Bhagwad Gita - Post 111

Verse 18

Gatirbhartaa prabhuh saakshee

Nivaasah sharanam suhrit;

Prabhavah pralayah sthaanam

Nidhaanam beejamavyayam.

I am the goal, the support, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the shelter, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the treasure-house and the imperishable seed.

“I am the final resort of all people. When everything goes wrong, finally you have to come to Me only. I am the gati, the final abode, the final resort, the sarana, the home and the resting place of everybody. 

I am the supporter, the sustainer and the nourisher of all beings. I am the overlord of all beings; all gods are below Me, and none is equal to Me. I am the witness, and yet not involved in all this drama of creation, notwithstanding the fact that nothing can move without Me. 

I am the abode supreme—nivāsaḥ—and the friend of all beings.” 

Śaraṇaṁ suhṛt: “As I am the real friend of all created beings, the real friend of every one of you, you have to come to Me one day or the other as a final resort.” 

Prabhavaḥ: “Everything proceeds from Me.” 

Pralayaḥ: “Everything is dissolved into Me.” 

Sthānaṁ: “It rests in Me, finally.” 

Nidhānaṁ: “The very root of all things.” 

Bījam: “The essential seed of creation.” 

Avyayam: “Imperishable I am.”

Lord Krishna reveals that He is that which is attained as the ultimate goal of all existence. He is the sustainer, the nourisher, the maintainer and the controller. 

As Paramatma the Supreme Soul within all living entities, He is the witness and observer of all actions good and evil. He is the abode and resting place as He encompasses everything, everywhere. He is the refuge, the protector. He is the dear friend who always does what is beneficial. 

Verse 19

Tapaamyahamaham varsham

Nigrihnaamyutsrijaami cha;

Amritam chaiva mrityushcha

Sadasacchaahamarjuna.

(As the sun) I give heat; I withhold and send forth the rain; I am immortality and also death, existence and non-existence, O Arjuna!

“I create heat through the sun. I create rain by the force of my will. I also withdraw the rain when it is my will. I release and I withdraw the forces of nature.” 

When God releases His energy through the forces of nature, nature seems to be scintillating, smiling and raining, and everything is green and flourishing; but when He withdraws His energy, it becomes dried up, as in a drought.

“I am the final immortal seat of all souls; I am also the death of all beings. Immortality and death, both are Me. It is I Who transforms all mortal elements into the deathless eternality of My own transcendent Being. It is also I Who destroys everything by the process of the evolutionary advance of nature and the cycle of time.” The many cycles are referred to in the earlier verses. 

The Supreme Lord being completely independent in Himself solely is different from all the above mentioned things; yet He is inseparable from them all being their essence thus He is known by them. Since He is referred to as OM in Vedic yagnas, the resplendent Supreme Lord has a His own personal transcendental sound vibration known as OM.

Sad asaccāham arjuna: “I am existence and non-existence.” He has left nothing unsaid.

“I am existence and non-existence, being and non-being, this and that, here and there, now and then. There is nothing which I am not. But very few people realize this glory of Mine.” 

They go to the sacrificial yajnasalas and temples of worship and externally offer adorations and perform sacrifices for gaining joy in the heaven of Indra by employing the mantras of the Veda for yajnas like Rajasuya, Asvamedha, Somayaga, etc., as described in the Brahmana portions of the Vedas. 

They do this because they want to rejoice in heaven, and they expect this to be attained through the sacrifices that they make by means of the mantras of the Vedas. They do go to heaven, no doubt; but the merits produced by the performance of the greatest of sacrifices have a beginning and an end. As these merits originated in the sacrifice, they will also end, by the exhaustion thereof through experience. After we enjoy the glories of Indra’s heaven, we will fall headlong down to the earth. 

Therefore, there is no point in our asking for Svarga, or heavenly joys, through the performance of Vedic sacrifices or through externally motivated rituals of any kind, even if they be in the form of worship in a temple. Such people who go to Svargaloka, or heaven, enter the abode of Indra and enjoy the divine blessedness of that place. Then afterwards—kṣīṇe puṇye martyalokaṁ viśanti—when the punyas, or merits, of these people slowly diminish and finally get extinguished, they come to this world once again—evaṁ trayīdharmam.

The Svarga is here, within us, when we realize that we do not have to go from anywhere to anywhere, we do not have to aspire to reach Svarga (from where we have to come back as explained above). 

Upon realizing God / Self within us, we are complete in all respect, even if we have to clear some balance portion of our prarabdha karma!!!!

Love.