If the Supersoul is present in all atoms and the space between them, what is special about the Superoul in our heart?

Transcription by- Vandana Goel & Keshavgopal das

Question -If the supersoul is present in the atom and even in the space between the atoms, is the supersoul present there entirely the same as the supersoul present in our hearts? Or is the supersoul in our heart special in some way? What is the point of saying that supersoul is some kind of personal incarnation for us when He is present everywhere and in the space between the atoms?

Answer– There are two distinct aspects of the manifestation of the supersoul everywhere and in all hearts. The word Vishnu has many etymological meanings. One of them is- Vishnu-one who pervades everything…jo vishv ke hare ke anu mein hai wo Vishnu kehlatey hain…so one who is all pervading. The all pervasiveness of God is not just in his controllership of everything but also in His existence within everything. That omnipresence of God is as the supersoul. When we talk about the supersoul manifestation of Krishna being present in atom as well as in space between the atoms that point is a philosophical explanation of how God is omnipresent.

God is omnipresent not just through His power but through His presence also. That point is illustrated through the point that the supersoul is present in the atom and in the space between the atoms.

Somebody may argue that if God is present in the atoms then He may not be present in space between the atoms. To counter this God is present in atoms and in the space between the atoms. That means He is present everywhere. Now somebody might take this point further; ok, now we have found there are subatomic particles, is it present in nucleus or is it present in neutrino? Where is He present in the atom? Is he present in the nucleus or is He present in the neutrino? The point is, our classification of things into atoms and neutrinos and whatever subatomic particles, this sort of classification is done from one particular world view, that is the modern mathematical, mechanistic world view. And we cannot literally map things from one world view to another world view. Say for example if we take Ayurvedic concepts of kapha, vaata, pitta and then try to map it on to the modern Allopathic medical way of looking at the body. According to Allopathic model there is no such thing as the heat in the body. According to Ayurvedic medicine we say the heat has become very high. There is too much heat. Then they talk about acidity concepts sometimes. Even with respect of our body itself there are different ways of looking at it and one cannot just map one view on to the other view. So the Vedic world view also had its own physics based on sankhya and then vaisheshika. So now there in that world view the anu, the atom, is considered to be the fundamental building block of the matter. These are different ways of looking at it. So then Krishna is present in the atom and even in the space between the atoms. What this means is within this world view this expression demonstrates how Krishna is present everywhere. So rather than getting the technicality of matter, whether He is present inside this or outside this, we understand the principle that is made over there that Krishna is present everywhere. His omnipresence is demonstrated through the statement that He is present in the atom and within the space between the atoms.

Now, when Krishna is present as Supersoul within the heart He is not present there to demonstrate or fulfill the point of His omnipresence. Because if we consider this argument, we will say ok, the body has so many atoms and then there will be so many supersouls in the body also. Yes, they are there but those supersouls there are different. That supersoul manifestation is to prove the point of omniscience, whereas the supersoul manifestation present within our heart is for the purpose of guidance.

That’s why-………….

mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca

BG 15.15

upadrshtanam antah ca

mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca are not required for things that are unconscious. That is not required for matter. That is why we can clearly say that the supersoul manifestation present in heart has a distinct activity from the supersoul manifestation Who is present in the every atom and in the space between the atoms. Therefore these two different points indicate how Krishna cares for us. And because He cares for us He comes Himself in this manifestation, His personal manifestation, to guide us in our journey. So supersoul in our heart is special because He is our personal guide and the supersoul in the atom and the space between the atoms is special in a different way, in the sense that He demonstrates how Krishna; God is omnipresent.

Thank you