What Constitutes the Field
The field is composed of the five elements, ego, intellect, the unmanifest, the senses, mind, and the sense objects.
Krishna enumerates the components of the field: elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether), the subtle body (ego, intellect, mind), the senses and their objects, and the unmanifest ground of matter. This comprehensive map of our experiential world shows that everything we normally identify with is part of the field, not the Self. Understanding this dissolves false identification and reveals our true nature as the knowing awareness.
The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten senses, the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress—all these are considered to be the field of activities.
This analytical approach—neti neti, 'not this, not this'—systematically disidentifies consciousness from its objects, revealing pure awareness.
Bhagavad Gita