thus serves as the active principle from which growth begins. Kṛṣṇa says that for all beings in existence, He is that very seed.
Kṛṣṇa speaks of a similar idea in Bhagavad-gītā 14.4, where He says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā—“I am the seed-giving father.” In this way, since everything ultimately originates from some kind of seed, Kṛṣṇa declares that He is that eternal, inexhaustible seed.
There are two broad philosophical viewpoints—satkāryavāda and asatkāryavāda. Satkāryavāda holds that the cause is present within the effect, whereas asatkāryavāda maintains that the cause is not present in the effect. For example, a mango seed produces a mango tree with mango fruits because the potential for that outcome already exists within the seed. In contrast, according to asatkāryavāda, the effect does not preexist in the cause, and the two are entirely distinct.
Vedic philosophy accepts satkāryavāda—the principle that the effect is already present within the cause. Otherwise, how could the effect manifest at all? If the effect were not inherent in the cause, then anything could produce anything—for instance, stones could yield oil. But that never happens. Only specific oil seeds, such as groundnut or flaxseed, produce oil because the potential for oil exists within them.
Hence, the effect must be present within the cause. The Absolute Truth is filled with various energies, and therefore we see those same energies manifested in this world. The effects we observe—such as oil being extracted from groundnut seeds—appear only because their potential already existed within the cause. In this way, Kṛṣṇa declares that He is that original cause, the fundamental seed from which all existence manifests.
Then, Kṛṣṇa says, buddhir buddhimatām asmi—I am the intelligence of the intelligent. This means that He is the defining essence of their intelligence. For example, people remember Einstein for his exceptional brilliance in science; that brilliance is what defines him. Similarly, Shakespeare is remembered for his unmatched genius in literature. Kṛṣṇa declares that He is that very intelligence which illuminates the minds of the intelligent.
Many times, geniuses do work hard to produce the outcomes of their brilliance. Yet there are moments of sudden inspiration when they leap beyond the step-by-step, linear development of their work—whether it’s a scientific theory or a literary masterpiece—and arrive at a flash of insight. They can’t fully explain the conviction that comes with such moments, that inner voice of inspiration telling them, “This is it.” They may not be able to pinpoint how they know it’s true, but they just know it. Later, it might take them considerable time to develop that idea systematically, but the essential answer has already been revealed to them in that inspired moment.
That inspiration ultimately comes from the Supersoul. Certain individuals, through their past karma, have developed intelligence, and Kṛṣṇa provides them with that intelligence at the appropriate time. The miraculous way in which this inspiration arises is itself a manifestation of God in action. The essence of the intelligent—their very intelligence—is Kṛṣṇa.
Then Kṛṣṇa generalizes this idea by saying, tejaḥ tejasvinām aham—“I am the splendor of the splendid.” Tejas means brilliance, radiance, or effulgence. People can display splendor in various ways: some through great strength, valor, or kṣatriya vigor; others through an extraordinary artistic or musical performance. Kṛṣṇa declares that He is the splendor within all such splendid manifestations.
In this way, through these three examples—the imperishable seed, intelligence, and splendor—Kṛṣṇa continues to reveal how He is the very essence of everything.
Thank you.
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