Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field
Verse 13.18
ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते।ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम्।।13.18।।
jyotiṣhām api taj jyotis tamasaḥ param uchyate jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ jñāna-gamyaṁ hṛidi sarvasya viṣhṭhitam
Word Meanings
jyotiṣhām—in all luminarie; api—and; tat—that; jyotiḥ—the source of light; tamasaḥ—the darkness; param—beyond; uchyate—is said (to be); jñānam—knowledge; jñeyam—the object of knowledge; jñāna-gamyam—the goal of knowledge; hṛidi—within the heart; sarvasya—of all living beings; viṣhṭhitam—dwells
Translation · English
That Light of all lights is said to be beyond darkness: knowledge, the knowable, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.
Deep Meaning · English
In this profound verse, Lord Krishna shifts the seeker's gaze from the objective 'Field' (Kshetra) to the 'Knower of the Field' (Kshetrajna), revealing Him not as a distant deity but as the foundational substrate of all experience. By describing the Divine as the 'light of all lights' that remains unaffected by the darkness of ignorance, Krishna is asserting that the Ultimate Reality is the self-effulgent consciousness that makes all perception possible. It is the light by which the sun shines and the mind thinks, yet It exists beyond the duality of light and shadow, beyond the relative concepts of time and space. Furthermore, Krishna identifies this Reality as the synthesis of the knower, the known, and the process of knowing—'knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the goal of knowledge.' By stating that this presence resides within the heart of every being, He emphasizes that the Divine is not an external achievement but the inner, ever-present witness. To realize this is to collapse the distance between the seeker and the sought, shifting the pursuit of God from a path of searching to a path of realization—turning inward to discover the source of one’s own existence.
The Divine is the non-dual, self-effulgent consciousness dwelling in the heart, serving as the source, the content, and the ultimate destination of all wisdom.
Connected Verses
Describes the Supreme Abode which is not illuminated by sun, moon, or fire, but by the Divine's own light.
States that the Lord dwells in the hearts of all, as the source of memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness.
Explains how the Supreme Soul, though within the body, remains untouched and unattached like the sun.
Affirms that the Lord is the Self seated in the hearts of all beings, acting as the beginning, middle, and end.
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