Gita 08.03 – Spirituality is our nature

Audio Link: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-08-03-spirituality-is-our-nature/

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ
svabhāvo ’dhyātmam ucyate
bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo
visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ (Bg 8.3)

Word-to-word:
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; akṣaram — indestructible; brahma — Brahman; paramam — transcendental; svabhāvaḥ — eternal nature; adhyātmam — the self; ucyate — is called; bhūta-bhāva-udbhava-karaḥ — producing the material bodies of the living entities; visargaḥ — creation; karma — fruitive activities; saṁjñitaḥ — is called.

Translation:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and his eternal nature is called adhyātma, the self. Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities is called karma, or fruitive activities.

Explanation:
From here, Kṛṣṇa begins to answer Arjuna’s questions. He explains:

akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman.
svabhāvo ’dhyātmam ucyate: Its intrinsic nature is called adhyātma, the self.
bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karaḥ: That which brings about the generation of material bodies of the living beings,
visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ: is known as karma.

Here we see how technical, context-specific definitions of words correlate with their more general meanings, depending on time, place, and circumstance. Certain terms acquire specific meanings in particular contexts, and we need to recognize that these meanings may not easily align with how we ordinarily understand them in everyday material experience. Words such as “karma” or “brahma” can carry multiple meanings, and when they appear in specific philosophical or scriptural contexts, their intended sense may differ from what we commonly assume.

Here Kṛṣṇa states, akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ: that which is infallible and transcendental is Brahman. This expression can refer either to the living entity or to the Supreme Lord. Different ācāryas explain it in different ways, and such explanations are valid as long as they are consistent with the overall message of the Bhagavad-gītā.

Kṛṣṇa had stated in 7.29:
jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya mām āśritya yatanti ye
te brahma tad viduḥ kṛtsnam adhyātmaṁ karma cākhilam

It is in this context that Kṛṣṇa used the word “brahma,” and it is this contextual usage that Arjuna seeks to clarify. Kṛṣṇa explains that those who strive for liberation from old age and death take shelter of Him and endeavor accordingly; such persons are described as brahma. They understand adhyātma and karma, or, in other words, they become spiritualized in their actions. As we proceed, we will see how these different nuances of meaning fit appropriately within the context.

The expression “te brahma” indicates that they themselves become brahma. What does this mean? We know that the Absolute Reality is eternally Brahman; it does not “become” Brahman at any point. In this particular context, the statement means that the living entity becomes conscious of its own spiritual identity and inherent glory. A living being whose spiritual awareness was previously obscured now becomes awakened to that spiritual nature. Thus, when Kṛṣṇa says akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ, He indicates that when the living entity is situated in its transcendental position and has attained an infallible state, it is understood to be brahma.

Kṛṣṇa will later explain this further in the fifteenth chapter:
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca
kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho ’kṣara ucyate (15.16)

He states that there are two kinds of living beings: the kṣara, or conditioned souls, and the akṣara, or liberated souls. The liberated souls are superior to the conditioned ones, yet they are not supreme. Kṛṣṇa clarifies this in the very next verse (15.17):
uttamaḥ puruṣas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ

Here He explains that the uttama-puruṣa is distinct from both the conditioned and the liberated living beings. That supreme person is the Paramātmā, and Kṛṣṇa identifies Himself as that Bhagavān.

Coming back to the present verse, 8.3, Kṛṣṇa further says, svabhāvo ’dhyātmam ucyate. Sva-bhāva means one’s own nature; thus, one’s intrinsic nature is called adhyātma. In a general, conversational sense, adhyātma refers to spirituality. Here Kṛṣṇa is stating that the soul’s inherent nature is spiritual. Spirituality is not something imposed upon the soul; it is the soul’s very nature.

Kṛṣṇa had earlier said, adhyātmaṁ karma cākhilam (Bg 7.29), indicating that when the soul becomes situated in its spiritual identity, its activities also become spiritual. At that stage, the soul no longer acts out of selfish or material motivation. Instead, it acts with pure spiritual intent.

After that, if we look further at what Kṛṣṇa says here—bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ—He explains that karma is that which leads to the generation of the material bodies of living beings. In other words, karma is responsible for the manifestation of embodied existence in the material world.

If we reflect carefully on this statement, we can understand that Kṛṣṇa is defining karma specifically as the force that produces material embodiment. When karma is transformed into adhyātma-karma, as He indicates in 7.28, this process of generating material bodies comes to an end. Such spiritualized action no longer binds the soul to repeated birth and embodiment.

We see that the word karma can, in general, refer to activity. Earlier, we discussed the four meanings of karma in the verse 4.18—karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ. Karma can mean action; it can mean the reaction to action; it can refer to the entire system of action and reaction; and it can also denote one category of action—namely karma, vikarma, and akarma.

Here, in 8.3, Kṛṣṇa is using the word karma more specifically in the sense of action that produces reaction, leading to material embodiment. He then explains that when the soul takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa, as described in 7.28, that karma becomes spiritualized—adhyātmaṁ karma cākhilam. In such a state, action no longer binds the soul through material reactions.

To respond to Arjuna’s questions, Kṛṣṇa answers very briefly here. He explains that when the living entity realizes its infallible, transcendental nature, it is brahma (akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ). Although we each have a material svabhāva—according to varṇāśrama, such as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra—adhyātma, or spirituality, is the essential svabhāva of the soul (svabhāvo ’dhyātmam ucyate). By nature, the soul is spiritual.

When the soul is in a conditioned, unnatural state, the work it performs leads to the formation of material bodies (bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ). How activity results in the development of bodies becomes the theme for Kṛṣṇa’s later instruction—that we should always work for Him, think of Him, and thereby attain Him.

Thank you.