Passage 8

In plain words

“Pārtha! Perhaps you thought sūkṣma means someone with a small body! No, no. It means ‘nirguṇa’. It cannot be known with the senses. As the guṇas of an object decrease, the object becomes subtler. How so? Take the five elements (the objects of the world): sound, touch, form, taste and smell are their respective guṇas. Earth is the first, water the second, fire the third, air the fourth, ākāśa the fifth, isn't it? Each is lighter than the one before and grows subtler; this is evident to direct perception.”