Bhagwad Gita - Post 123

Verse 19

Sri Bhagawan Uvaacha:

Hanta te kathayishyaami

Divyaa hyaatmavibhootayah;

Praadhaanyatah kurushreshtha

Naastyanto vistarasya me.

The Blessed Lord said:

Very well, now I will declare to thee My divine glories in their prominence, O Arjuna! There is no end to their detailed description.

Verse 20

Ahamaatmaa gudaakesha

Sarvabhootaashayasthitah;

Ahamaadishcha madhyam cha

Bhootaanaamanta eva cha.

I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings! I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.

There was a great sage called Muchukunda, who helped the Gods in a war with the demons. Indra, who was highly pleased with him said, “Ask for a boon.” 

He said, “I am very much tired. The only thing I need is a good sleep. This is the blessing: Let me sleep somewhere in a corner without disturbance and bless me also that if anybody disturbs me while I am asleep, he shall perish in one second.” 

“Be it so!” said Indra. 

Then Muchukunda, with post-war fatigue, went into a cave and fell asleep. Meanwhile, Kalayavana, a demon discharged by Kamsa under the instigation of Jarasandha and others, was pursuing Sri Krishna; and Sri Krishna, with a double motive in his mind, entered the cave in which Muchukunda was sleeping, which Kalayavana saw. 

Sri Krishna was dark blue in colour and, fortunately or unfortunately, Muchukunda was also the same color. Sri Krishna entered the cave and stood in a corner, and the demon Kalayavana also entered.

When he saw someone with almost the same colour as Sri Krishna lying down, fast asleep, he said “Oh, you are sleeping here!” and kicked him with his foot. The sleeping man slowly opened his eyes, and immediately the demon was reduced to ashes. 

Then Sri Krishna came forward. Muchukunda looked at him and said, “Who are you, this great mysterious magnificence that is standing before me? Will you kindly tell me your name?” 

Sri Krishna replied, “Infinite are My names. You can count the grains of sand on the shores of the ocean, but My glories and My names are larger in number than the sands on the beach of the ocean.”

Likewise, here Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “It is impossible to tell you in toto all the manifestations in this world in which you can behold Me; but briefly, in essence, I shall outline where My excellence can be beheld.”

Śrībhagavānuvāca:

Hanta te kathayiṣyāmi

Divyā hyātmavibhūtayaḥ,

Prādhānyataḥ kuruśreṣṭha

Nāstyanto vistarasya me.

The Lord says, “I will tell you briefly. The details that you are speaking of are endless, infinite. How will I go on telling you all that is infinite in its nature? But I will give you an outline of where you can locate Me in this world.” 

Aham ātmā guḍākeśa

Sarvabhūtāśayasthitaḥ

“I am the soul of all beings. Wherever you see existence, there you see Me present as the basic fundamental reality of all. The love of life, which can be seen even in the worst of creatures, is actually a distorted love that they are manifesting towards the existence of their own individuality—but actually, that existence is borrowed from My universal existence.

That deepest essence, the ‘I’ which you refer to, the ‘I’ that is in everything—in plants, in animals, in insects, in gods—that ‘I’, the soul, as it were, of all things, is Me.  

The Atman, the Self of all beings, is Me. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all things. If the universe has come from somewhere, realize that it has come from Me. If it is existing now, it is due to My existence; and one day or the other, it shall be absorbed into Me. 

Amongst the various definitions of God given by the Vedas, some  of them are:

The Brihadaranya Upanisad V.VII.XV beginning –

Yas sarvashu bhuteshu

Tishthan sarvebhyo bhutebhyo

He who is enthroned in the heart of all beings, who is the innermost of all beings, Whom all the beings know not, whom all beings form His spiritual body, who rules the interior of all beings, is the atma, the antaryami the immortal inner ruler. 

Yato vā imāni bhūtāni

Jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti, Yatprayantyabhisamviśhanti

(Taittirīya Upaniṣhad)

“God is he from whom all living beings have emanated; God is he within whom all living beings are situated; God is he into whom all living beings shall unite.”

While teaching few on the verse from the same Taittriya Upanishad, the following was taught was explained.

Definition of Brahman in  brahma sutras, chapter 1, 2^nd verse)

Janmadya  aadhikaranam:

Janmaady Asya yatah

(Brahman is that) from which the origin etc., (i.e. the origin sustenance and dissolution) of this (world proceed).

