Gita 08.20 – The spiritual is not just non-manifest but also nonmaterial
paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo
’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu
naśyatsu na vinaśyati (Bg 8.20)
Word-for-word:
paraḥ — transcendental; tasmāt — to that; tu — but; bhāvaḥ — nature; anyaḥ — another; avyaktaḥ — unmanifest; avyaktāt — to the unmanifest; sanātanaḥ — eternal; yaḥ saḥ — that which; sarveṣu — all; bhūteṣu — manifestation; naśyatsu — being annihilated; na — never; vinaśyati — is annihilated.
Translation:
Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.
Explanation:
paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo: But beyond that material nature, there is another reality.
’avyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ: which exists beyond both the manifest and unmanifest material nature.
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu: When all living beings in this world
naśyatsu na vinaśyati: are destroyed, that realm—the spiritual world—is never destroyed.
Kṛṣṇa has already spoken about how material nature is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest in Bhagavad-gītā 8.18:
avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavanty ahar-āgame
rātry-āgame pralīyante tatraivāvyakta-saṁjñake
He states that matter becomes manifest and then unmanifest in a cyclical way.
In this verse, 8.20, He explains that the unmanifest state of matter is neither transcendental nor spiritual. The spiritual reality exists beyond both manifest matter and unmanifest matter.
In this section of the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is comparing the material and spiritual worlds. In the previous three verses, 8.17 to 8.19, He explained how everything in the material world, including even the abode of Brahmā, is temporary. In this verse, He begins describing how the spiritual world is eternal. In this and the next two verses, He elaborates on the eternality of the spiritual realm. Later, in 8.22, Kṛṣṇa will reiterate that this spiritual world is nondifferent from His own abode.
For now, let us focus on the essential point of the verse under discussion (8.20). Here, Kṛṣṇa states that the spiritual world is distinct from the material world in both its manifest and unmanifest states. Its defining characteristic is that it continues to remain, survive, exist, and flourish even when everything in this material world is destroyed.
The terms “manifest” and “unmanifest” can refer to different things depending on the context. For example, in 8.22, Kṛṣṇa uses the word “unmanifest” to describe the spiritual world, whereas in the present verse, the same word, avyakta, refers to material elements that are not perceptible to the senses. Thus, avyakta can refer to more than one meaning even within the material context.
Broadly speaking, subtle matter—as contrasted with gross matter—is also avyakta. Subtle matter is unmanifest to our senses, so it too can be called avyakta. The mind, intelligence, and ego cannot be perceived through the senses; in that sense, they remain unmanifest.
Gross matter also enters an unmanifest state during the intermission between two creations. Although gross matter possesses the potential to manifest in multiple forms with various attributes perceivable by the senses, during this interval it remains unmanifest. This is what occurs in the gap between two phases of cosmic creation.
Beyond that, there is the spiritual state. The spiritual realm is also unmanifest—it is unmanifest to our senses, and unlike matter, it does not alternate between phases. It is always unmanifest to material perception.
One may argue that subtle matter is also unmanifest to the senses, but subtle matter is not characterized by the principle described here: yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati. When everything in this world is destroyed, subtle matter does not continue to exist; it too is destroyed.
The senses are useful on the spiritual path for the purpose of engagement, not primarily for perception or learning. Spiritual reality cannot be perceived through the material senses. In this way, it is fundamentally different from material reality, especially gross material reality.
Kṛṣṇa later states in 15.10:
utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam
vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ
This verse emphasizes that the soul cannot be perceived through the gross senses; it is understood through the eyes of knowledge (jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ).
Unmanifest refers to that which cannot be perceived by our eyes or senses but can be understood through proper knowledge. The spiritual is indestructible—this is one of its defining characteristics. It is invisible, yet it is not unattainable. It can be attained through purification and the elevation of consciousness, themes that the Bhagavad-gītā will discuss in the verses and chapters that follow.
Here, Kṛṣṇa continues from what He stated in verse 8.16. That verse highlights two key points:
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ (A)
punar āvartino ’rjuna (B)
mām upetya tu kaunteya (C)
punar janma na vidyate (D)
The first half of the verse (A and B) explains that from the highest to the lowest planets, this material world is a place of repeated birth and death, a realm marked by destruction. The second half (C and D) explains that those who attain Kṛṣṇa’s abode never return to this world.
Kṛṣṇa elaborates on points A and B in verses 8.17, 8.18, and 8.19. He then turns to points C and D—if worshipping Kṛṣṇa frees us from rebirth, where do we go? What is that place where one never takes birth again?
Kṛṣṇa explains this in the next three verses (8.20–8.22). In verse 8.20, He begins by declaring that there exists an indestructible abode—beyond both the manifest and unmanifest states of matter—which is completely transcendental.
Thank you.
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