VII: 4

[Krishna Jaya]

Chapter 7, Verse 4

 

“Earth, fire, water, wind, ether,

Mind, the discerning faculty

And the sense of ‘I’:

These are the eight aspects of Nature.”

 

Father Bede Griffiths:

 

These are the eight constituents (Tattvas) of Nature (Prakriti).  Beyond the five material elements, the ether being a sort of bridge to the immaterial, are the three constituents of human nature:  the recording faculty of the mind (Manas), the intuitive intelligence (Buddhi, and the ego or sense of ‘I’ (Ahongkara).

 

Sri Krishna Prem:

 

Before students can comprehend the supreme unity, they need to understand the twofold aspect of the manifested Universe.  In all that is manifested, whether gross or subtle, whether living beings or what we call ‘dead’ matter, there are the ever-changing forms and the underlying power which supports them.  Whether these are the forms of matter made up of the five elements or the more subtle forms of thought, all form is but a transient play that is upheld by the higher, living power in the light of consciousness.

 

Sri Aurobindo:

 

To start with, the Gita makes the distinction which is the practical basis of all its Yoga, the distinction between the two natures, the phenomenal and the spiritual nature.  An eightfold division describes the phenomenal world of Nature (Prakriti).  If it stopped here, the the Gita would have to make an unbridgeable division between the Self and Prakriti which would then consist only of the Maya of the three Gunas, and all this cosmic existence could only be the result of this Maya.  But there is something else, a higher principle, a nature of spirit, Para Prakriti.  This supreme nature of the divine is the source of cosmic existence and its fundamental, creative force and effective energy, of which the other, lower and ignorant nature is only a derivation and dark shadow.  In this highest dynamic, Purusha and Para Prakriti are one.  Para Prakriti is the will and executive power of the Purusha.