Answer to the enquiry of Brahman is briefly given in this Sutra. It is stated that Brahman who is eternally pure, wise and free (Nitya, Buddha, Mukta Svabhava) is the only cause, stay and final resort of this world. Brahman who is the originator, preserver and absorber of this vast world must have unlimited powers and characteristics.

Hence, He is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Who but the Omnipotent and Omniscient Brahman could create, rule and destroy it? 

Dear All,

This is a very deep subject. Let us at-least understand very clearly that before creation ever emerged, God existed as pure consciousness and mystically, this pure consciousness became the cause for the emergence of creation. 

So, while the creation emerged (BEGINNING), the creation was sustained (MIDDLE)  and in each pralaya, when the creation ended (END) (creation has emerged, ended and re-emerged innumerable number of times), that which exists  without any change, the   pure existence which is  birth less, changeless and endless, is Brahman or Pure consciousness!

The same truth  is expressed by Krishna  in this verse, “ I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings! I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.”

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 122

Verse 16

Vaktum arhasyasheshena

Divyaa hyaatmavibhootayah;

Yaabhir vibhootibhir lokaani

Maamstwam vyaapya tishthasi.

Thou shouldst indeed tell, without reserve, of Thy divine glories by which Thou existeth, pervading all these worlds. (None else can do so.)

Verse 17

Katham vidyaamaham yogim

Twaam sadaa parichintayan;

Keshu keshu cha bhaaveshu

Chintyo’si bhagavanmayaa.

How shall I, ever meditating, know Thee, O Yogin? In what aspects or things, O blessed Lord, art Thou to be thought of by me?

Verse 18

Vistarenaatmano yogam

Vibhootim cha janaardana;

Bhooyah kathaya triptirhi

Shrinvato naasti me’mritam.

Tell me again in detail, O Krishna, of Thy Yogic power and glory; for I am not satisfied with what I have heard of Thy life-giving and nectar-like speech!

Arjuna, after hearing all that Sri Krishna says about His all pervasiveness, begs Krishna to further reveal His glories to Arjuna.

Vaktum arhasyaśeṣeṇa: “Without leaving anything out, tell me everything about Yourself—Your glories, Your divine immanence in this world of manifestation.

What are the ways in which You manifest Yourself in this world? In which place in this world of manifestations, in which object, in what manner can I recognize You? How can I know You? Please tell me.”

Kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogiṁs tvāṁ sadā paricintayan - “Day and night I would like to meditate and contemplate on You. In what manner should I contemplate? Please tell me in detail.

Keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu cintyosi bhagavan mayā: “In this world which is constituted of millions of forms, in what forms should I contemplate on You? Where are You manifest more, and in what forms are You manifest less? Please detail all these wondrous glories of Yourself.” 

Vistareṇātmano yogaṁ vibhūtiṁ ca janārdana, bhūyaḥ kathaya (10.18): “Repeat it once again. You have already told me something about Yourself. I would like to hear it again and again because it is amrita, it is nectar to my ears. Please tell me in all detail Your glories, Your powers and Your manifestations. 

Tell me once again, though You have already told me once. Please tell me in greater detail because my satisfaction has no end. Let my satisfaction rise from lower to higher states. I am already satisfied. May I be further satisfied, and may I be blessed with immense infinite satisfaction. My ears are never satisfied with any amount of nectar of Your speech that is poured into my ears.

Tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me’mṛtam: “You are pouring nectar into my ears and I am delighted, but I should be more delighted if You describe Your further glories in Your own way so that I may find it easier to behold You in all things and unite myself with Thee.”

So again here Lord Krishna is being humbly beseeched to describe His transcendental, majestic opulence in detail as well as the process of devotion unto Him which insures and guarantees success. 

Arjuna wants Lord Krishna to advise a way that even for a mind like his ( and ours), who is always embroiled in  war and mundane affairs and is seldom introspective can still contemplate the Supreme Lord in various ways through the medium of His vibhuti or transcendental, majestic opulence. 

Not only this but Arjuna wants to hear more and more about Lord Krishna's divine glories and phenomenal powers for he finds the discourses of the Supreme Lord to be just like ambrosial nectar.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 121

Verse 10

Teshaam satatayuktaanaam

Bhajataam preetipoorvakam;

Dadaami buddhiyogam tam

Yena maamupayaanti te.

