Chapter 13 Shloka 32

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते।

सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते।।३२।।

As the all-pervading ether remains

untainted because of its subtlety,

so also the Atma Self which pervades

the body remains unaffected.

Chapter 13 Shloka 32

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते।

सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते।।३२।। 

Through an analogy the Lord clarifies the undefileable nature of the Atma thus:

As the all-pervading ether remains untainted because of its subtlety, so also the Atma Self which pervades the body remains unaffected.

Little one, just as the ether, although all-pervading, remains ever untainted and pure, just as the dream witness remains unaffected even though he himself comprises the entire dream, so also the Atma, pervading the entire manifest form of the individual, remains uninfluenced and untainted.

The connotation of ‘subtle’ in this shloka

1. Unmanifest;

2. That which cannot be seen;

3. That which cannot be experienced.

Atma

The Atma is not bound by qualities, nor is it susceptible to modification. Neither is It the doer, nor is It the enjoyer; yet, It comprises this entirety.

Little one,

1. Just as clouds appear and fall as rain;

2. Just as dust fills the atmosphere and causes a storm;

3. Just as the sun comes out and sunshine prevails;

4. Just as redness pervades the sky at sunset, yet, the sky remains ever unaffected;

– so also, this entire creation is pervaded by the Atma and abides in It – yet the Atma remains ever untainted and unaffected. Myriad bodies, minds and intellects along with their modifications come and go within the sphere of the Atma, yet the Atma Itself remains ever uninfluenced and unattached.

The Atma permeates everybody equally and is omnipresent. Remember, the Atma abides in each body. Thus, all are the Atma. Yet, the Atma is not touched by the body. The body born of Prakriti and the Atma are incompatible and thus cannot be united. The intellect, although having gained consciousness from the Atma, believes itself to be synonymous with the body. In fact, the intellect is inert and a product of Prakriti; thus it is but natural that it identifies itself with the gross body. If the intellect only pauses to reflect as to the cause of its luminescence, it may be able to discern the authority of the Atma to some small extent. Perhaps it may also discern its own essence thus!

Little one, just as when electricity is turned on:

a) an electric bulb burns and yields light;

b) a heater emanates heat;

c) an air conditioner yields cool air in the heat of summer;

d) machines and tools work through its energy;

e) and many types of tasks are accomplished with its help;

– in short, just as all electric machines do their work when electricity flows through them, in accordance with their particular attributes, and cease to work when electricity no longer courses through them, similarly the Atma activates the body and its three gunas. Just as the modifications and aberrations of machinery cannot be attributed to the electricity, so also the modifications of the body self cannot be attributed to the Atma Self.

Just as electricity has not created the objects that work by it, so also the Atma has not created the bodies nor their attributes. Just as man, knowing the efficacy of electricity, has invented the instruments that can be activated by it, so also the mortal being, through his attachment to the body and its attributes, has created the myriad bodies.

Thus man has used the energy of the Atma in the same way as he has taken advantage of the power of electricity. The Atma creates the world through the cycle of karma and with the help of Prakriti; however, those karmas or actions that bear fruit are the handiwork of the jivatma or the mortal being.