Chapter 7 · Shloka 6— The Yoga of Knowledge & Realization

etad-yonīni bhūtāni sarvāṇītyupadhāraya ahaṁ kṛitsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ pralayas tathā

etat yonīni

— these two (energies) are the source of

bhūtāni

— living beings

sarvāṇi

— all

iti

— that

upadhāraya

— know

aham

— I

kṛitsnasya

— entire

jagataḥ

— creation

prabhavaḥ

— the source

pralayaḥ

— dissolution

tathā

— and

"Etad-yonini bhutani sarvanity upadharaya, aham krtsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha." — Know that all beings have their origin in these two natures. I am the source of the entire universe, and likewise its dissolution. Krishna draws the conclusion from 7.4–5. All beings ('sarvani bhutani') arise from the union of His two natures — the lower (material) and the higher (conscious). Every living being is a combination of consciousness (the higher nature) embodied in matter (the lower nature). These two together are the 'yoni' — the womb, the source — of all that lives. Then Krishna makes the sweeping declaration: 'aham krtsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayah tatha' — I am the origin (prabhava) of the entire universe, and equally its dissolution (pralaya). Since both natures are His, and all beings arise from those natures, Krishna is the ultimate source from which everything emerges and into which everything dissolves. Shankaracharya emphasizes the totality: 'krtsnasya jagatah' — of the WHOLE universe. Nothing is excluded. Krishna is not merely a part of reality or a being within the cosmos; He is the very ground from which the entire cosmos arises and into which it returns. This is the heart of the chapter's revelation: the Divine is both the material and conscious substrate of all existence, and the source and end of the entire universe. Everything that exists is, at the deepest level, an expression of this one Divine reality — emerging from it, sustained by it, and returning to it.

Krishna draws the breathtaking conclusion: every living being is a union of consciousness and matter, and the entire universe — all of it, without exception — emerges from and dissolves back into one divine source. Whatever your beliefs, sit with the scale of this vision: everything that exists is connected at the root, arising from a single ground. This isn't just abstract metaphysics. If everything shares one source, then the separateness we feel from each other and from the world is, at the deepest level, not the final truth. We're all expressions of the same underlying reality. That recognition is the foundation for genuine reverence toward existence — and for the unity-vision that produces real compassion.

Krishna draws the breathtaking conclusion: every living being is a fusion of consciousness and matter, and the ENTIRE universe — all of it, no exceptions — emerges from and dissolves back into one divine source. Whatever your beliefs, sit with the scale of this for a sec: everything that exists is connected at the root, arising from a single ground. This isn't just abstract metaphysics either. If everything shares ONE source, then the separateness we feel — from each other, from the world — is, at the deepest level, not the final truth. We're all expressions of the same underlying reality. That recognition is the actual foundation for genuine reverence toward existence — and for the unity-vision that produces real compassion, not the performative kind.

Krishna shares something amazing: every single living being is made by joining the two natures together — the material body and the conscious spirit! And then he reveals the biggest truth: 'I am the source of the WHOLE universe, and everything returns to Me in the end!' So everything that exists — every star, every tree, every animal, every person — comes from the same wonderful divine source! That means we're all deeply connected, like waves from the same big ocean. How beautiful and amazing!