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In the Bhagavad-gītā (8.1-2), Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa about Brahman, adhyātma, karma, adhibhūta, adhidaiva, and adhiyajña. This appears to be just a technical question, but it is deeper than it may appear at first. Understanding these six, we can understand our position in this temporary world, our constitutional position as souls, and how to go back there.
Let’s go through these questions and their answers.
Arjuna asked: kiṁ tad brahma—What is Brahman?
Kṛṣṇa answers: akṣaraṁ brahma paramam—The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman.
This immediately defines our real identity as the soul and not the body. Self-realization starts when we understand this point.
Prabhupāda explains:
“Brahman is indestructible and eternally existing, and its constitution is not changed at any time. But beyond Brahman there is Para-brahman. Brahman refers to the living entity, and Para-brahman refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
If everyone is Brahman, why then does Prabhupāda specifically say that devotees endeavoring for liberation are actually Brahman? The point is that while everyone is a transcendental soul, not everyone is aware of that. Such devotees are called Brahman because they have realized their transcendental nature and are acting on that platform. Others are also Brahman constitutionally, but for the time being they are conditioned and identify themselves with matter. Everyone is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa constitutionally, but not everyone is acting on this platform.
One example can be given. Imagine that a person is legally a citizen of a country, being born there. This person may be unaware of his citizenship for most of his life and then suddenly discover it. This discovery does not make him a citizen; he was already one since birth, but it brings his consciousness and actions into conformity with that intrinsic position. Similarly, self-realization does not transform one into Brahman. One is always Brahman, but under illusion he identifies himself with matter and acts contrary to his actual nature. This covering has to be removed.
Another point is that being Brahman does not mean being one with God or equal to Him. Kṛṣṇa is Para-brahman, the Supreme Brahman. There is thus the Para-brahman, the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, and the subordinate Brahman, the living entity. Even though everyone is a soul, and one in quality with Kṛṣṇa, we are different individuals, and there is a great difference in terms of power. Kṛṣṇa is like the ocean, and the individual soul is like the drop. One in quality, but different in quantity.
Next, Arjuna asked, kim adhyātmam—What is adhyātma?
Kṛṣṇa answers: svabhāvo ’dhyātmam ucyate—The eternal nature of the living entity is called adhyātma, the self.
What is the self? Is it the gross body or the subtle body? Neither of them. Svabhāvaḥ means eternal nature, and ātma means the individual self, the fragmental soul. This individual self not only is Brahman, spirit, but it has an eternal nature, activities, qualities, and so on. There is a great difference between the eternal nature and the conditioned nature.
As Prabhupāda explains:
“The constitutional position of the living entity is different from the position he takes in the material world. In material consciousness his nature is to try to be the lord of matter, but in spiritual consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his position is to serve the Supreme.”
In this way, the living entity is not the body, but the soul. The soul is transcendental, eternal, always the same, and simultaneously one and different from Kṛṣṇa. Currently, this eternal soul may be identified with matter, but one’s eternal, constitutional nature is to be a servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Even linguistically, there is a difference between “I am an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa” and “I’m hungry.” “I am an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa” refers to a permanent identity, while “I’m hungry” refers to a transient state. There is thus no contradiction between saying that “the soul is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa” and that “the soul is conditioned.” Then, if the discussion comes to since when the soul is conditioned, one can answer that “the soul is eternally conditioned” (since his conditioning has no traceable beginning within material history), and still there will be no contradiction.
What about karma? Arjuna asked, kiṁ karma—What is karma?
Kṛṣṇa answers: bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ—Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies of the living entities is called karma, or fruitive activities.
Kṛṣṇa thus contrasts the soul’s eternal spiritual identity and nature with the process by which that same jīva becomes implicated in successive material bodies.
Prabhupāda explains:
“When the living entity is in material consciousness, he has to take on various bodies in the material world. That is called karma, or varied creation by the force of material consciousness.”
Here, karma is used not in the sense of work or activity in general, but in the sense of activity that produces material reactions and leads to further material embodiment. Previously, Kṛṣṇa explained the concepts of karma, akarma, and vikarma. Vikarma is sinful action, which leads one to hell and the lower species, while akarma is devotional action, which frees us from all material reactions.
