Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 19

English Translation

O Arjuna, I give heat, I withhold and pour down rain. I am verily the nectar, and also death existence and nonexistence.

Detailed Commentary

I give heat; I withhold and send forth rain: To absorb the impure and foul things on Earth that cause diseases, thereby keeping beings healthy—that is, to absorb the poisonous elements in medicines and herbs, and to dry up the watery parts of the Earth which bring impurity—I Myself shine forth as the sun. As the sun, I absorb all their watery parts, purify that water, sweeten it, and at the opportune time, I shower it down as rain for the benefit of all beings, sustaining everyone's life. I am immortality and death; and Being and non-Being, O Arjuna: I am both Amrita (immortality) and Mrityu (death); that is, I Myself am present in the sustenance of life for beings and also in their cessation. What more can I say? Whatever exists as Sat-Asat (Being and non-Being), Nitya-Anitya (eternal and transient), Karana-Karya (cause and effect)—all of that is Me. The essence is that just as in the vision of a Mahatma everything is the very form of Bhagavan—"Vasudevaḥ Sarvam" (All is Vasudeva)—similarly, in Bhagavan's own vision, Sat-Asat, cause and effect, all are Bhagavan Himself. But from a worldly perspective, everything appears different; for example, living and dying, creation and destruction, gross and subtle, the qualities of Sattva-Rajas-Tamas, cause and effect, water and ice. But in reality, Bhagavan Himself has manifested as the world; everything is a form of Bhagavan. There is no independent existence apart from Bhagavan. Just as clothes made of thread are essentially only thread, similarly, every object, person, action, and substance is Bhagavan Himself. *Sambandha* (Context/Connection): The creation of the world and its various transformations occur under My supervision; but those foolish ones who do not know My power take refuge in *asuri*, *rakshasi*, and *mohini prakriti* (demonic, monstrous, and deluding natures), disregard Me, and proceed towards downfall. Those devotees who know My power take refuge in My divine qualities and worship Me in various ways; they experience that Sat-Asat, everything, is but the one Paramatma. However, those whose minds are filled with desires for worldly enjoyment and accumulation, without knowing the true essence, turn away from Bhagavan and perform *yajnas* and other rituals for the attainment of enjoyments in heavenly realms and such, as a result of which they attain rebirth—this Bhagavan describes in the next two *shlokas*.