To them who are ever steadfast, worshipping Me with love, I give the Yoga of discrimination by which they come to Me.

“In great compassion, I endow these devoted souls with the

highest kind of understanding by which they cannot forget Me at any time. Those who are perpetually united with Me — satatayukta — and who worship Me and adore Me and praise Me in intense devotional love, to them I give this great blessing and grace of Mine in the form of superior understanding.”

If the Gods want to help us, they do not come to protect us with a stick in their hands like a shepherd protecting sheep. Their help always comes in the form of an enhanced understanding, a blessing which they pour upon us in the form of an increased insight into the nature of things.

This is because knowledge is the greatest blessing, insight is the greatest power, and there is nothing in this world equal to illumination. Objects, property, wealth, social status—none of them can stand before illumination and insight into the true nature of things, with which God blesses those who are eternally, perpetually, united with Him.

Verse 11

Teshaam evaanukampaartham

Aham ajnaanajam tamah;

Naashayaamyaatmabhaavastho

Jnaanadeepena bhaaswataa.

Out of mere compassion for them, I, dwelling within their Self, destroy the darkness born of ignorance by the luminous lamp of knowledge.

“I am immensely compassionate and merciful towards these people. I think of them, and they are in Me.” Aham ajñānajaṁ tamaḥ nāśayāmy: “I shall destroy even the ignorance in you.” 

Here, God stresses the point, “Whatever you be and in whatever condition you may be living, if your heart is in Me, you need not bother about anything, either of this world or of the other world.” He is emphasizing that even the ignorance in our mind will be destroyed.

After bestowing the divine spark of spiritual intelligence the Supreme Lord  residing within as Paramatma the Supreme Soul makes sure it remains steady until His exclusive devotee eradicates all ignorance and achieves atmatattva or realization of their eternal soul and liberation from the material existence and samsara.

This is what is meant by the words anukampa - artham which means He shows them special mercy out of great compassion for their devotion, the Supreme Lord blesses them and by His Grace all the darkness of material existence is illuminated. 

By what means is this accomplished and how is this done? 

Lord Krishna anticipating such a query speaks the words atma-bhava-stho meaning situated within their etheric heart as Paratmatma, He illuminates their consciousness with the glowing radiance of spiritual knowledge.

Dear All,

First step is the steadfastness in our devotion towards God / Love for God.

Lord assures that if we have that pure love for Him, He shall then bestow the power of discrimination to us.

With the power of discrimination, we give up our desires for objects in this world.

We channelize our focus towards God wholly

The Lord, satisfied with our single pointed focus / devotion / Love for Him, takes us on His arm and showers compassion.

What is this compassion and what does it result in at the penultimate stage in our sadhana?

This compassion or grace wipes out the left-over subtlest ignorance if any and then we experience our oneness with the Lord, the perfect non-duality.

How beautifully, in the two verses, Lord has given the sequence of our entire sadhana and its culmination!

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 120

Verse 4

Buddhir jnaanamasammohah

Kshamaa satyam damah shamah;

Sukham duhkham bhavo’bhaavo

Bhayam chaabhayameva cha.

Intellect, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain, birth or existence, death or non-existence, fear and also fearlessness.

Verse 5 

Ahimsaa samataa tushtistapo

Daanam yasho’yashah;

Bhavanti bhaavaa bhootaanaam

Matta eva prithagvidhaah.

Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, fame, beneficence, ill-fame—(these)different kinds of qualities of beings arise from Me alone.

In these two verses, Lord Krishna continues to confirm His Supreme Lordship and absolute dominion over all that exists in creation. Here, he mentions twenty emotions that manifest in a variety of degrees and combinations in different people to form the individual fabric of human nature. He declares that the various moods, temperaments, and dispositions of humankind all emanate from him.

Buddhi is the ability to analyze things in their proper perspective.

Jñānam is the ability to discriminate spiritual from material.

Asammoham is the absence of confusion.

Kṣhamā is the ability to forgive those who have harmed us.

Satyam is the veracity to declare the truth for the benefit of all.

Dam means restraining the senses from the sense objects.

Śham is restraint and control of the mind.

Sukham is the emotion of joy and delight.

