Gita 7.8

Sadhak: "'Raso'ham apsu'—I am the taste in water. But isn't taste just a chemical reaction on my tongue? How is that divine?"

Guru: "Chemistry explains the mechanism, not the experience. What makes water satisfying isn't molecules but the quenching of thirst, the sense of 'yes, this is what I needed.' That qualitative essence—what it's like to taste water—cannot be reduced to chemistry. That irreducible quality, Krishna says, is his presence."

Sadhak: "So the Divine is in the experience itself, not just the object?"

Guru: "Precisely. Water without anyone to taste it has no 'taste'—taste requires a taster. The Divine is present as that which makes experience experiential, that which gives phenomena their qualitative character. The light of the sun means nothing without eyes and awareness to see by it. Krishna is claiming identity with what makes any experience meaningful."

Sadhak: "'Prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ'—the light in sun and moon. Why both? They're so different."

Guru: "The sun blazes with its own light; the moon reflects borrowed light. Yet what you see by is the same: radiance. Krishna isn't claiming to be particular sources but the principle of luminosity itself. Whether light is generated or reflected, hot or cool, the capacity to illuminate is one. That single principle is divine."

Sadhak: "'Praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu'—Om in all Vedas. Why Om specifically?"

Guru: "Om is considered the seed of all sound, the primordial vibration from which all mantras emerge. The Vedas are vast—thousands of hymns—but they all begin with and are pervaded by Om. It's the most concentrated form of sacred sound. To say 'I am Om' is to say 'I am the essence of all sacred knowledge, the seed from which spiritual wisdom grows.'"

Sadhak: "'Śabdaḥ khe'—sound in ether. But ether is an ancient concept science has rejected."

Guru: "Think of 'ākāśa' not as a physical substance but as space—the medium in which sound travels, the openness that allows vibration. Sound requires space to propagate. Krishna is the principle of sound itself, the capacity of space to carry vibration. Even modern physics acknowledges that what we call 'empty space' has properties. The principle stands."

Sadhak: "'Pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu'—ability in humans. What kind of ability?"

Guru: "'Pauruṣa' means capacity, potency, the power to act and accomplish. It's what makes humans capable of shaping their world—creativity, strength, will. Every time you exercise any ability, divine power flows through you. The athlete's strength, the artist's creativity, the thinker's insight—all are expressions of the same divine capacity."

Sadhak: "These seem like very ordinary things—water, light, sound, human ability. I expected the Divine to be in something more... special."

Guru: "That's the revolution of this teaching. The Divine isn't hidden in rare experiences but present in common ones. You've been looking for God in temples while drinking God, seeing by God, hearing God, and exercising God's power every moment. The extraordinary is hiding in plain sight within the ordinary."

Sadhak: "So every time I drink water, I'm encountering God?"

Guru: "Yes—if you're aware of it. The encounter happens regardless; recognition is what transforms it into spiritual practice. Most people drink mindlessly. The yogi drinks the same water but tastes the Divine in it. The water hasn't changed; the awareness has. This is what makes ordinary life potentially continuous worship."

Sadhak: "How do I move from understanding this intellectually to actually experiencing it?"

Guru: "Slow down and attend. When you drink, really taste. When you see, appreciate the miracle of light making anything visible. When you hear, notice that sound arises in silence and returns to silence. When you act, feel the power flowing through you. The Divine is already there; you just need to stop, notice, and recognize. Attention is the bridge between concept and experience."