हेतुनाऽनेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ॥ १० ॥
mayā’dhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram .
hetunā’nena kaunteya jagadviparivartate .. 10 ..
By Me presiding, Prakṛti produces the moving and the unmoving; because of this, O son of Kuntī, the world revolves.
‘The one, the luminous, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the Inner Self of all, the superintendent of all acts, the abode of all beings, the witness, the perceiver, alone, and free from qualities.’—(Svetasvatara-Up. 6-11).
‘Who could perceive (It) directly, and who could declare whence born and why this variegated creation?’—(Tai. Br. 2-8-9.)
Read the commentary
By Me presiding : as a mere viewer on every side and the immutable witness. My Māyā i.e., the Avidyā, composed of the three gunas, produces the universe comprising the moving and the unmoving objects. So says the chant :
Because I am the witness, because I preside, this universe comprising the moving and the unmoving objects, the manifested and the unmanifested, moves on through all stages. Indeed, all activity in the world—such as ‘I shall enjoy this,’ ‘I see this,’ ‘I hear this,’ ‘I feel pleasure,’ ‘I feel pain,’ ‘To gain this I shall do it,’ ‘I shall learn this’—arises by way of forming an object of consciousness; it has its being in consciousness and has its end in consciousness. Such chants as ‘Who in the Supreme Heaven (of the heart) is the witness of this;’ (Tai. Br. 2-8-9) point only to this view. Accordingly* as there is no conscious entity other than the One Divine Being, there cannot be a separate enjoyer; and it is therefore irrelevant to ask or to answer the question †, ‘Of what purpose is this creation by the One, the Divine, the pure all-witnessing Spirit or Consciousness, having really no concern with any enjoyment whatever?’ So says the sruti: ‡
The Isvara being the creator of the Universe is the mere witness thereof.
It is not right to ask or answer the question ‘what is the purpose of Creation?’ We cannot say that it is meant for the enjoyment of the Supreme; for, the Supreme really enjoys nothing. It is pure consciousness, a mere witness. And there is no other enjoyer, for there is no other conscious entity. The Isvara is one only; and what is not conscious cannot enjoy. Nor is Creation intended to secure moksha, because it is opposed to moksha. Thus, neither the question nor an answer to it is possible; and there is no occasion for it, as Creation is due to the Maya of the Supreme.—(A.)
This sruti means that it is very hard to know the Supreme Self.
The Lord has also said :
‘Wisdom is enveloped by unwisdom; thereby mortals are deluded.’*—(v. 15).
This passage shows that creation is due to ajnana or nescience.
The life of the impious.
Though I am thus eternal, pure, wise, and free, by nature, Omniscient, the Self of all,