9 Years and One Spirit

Reflections on Gita 13.16

🎉 My dog turned 9. In our backyard I shared a pink birthday treat, and had one of those heart-to-heart conversations only a dog parent understands. I sometimes speak in long sentences with her—not because she follows every word, but because there's a spirit listening that is deeper than language. Many a Gita recitations she has patiently listened! It reminded me of Bhagavad Gita 13.16

Just One Verse

It moves and it is unmoving. In its subtlety it is beyond comprehension. It is indivisible, yet appears divided in separate creatures. Know it to be the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer.

This verse offers a glimpse into the paradox of the divine presence: everywhere and nowhere, moving yet still, one yet many. A single spirit permeates all things, yet we often see only fragments.

When I look at my dog, I don’t just see “a dog.” I see playfulness, affection, presence—the same qualities I see in my friends, my teachers, and sometimes even in myself when I pause long enough.

Just One Story

In a neighbor’s home, there are four dogs—two bonded pairs. These pairs never meet. If they do, a fight erupts. Each pair is gentle and loving toward their humans and toward each other, but aggressive toward the other pair.

How strange. And yet, how familiar.

We, too, form groups. We love within our circle, and often view the “other” with suspicion or fear.

But beneath the fur, the clothes, the beliefs, the bark—is the same spirit.

Just One Reflection

Maybe that’s what the verse is asking us to realize: despite what appears divided, the truth is indivisible.

So today, I celebrate not just my dog’s birthday—but the spark of the same spirit that shines in all of us. 🐾

Suresh