Summary:

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 6: Īśvara is unborn (ajaḥ), therefore His knowledge and power never wane; being sarvajñaḥ He alone is the intelligent-cause (nimitta-kāraṇa) and, since no material exists outside Him, the material-cause (upādāna-kāraṇa) as well. Like a spider emitting its web from its own saliva, while ever remaining the spider – Ishvara is pravaha-nityatvam, meaning his knowledge-power continuously reorganises itself into every galaxy, atom, law and thought – while ever remaining knowledge-power. Thus He sees no contradiction, only sameness because everything is Him. Jīva, not omniscient, mistakes form for reality, suffers, and re-enters the world until it recognises the one substance inhering in every effect.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse 6:
How Avatara Comes – By Wielding His Prakrti/Maya

अजः अपि सन् अव्यय-आत्मा भूतानाम् ईश्वरः अपि सन् ।
प्रकृतिम् स्वाम् अधिष्ठाय सम्भवामि आत्म-मायया ॥ ४-६॥
ajaḥ api san avyaya-ātmā bhūtānām īśvaraḥ api san ।
prakṛtim svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmi ātma-māyayā ॥ 4-6॥

Even though, being one who is unborn, one whose knowledge does not wane, and also being the Lord of all living beings, still, wielding My own prakṛti, I, ‘as though,’ come into being by My own creative power.

“Being Unborn, Whose Knowledge Does Not Wane, Lord of All Living Beings”

Īśvara (cause of the universe) is unborn, meaning reality always was. If Ishvara always was, it means it always will be. Meaning His knowledge and power never wanes or declines and is complete. Otherwise how else could’ve God governed the universe and trillions of situations within it since beginningless time. It also means, Ishvara has no ignorance or confusion about His truth, because everything is Him.

Logic how Everything is Ishvara: Ghaṭasya kartā ghaṭajñaḥ, sarvasya kartā sarvajñaḥ

Ghaṭasya kartā ghaṭajñaḥ

A potter (ghaṭa-kartā) must have the knowledge of clay, the wheel, firing techniques, and the final design of a pot (ghaṭa). He is pot-knower (ghaṭajñaḥ). He also has the power or skill (śakti) to turn his knowledge into the actual pot.

Another example is a software engineer must have knowledge of code to create an app.

Meaning kartṛtvaṁ (doership/creation) presupposes jñatṛtvaṁ (knowership). You cannot create what you do not know.

Now let’s apply the same logic to total creation…

Sarvasya kartā sarvajñaḥ

If the potter, the maker of a limited pot, must have limited pot-knowledge, then by the same logic: Īśvara, the maker of everything (sarvasya kartā), must have knowledge of everything (sarvajñaḥ).

This includes knowledge of every galaxy, every atom, every law of nature, every thought in every mind, past, present, and future. Nothing can be outside Creator’s knowledge – otherwise how would it all work together in harmony, serving a function that has benefits to other objects.

What This Tells Us About Īśvara’s Nature:

Īśvara is the Intelligent Cause (Nimitta Kāraṇa): He is the intelligence that designed and projects the universe, just as the potter is the intelligent cause of the pot.

Īśvara is the Material Cause (Upādāna Kāraṇa): The potter uses pre-existing clay (a separate material) to make the pot. But for the entire universe, there can be no “pre-existing” material outside of Īśvara. Thus the material also comes from Ishvara.

Adi Shankara argues if intelligent & material cause were separate or independent, then no coordination/interaction could arise between them.

Analogy: Like a spider spinning a web out of its own saliva. Spider is both the Intelligent & Material cause of its creation (the web). However the spider is much more than just the web.

Ishvara is Pravaha-Nityatvam (Eternally Changing, But Always Remaining As Intelligence):

Īśvara is intelligence (blueprint of everything). Though intelligence is constantly reorganizing itself to manifest as laws and forms, it still remains intelligence. Thus Isvara is pravaha-nityatvam – eternally changing, while always still remaining intelligence, and never bound what it manifests. 

Analogy: Binary 0's and 1's are constantly reshuffling in endless combinations to form images on the screen. Whatever you see on the screen is nothing but 0's and 1's. Similarly, Knowledge-Power is constantly reshuffling/reorganizing itself to account for cause-effect relationships, while always remaining as knowledge-power. 

Another example showing how reality remains unchanged: When neurons and electrical connections arrange differently, different emotions manifest – but the neurons themselves don’t become sad or happy. If neurons don’t become happy or sad, what to speak of Ishvara.

Whereas Jīva is Not Omniscient, All-Pervasive – Thus Doesn’t Know Everything

In school, we learn about the world. But never: “Who am I? What is the cause of the universe? What is my relationship to that cause?” This knowledge remains unavailable until you seek it. Whereas, Īśvara knows “All that is here is Ishvara”.  Ishvara sees no contradiction in anything, as everything is itself only.

Jiva’s suffering (perception making you see only differences) drops once you see the cause inhering in all effects.

In fact, bondage is when perception is stuck at forms. Bitterness at people is perception on their form; neglecting their true nature is the Self (‘Son of God' in Christian language). When you take pain as real, you’ve forgotten the presence of “sameness” in all things. When you remember the substance/material of all forms, you have successfully learned from the situation.

Because you failed to learn what you truly meant to learn (beyond the small learnings of psychology, negotiation skills, etc) – the jīva enters the world once again to learn the ULITMATE learning – the truth behind all things, including the jiva inquirer.

Now Krishna makes a contradictory statement…

“Wielding My Own Prakṛti, I Come Into Being by My Own Creative Power”

How can all-pervasive reality “come into being”, when he just said in previous line “I am unborn”?…

This will be discussed next session.

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Course was based on Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) home study course.

Recorded 16 Nov, 2025