IX: 10

Chapter 9, Verse 10

"Under my watchful eye, Arjuna,
The laws of Nature run their course.
The animate and inanimate are created.
The world is set in motion and proceeds in cycles."

Swami Shivananda:

God presides as Witness.  Nature executes everything.

Although all actions occur with the help of the light of the Sun, the Sun cannot be the doer of actions even though Nature does all actions with the help of the light of God.

Swami Satchidananda:

God is the big magnet, while all of the iron filings, representing Nature, are running around.  God does not move, but makes every wavicle (sub-atomic particle/wave) move.

We can emulate this example.  Without losing our peace, we can watch ourselves running around.  Unfortunately, we often forget that we are the pure, unaffected supervisor.  Instead, we identify with the part that is running around: thoughts, emotions, arms and legs.  This is the cause of the trouble.  It is good to be the supervisor.  Rise above, and neutrally watch life unfold.

Paramahansa Yogananda:

Even though God, as the divine cosmic light, is the creator/director of the delusive films of Nature and her happy and hurtful dream productions, still, he is not the doer.  Nature (Prakriti), animated by his light, expedites all the good and all the mischief in creation, and yet the cosmic Mother could not exist nor operate without the guidance of the Unmanifested Divine.  God and Nature are thus indivisible though diverse, like the two sides of a coin.

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

Everywhere we look we see evidence of the miracle of life.  On the seashore, the sandpiper waits for the wave to break, and when the water is about to reach its toes, it runs off so fast that you can hardly see its legs.

Where does it get the power to run?

Science can describe its leg action, the angle at which they move, their velocity, the conditions of the sand and wind resistance, but the power that enables the tiny sandpiper to outrun the tide is God's power.

In the operation of our bodies, in the movements of the stars, and every other expression of energy in the Universe is the power of God.  When the Sun converts hydrogen into helium, the energy released is God's power, just as is the energy released in your body in the process of digestion.  It's all the same energy.  That is what is meant by the unity of life.  God is the power of the Universe, manifesting as Nature.

We can study the physics, the chemistry, and the biology of our small corner of the Universe, but it is through the practice of meditation that we become able to meet the supervisor.