parastasmaattu bhaavonyovyaktovyaktaatsanaatanaha |
yaha sa sarveshu bhooteshu nashyatsu na vinashyati || 20 ||
 
But, there exists another supreme, timeless unmanifest, beyond that (other) unmanifest, which, after destruction of all beings, is not destroyed.
 
paraha : supreme
tasmaat : that
tu : but
bhaavaha : exists
anyaha : another
avyaktaha : unmanifest
avyaktaat : unmanifest
sanaatanaha : timeless
yaha : that
saha : which
sarveshu : all
bhooteshu : beings
nashyatsu : after destruction
na : does not
vinashyati : destroyed
 
Previously, Shri Krishna spoke about the endless cycle of creation and dissolution of the universe. All living and non-living beings go into a state of suspended animation for 4.32 billion years, after which they come back into manifest mode for another 4.32 billion years. But there is one more thing. There are a select few beings that escape this endless cycle. They are the ones who are liberated.
 
Let us go back to our example of the movie projector where the light that illuminates the film strip identified itself with a character in the movie. How does that piece of light get liberated? By knowing that the identification with the movie character is false, and the identification with the light is real. The light in the projector remains constant regardless of how many times the movie is shown and rewound. It transcends the movie.
 
Similarly, Shri Krishna informs us that there is something beyond this cycle of creation and dissolution, something that transcends time and space. In other words, everything in this world is transitory and will eventually lead to sorrow. Unless we realize that everything that we think will give us happiness is subject to destruction sooner or later, we will never become aware that there is something beyond our materialistic pursuits.
 
So, what exactly is this “another unmanifest”? This is taken up next.