Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 13, Verse 16
Verse 16
The Yoga of the Field and the Knower of the Field
It is outside and inside all beings, moving and non-moving. Because of its subtlety it is unknowable; it is far away, and it is also near.
Context & Meaning
Brahman is simultaneously inside and outside all beings — it is the inner witness of all experience and also the vast ground in which all existence floats. It pervades both the moving (animate beings) and the non-moving (inert matter). Because of its extreme subtlety, it cannot be grasped by ordinary perception — yet it is also the closest thing to us, closer than our own breath. The Kena Upanishad says the same: "It is far for those who seek, near for those who cease seeking." The seeker who chases Brahman as an external object will not find it; the seeker who turns attention to the very ground of their own awareness will find it is already present.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainRamanujacharya
VishishtadvaitaDūrasthaṃ cāntike ca tat — far and also near. Far for the mind that is attached to objects; near — immediately present — for the heart purified by devotion and inquiry. The distance is not spatial but attitudinal. God is always near; it is the devotee who wanders away.