The soul is eternally active, and his constitutional nature is service to Kṛṣṇa. However, when we somehow come in contact with matter, our natural propensity for activity becomes perverted into material activity that keeps us bound to this material world life after life, be it through pious fruitive action, or through sinful action. Since the soul is active by nature, activity cannot be stopped. The path of the Bhagavad-gītā is to simply convert back this impulse to activity into service to Kṛṣṇa, by following the paths of karma-yoga, buddhi-yoga, and so on, all the way into pure bhakti-yoga.
Next, Arjuna asked, adhibhūtaṁ ca kiṁ proktam—What is this material manifestation?
Kṛṣṇa answered: adhibhūtaṁ kṣaro bhāvaḥ—the physical nature, which is constantly changing, is called adhibhūta.
Prabhupāda explains:
“The physical nature is constantly changing. Material bodies generally pass through six stages: they are born, they grow, they remain for some duration, they produce some by-products, they dwindle, and then they vanish. This physical nature is called adhibhūta. It is created at a certain point and will be annihilated at a certain point.”
The living entity is described in text three as akṣara, indestructible, and now the cosmic manifestation is described as kṣara: perishable and constantly changing. Adhibhūta means the whole cosmic manifestation, including the material body we identify with.
This helps us to understand the relationship between the terms Kṛṣṇa has just defined. The living entity is eternally Brahman, and his constitutional spiritual nature is adhyātma, eternally connected with Kṛṣṇa. Through material activities (karma), however, the soul becomes associated with different temporary bodies, and these bodies belong to adhibhūta, the perishable material manifestation. The soul is eternal, but passes from one body to another, going up and down in the transient material manifestation.
Because we identify with adhibhūta, we become absorbed in trying to preserve and improve temporary things that cannot be preserved, such as the body, family, possessions, etc., and then we suffer when we are separated from them. Spiritual knowledge begins by understanding this distinction of kṣara and akṣara and thus using the temporary material manifestation without mistaking it for our eternal identity.
What about the other two, adhidaiva and adhiyajña?
Arjuna asked, adhidaivaṁ kim ucyate—What is adhidaiva?
Kṛṣṇa answered: puruṣaś cādhidaivatam—The universal form of the Lord, which includes all the demigods, like those of the sun and moon, is called adhidaiva.
The universe is nothing but a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energies, and therefore the demigods are parts of His universal form, the adhidaiva. Perfect understanding of the demigods means understanding their positions in relation to the Supreme Lord.
Finally, Arjuna asked, adhiyajñaḥ kathaṁ ko ’tra dehe ’smin—Who is the Lord of sacrifice, and how does He live in the body?
Kṛṣṇa answered: adhiyajño ’ham evātra dehe—I, the Supreme Lord, represented as the Supersoul in the heart of every embodied being, am called adhiyajña [the Lord of sacrifice].
Prabhupāda explains:
“Present in the body along with the individual soul is the Supersoul, a plenary representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Supersoul is called the Paramātmā or adhiyajña and is situated in the heart. The word eva is particularly important in the context of this verse because by this word the Lord stresses that the Paramātmā is not different from Him. The Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, seated beside the individual soul, is the witness of the individual soul’s activities and is the source of the soul’s various types of consciousness”
Why is Paramātmā called adhiyajña, the Lord of sacrifice? Sacrifice ultimately exists for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. Different sacrifices may involve different demigods and offerings and award different results, but Kṛṣṇa is behind the whole system. As He previously explained, He is the ultimate enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities. Therefore, just as the different demigods operate under His authority in the cosmic manifestation, all processes of sacrifice are not only ultimately meant for His satisfaction, but are also dependent upon Him.
We thus have three progressively deeper aspects of the material situation. Adhibhūta is the perishable physical manifestation; adhidaiva is the cosmic governing arrangement represented by the universal form and the demigods, and adhiyajña is Kṛṣṇa Himself as Paramātmā, standing behind all sacrifice. In this way, even while the soul is in the conditioned state, living in the material world, Kṛṣṇa is never far away. He accompanies the soul as Paramātmā throughout one’s entire conditioned existence. When we finally turn to Him and become purified in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our conditioning finally ends.
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