Conscious life is higher prakriti.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् |जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ||७-५||
apareyamitastvanyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parām . jīvabhūtāṃ mahābāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat ||7-5||
Use this verse to remember the sacredness of life.
Meaning
This is My lower nature. But know My higher nature, the living principle by which the world is sustained.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Life-consciousness is Krishna’s higher nature.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
Krishna distinguishes matter from the living principle. The world is sustained not only by elements, but by conscious life.
Read the traditional commentary
Having described the eightfold material Nature as 'inferior' (apara), Krishna now reveals a higher Nature (para prakriti) — the conscious life-principle, jiva-bhuta, that animates all beings. Matter by itself is inert; it is this living consciousness that holds the whole world together and gives it meaning. The body is sustained not by chemistry alone but by the indwelling life.
The distinction is the heart of spiritual understanding. There is the field — the elements, mind, and ego — and there is the conscious power that enlivens the field. We are not the inert apparatus but the awareness that 'upholds' it. To live well is to honour this higher Nature within ourselves and all creatures, recognising that the same divine life flows through every form.
In daily life
Respect life as sacred, not merely biological.
Seeing consciousness as sacred changes how we treat people, animals, and ourselves.
Try this today
Show reverence to one living being today.
I honor the sacred life in all beings.Reflect
Do I treat life as sacred?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘अपरा इयम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on consciousness, in other chapters
- Verse 14.3Every living being is born from the meeting of conscious spirit and material nature — neither is the whole story alone.
- Verse 15.9You are the conscious presence presiding over the senses, not the senses themselves.
- Verse 13.27Every living thing arises from the meeting of matter and consciousness — a shared sacred origin uniting all life.
- Verse 10.4Every quality and experience of life, joyful or painful, flows from one Divine source.
Swipe left for 7.6 · All begins and returns in Krishna.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 7.5
Who says Bhagavad Gita 7.5, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 7.5, in Chapter 7, Jnana Vijnana Yoga (Jnana Vijnana Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 7.5 mean?
This is My lower nature. But know My higher nature, the living principle by which the world is sustained. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 7.5 for daily life?
Respect life as sacred, not merely biological. Seeing consciousness as sacred changes how we treat people, animals, and ourselves.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 7.5 mean?
अपरा इयम् — this is the inferior (Nature); इतः तु अन्याम् — but different from this, another; प्रकृतिम् विद्धि — know the Nature; मे पराम् — My higher one; जीवभूताम् — the life-element / become the living soul.
Where does verse 7.5 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 5 of 30 in Chapter 7, Jnana Vijnana Yoga. The next verse is 7.6.