Gita 2.24
Sankhya Yoga
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च । नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥
acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṁ sanātanaḥ
In essence: What cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried is also eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and everlasting—this is your true nature, ancient beyond time.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Guru, this verse says the Self is 'all-pervading.' But I experience myself as located here, in this body. How can I be everywhere when I clearly feel like I'm in one place?"
Guru: "Let me ask you this: when you dream at night, where is the dream located?"
Sadhak: "Well... in my mind, I suppose. In my head."
Guru: "But in the dream, there are vast landscapes, cities, other people. The dream-you walks through dream-space that seems to extend in all directions. Is all of that contained in a few ounces of brain matter?"
Sadhak: "No, that doesn't make sense. The dream-space feels real and large within the dream."
Guru: "So consciousness can appear to contain space, rather than being contained by space. Upon waking, you realize the vast dream-world existed within your awareness—not the other way around. What if waking life has the same structure?"
Sadhak: "You mean this whole universe might be appearing within my consciousness, rather than my consciousness being inside the universe?"
Guru: "That is precisely what the Gita suggests. The feeling of being 'in here, looking out there' is a perspective within awareness, not awareness itself. The Self is all-pervading because the world appears within it—like images on a screen that cannot exist without the screen."
Sadhak: "But if I'm all-pervading, why can't I perceive what's happening in China right now?"
Guru: "The all-pervading Self and the localized mind are not the same. The mind perceives through the body's senses and is limited by their range. But the awareness in which mind and perception arise is not so limited. When you realize yourself as that awareness rather than the mind, the question of 'perceiving far places' dissolves—you are already the space in which all places appear."
Sadhak: "How do I shift from identifying with the mind to knowing myself as this all-pervading awareness?"
Guru: "Notice what remains when you stop looking for anything specific. The searching, the thinking, the feeling—all of that appears within something. That within-which is the Self. It has no location because it is the space of all locations. Rest there, and you will know your nature as stable, immovable, eternal."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Upon waking, before opening your eyes or moving, rest in pure awareness for a few moments. Feel yourself as the unchanging presence that was there before sleep and is here upon waking. This is your sthāṇu nature—stable, immovable, the same yesterday and today. Begin your day from this unchanging center rather than from the mind's immediate rush of concerns.
When circumstances try to shake you—unexpected problems, emotional reactions, stressful events—return to the thought: 'I am immovable; this is appearing within me, but it cannot move me.' Like a mountain unmoved by clouds, let events occur without losing your center. This practice doesn't suppress reaction but reveals the space in which reaction appears.
Before sleep, contemplate 'sarva-gata'—all-pervading. Instead of feeling confined to your body lying in bed, sense yourself as the awareness in which the room appears, the city appears, the night sky appears. Let your identity expand from the located body to the unbounded awareness that has no edges, no location, no limit. Fall asleep as the space, not the object.