Chapter 7: Knowledge of the Absolute

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 7.9

puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāḿ ca

tejaś cāsmi vibhāvasau

jīvanaḿ sarva-bhūteṣu

tapaś cāsmi tapasviṣu

SYNONYMS

puṇyaḥ — original; gandhaḥ — fragrance; pṛthivyāmin the earth; ca — also; tejaḥ — heat; ca — also; asmiI am; vibhāvasauin the fire; jīvanam — life; sarvain all; bhūteṣu — living entities; tapaḥ — penance; ca — also; asmiI am; tapasviṣuin those who practice penance.

TRANSLATION

I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.

PURPORT

Puṇya means that which is not decomposed; puṇya is original. Everything in the material world has a certain flavor or fragrance, as the flavor and fragrance in a flower, or in the earth, in water, in fire, in air, etc. The uncontaminated flavor, the original flavor, which permeates everything, is Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, everything has a particular original taste, and this taste can be changed by the mixture of chemicals. So everything original has some smell, some fragrance, and some taste. Vibhāvasu means fire. Without fire we cannot run factories, we cannot cook, etc., and that fire is Kṛṣṇa. The heat in the fire is Kṛṣṇa. According to Vedic medicine, indigestion is due to a low temperature in the belly. So even for digestion fire is needed. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness we become aware that earth, water, fire, air and every active principle, all chemicals and all material elements are due to Kṛṣṇa. The duration of man's life is also due to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, man can prolong his life or diminish it. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is active in every sphere.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness