Topic

Divine transcendence

2 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on divine transcendence. Explore teachings across 1 chapter.

All Verses

Chapter 7 • Verse 12 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom
Ye caiva sattvika bhava rajasas tamasas ca ye, matta eveti tan viddhi na tv aham tesu te mayi

All states of being — whether in goodness, passion, or ignorance — proceed from Me alone. Know this, yet I am not in them; they are in Me. The three gunas arise from God, but God transcends them. This establishes both divine immanence and divine transcendence simultaneously.

  • •The three gunas originate from God but do not limit God
  • •God is both the source and transcendent of all qualities
  • •Understanding the gunas helps one go beyond them
three gunassattvarajastamas
Chapter 7 • Verse 13 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom
Tribhir guna-mayair bhavair ebhih sarvamidam jagat, mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam

Deluded by these three states of being composed of the gunas, the entire world does not know Me, who am above them and inexhaustible. The three gunas create a veil of illusion that prevents people from recognizing the eternal, unchanging nature that underlies all phenomena.

  • •The gunas create delusion that conceals the Divine
  • •Most people are lost in the play of the three qualities
  • •The Supreme is beyond all qualities and inexhaustible
delusionthree gunasmayaignorance