Text 13]
Gajendra's Prayers of Surrender
89
PURPORT
In  Bhagavad-gītā  (13.3) the Lord says,  kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata : "O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies." Every one of us is thinking, "I am this body" or "This is my body," but actually the truth is different. Our bodies are given to us by the supreme proprietor. The living entity, who is also  kṣetra-jña , or the knower of the body, is not the body's only proprietor; the actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme  kṣetra-jña . For example, we may rent and occupy a house, but actually the owner of the house is the landlord. Similarly, we may be allotted a certain type of body as a facility with which to enjoy this material world, but the actual proprietor of the body is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is called  sarvādhyakṣa  because everything in the material world works under His supervision. This is confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.10), wherein the Lord says,  mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram : "This material nature, working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, is producing all moving and unmoving beings." From  prakṛti , or material nature, come so many varieties of living entities, including aquatics, plants, trees, insects, birds, animals, human beings and demigods.  Prakṛti  is the mother, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the father ( ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā ).
Prakṛti  can give us material bodies, but as spirit souls we are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  (15.7):  mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ . The living entity, being part and parcel of God, is not a product of this material world. Therefore the Lord is described in this verse as  ātma-mūla , the original source of everything. He is the seed of all existences ( bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām ). In  Bhagavad-gītā  (14.4) the Lord says:
sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
"It should be understood that all living entities, in all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father." Plants, trees, insects, aquatics, demigods,