Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 13, Verse 32

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते । सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते

yathā sarvagataṃ saukṣmyādākāśaṃ nopalipyate | sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate

Translation

As the all-pervading ākāśa is, from its subtlety, never soiled, so the Self seated in the body everywhere is not soiled.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

yathā

as

sarvagatam

the omnipresent

saukṣmyāt

from subtlety

ākāśam

ether

na

not

upalipyate

is affected

sarvatra

everywhere

avasthitaḥ

seated

dehe

in the body

tathā

so

ātmā

the Self

na

not

upalipyate

is affected

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Because ākāśa is so subtle that it pervades all without obstruction, it is not at all affected by mire, etc., which it pervades. Similarly, the Supreme Self, in reality neither the doer nor the enjoyer, is not affected by anything in the body He pervades. Agency and enjoyment are attributed to Him by avidyā.