Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 3

English Translation

The Blessed Lord said The Immutable is the supreme Brahman; self-hood is said to the entity present in the individual plane. By action is meant the offerings which bring about the origin of the existence of things.

Detailed Commentary

"Akṣaram Brahma Paramam" – The supreme Akṣara (imperishable) is called Brahman. Although in the Gīta, the word Brahman can also refer to Praṇava (Om), the Vedas, Prakriti, etc., here, by adding the adjectives *Param* (supreme) and *Akṣara* (imperishable) to Brahman, it indicates the Saccidānanda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss), indestructible, Nirguṇa (without attributes), and Nirākāra (formless) Supreme Being (Paramātman). "Swa-bhāvo 'dhyātmamucyate" – One's own existence is called *Swa-bhāva*, and this very *Swa-bhāva* is termed Adhyātma. This means that the very being of all living entities is Adhyātma. Discussions concerning the Ātman (Self) are also Adhyātma. The description of the spiritual path (*Adhyātma-mārga*) and the knowledge of the Ātman are also called Adhyātma. However, here, *Adhyātma* with the adjective *Swa-bhāva* refers to the inherent nature of the Ātman. "Bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro Visargaḥ Karmasañjñitaḥ" – That which is emanated to manifest the existence of the beings we perceive, that *Visarga* (outpouring or creation), is known as Karma. During the Mahā-pralaya (Great Dissolution), Prakriti (Primordial Nature) is inactive, and during the Mahā-sarjana (Great Creation), Prakriti becomes active. This activity arises from the will of Bhagavān (the Lord) — "May I be one and become many forms." This very resolve (*Sankalpa*) creates the cosmos. This implies that during dissolution, Jīvas (individual souls), along with their *karmas*, merge into Prakriti, and Prakriti merges into the Paramātman. The Lord's resolve (*Sankalpa*) to activate that merged Prakriti is called *Visarga*. This resolve is the beginning of *karmas*, from which the succession of *karmas* of all beings commences. During the Mahā-pralaya, the *karmas* of beings do not manifest; rather, they remain in a dormant (*suṣupta*) state. *Karmas* begin right from the commencement of the Mahā-sarjana. In the Fourteenth Chapter, it is stated that the fundamental Prakriti of the Paramātman is called Mahad-Brahman. It is the Paramātman's task to bestow bodies upon the Jīvas who have merged into that Prakriti, as a result of their respective *karmas*. In the twenty-sixth verse of the Thirteenth Chapter, Bhagavān has stated that all beings that are born arise from the union of Prakriti and Puruṣa. The Lord's resolve (*Sankalpa*) itself becomes the cause for the creation of gross bodies. Here, there is no ego (*ahaṅkāra*) of the Lord; rather, it is the consequence of the beings' previous *karmas*. It is due to this *karma*-inspiration that the Lord's resolve arises: "May I be one and become many forms." All actions performed by humans are called *karmas*. The primary *karma* is the Lord's *Sankalpa*, and from that, the *karma*-tradition continues.