Gita 07.08 – Krishna is the essence that makes all taste accessible through water

Here Krishna begins the description of description through examples of how He is the essence of everything In the previous verse He has stated in 7.7 सुत्रे मनि गनाईव just as the thread underlies and unifies the jewels similarly सुत्रे माई सर्वमिदं प्रोतं I am the underlying thread that unify all of existence so how He is the underlying thread of everything that He will be illustrating through His examples in verses 8 to 11 so here He states रसोहमप्सुकं तेय I am the taste of water now from the biochemical point of view water is often thought of as tasteless but that is a incomplete analysis based on certain preconceived definitions of taste people think that you have to put something in water maybe you take a cold drink take a soft drink take a warm drink put something in the water then take the liquid, don't just take water however water itself is what enables us to access all tastes it is generally when we see some delicious item or we smell a delicious item at that time our mouth starts watering what does that mean? the tongue starts secreting saliva the whole mouth becomes ready to eat the food so basically what it reflects is that we need water moisture in the form of saliva which enables us not just to chew and soften the food so as to begin the digestive process as it enters the mouth but actually as it enters the alimentary canal but more importantly it is the water that is secreted in the tongue that enables us to taste food if if the tongue does not secrete any saliva if the mouth does not start watering then even if food is placed on it the food will go in through the tongue down the neck and it will nourish us but it will not we will not be able to taste it so even from the bio functional point of view for our body water is what makes taste accessible that is with respect to the sense which we taste and that is the tongue and similarly with respect to sense object certain objects may be juicy, certain objects may be soft certain objects may be crisp, whatever they are but essentially all objects are they need some some level of water in them the special way in which they are cooked the water content may be less in them but generally when we say oh this is a dry chapati this is a dry bread dry what does it mean? now there is no softness softness has come because of the presence of some moisture and when the moisture goes off then it can't be tasted so water is the basis of all tastes and water is what gives taste to all items, now going further this is from our experiential point of view if we go from the Sankhya analysis point of view then each element of nature is associated with a particular sense object that means say with respect to this the water which is one of the elements, earth, water, fire Krishna talked about them in 7.4 this water is associated with taste so what does it mean? it is associated with, that means it is that in the process of universal creation as creation unfolds then certain things become manifested just like a person may have a collapsible stick and then as you pull and pull then one extension of the stick appears so like that the creation unfolds and when the creation unfolds each element has a particular sense object associated with it which and that sense object unfolds through that element the sense object that unfolds through water is taste so in that sense Krishna is saying that I am the taste of water next he says is I am the light of the sun and the moon both sun and moon they are defined by, they are characterized by light so that light may be different in nature in the sense that sunlight is is often scorching whereas moonlight is soothing but essentially these two are the prominent sources of light during the day and the night so they are defined by their essence is the light that they emanate and Krishna says I am that light the potency by which the sun and the moon are able to give light is ultimately arranged by Krishna in the Vedas there are many things that are talked about but one of the most important things that is talked there is Pranavaha Pranavaha is Om it is an extremely important sound and the concept of Om will be talked about repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita several times it will come and we will analyze it more in the future occurrences but Om is a potent sound we will talk about it in the 8th chapter also Krishna is stating here that he is the sound by which in which the potency of the Vedas is manifested in one of the greatest manifestations so the sound of Om is considered very sacred, Om is non-different from the absolute truth it is just a non-specific, non-descript non-personal reference to the absolute truth but still it is a reference to the absolute truth and Krishna is saying that I am that Om so the essential potency of the Vedic sound is manifested through the sound of the Om and then Krishna says I am that Om in that way he is saying that I am the essence of the Vedas also Shabda I am sounding ether this means that ether is a very subtle element and it is the subtlest of the gross elements and it is not very easy for anyone to perceive ether but although ether is difficult to perceive still ether is one of the five elements and its essential property is that it manifests sound it is the substratum the medium through which sound gets transmitted so in the Sankhya analysis of maternal nature ether as I said each element is associated with a sound with a particular sense object so Shabda sound is associated with ether and this ether is essentially characterized by its capacity to transmit sound so in that sense sound is the essence of ether and Krishna says I am sound I am sound and in that sense he is the essence of ether and then Paurusham Nrishu Nrishu Nrishu is human being Paurusha Paurusha is the ability I am ability in man or there can be different abilities which different people have and each person is defined by his or her ability in the Vedic culture there were the four varanas so the four varanas were defined by not just birth but by gunakarma so different people have different abilities and it is those abilities that defined those people so Krishna is saying I am ability in man that means Nrishu is used here in an inclusive sense not just man but man and woman all human beings Paurusham Nrishu so whatever ability human beings their essential defining defining essence is there essential defining quality is their ability is this person having intellectual ability is this person having administrative ability is this person having money earning ability what ability does a person have so that's what defines people and Krishna says that defining ability which is there in a person I am that, so in this way through these five examples of water, sun, moon which comprise one example Asoham Apsukuntayo Prabhasmi Suryo Pranavah Sarva Edeshu of Om in Vedas, Shabda Ke Paurusham Nrishu of sound and of ability Krishna conveys how he is the essence of everything and this same analysis will continue in the future verses.