Duḥkham is the emotion of sorrow and affliction.

Bhavaḥ is the perception of one’s existence “I am.”

Abhāvaḥ is the experience of death.

Bhaya is the fear of oncoming difficulties.

Abhaya is freedom from fear.

Ahinsā is abstinence from harming any being through word, deed, or thought.

Samatā is equanimity in good and bad situations.

Tuṣhṭi is feeling content in whatever comes by ones karma.

Tapa is voluntary austerities for spiritual benefit, in accordance with the Vedas.

Dān is giving in charity to one who is worthy.

Yaśh is fame arising from possessing good qualities.

Ayaśh is infamy for possessing bad qualities.

Sri Krishna concludes this topic by asserting that all of these qualities are generated in us by none other than Easwara. However, there is a set of rules that govern the creation of these qualities. It does not happen randomly or in an ad-hoc manner. It is our karma or actions that determine which qualities or states will arise within us. 

These qualities are almost a complete classification of the entire world-of-beings and their fields of experiences, and therefore, as Sankara observes, we can consider these two stanzas as an exhaustive commentary upon the Self's status as the Lord of the worlds (Sarva-loka-maheshwarah).

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 119

Verse 4

Buddhir jnaanamasammohah

Kshamaa satyam damah shamah;

Sukham duhkham bhavo’bhaavo

Bhayam chaabhayameva cha.

Intellect, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain, birth or existence, death or non-existence, fear and also fearlessness,

Verse 5 

Ahimsaa samataa tushtistapo

Daanam yasho’yashah;

Bhavanti bhaavaa bhootaanaam

Matta eva prithagvidhaah.

Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, fame, beneficence, ill-fame—(these)different kinds of qualities of beings arise from Me alone.

Verse 6

Maharshayah sapta poorve

Chatwaaro manavastathaa;

Madbhaavaa maanasaa jaataa

Yeshaam loka imaah prajaah.

The seven great sages, the ancient four and also the Manus, possessed of powers like Me (on account of their minds being fixed on Me), were born of (My) mind; from them are these creatures born in this world.

Dear All,

Before proceeding with the commentary on the above verses  and in fact for all the verses of this chapter, it is worthwhile to refresh ourselves with the following extract taken from a previous theme post.

Three questions were put forth by the author on behalf of the readers / aspirants, in  a post under "Creation of the Universe” theme. 

1.    What is the God existence to be realized by a Jiva as culmination of Sadhana?

2.  Does God exist in universe after creating universe??

3.  What is God consciousness or Brahman actually???

In the above questions, the second question is most relevant, as this chapter is all about God existing in each and every aspect created by Him / That.

And, the answer was given, which in itself is the essence of vedanta.

"The Isavasya Upanishad says that the whole Universe is pervaded by Iswara or God, who is both within and without it. He is the moving and the unmoving, He is far and near, He is within all these and without all these."

Now, let us devote time in reading and then absorbing the same in early morning hours, in total silence, with pure mind, on one portion of the above expression "WITHIN"!!

Author is recapitulating the following part from a post under the theme "Creation of Universe".

"Suppose there is a big boulder, a stone. You see the stone; it

is very hard and heavy, and you can touch it as a solid object. 

Bring a sufficiently powerful microscope and look at this stone. You will find that the stone is a heap of very minute, fly-like, insect-like entities called molecules. It is a heap of certain things, and not one solid object.

Bring another, more powerful microscope, more powerful than the earlier one. Even the molecules will not be seen there. There will be still finer elements looking like almost non-cognizable particles which are called atoms.

Bring a still more powerful microscope. You will find that even these little particles melt into a continuum of energy, or force, which impinges on the energy center which are other atoms. It looks as if there is one sea of force everywhere, an indistinguishable continuum.

What has happened to the stone?

Can you say that this sea of force, these atoms, one day thought: “Let us become a stone”? 

If the atoms have really become the stone, they will not be there for you to see through the microscope. 

These so-called ‘things’ – molecules, atoms, energy centre  etc. – never became the stone. They were never transformed into the stone. They did not create the stone. They exist and have always existed in the same condition as they were when you perceived them through a powerful perception.”

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Dear All, 

What do we learn from the above profound revelation??

If we take the STONE referred in the above answer as equal to each and every living and non-living part created in this creation, then God is present as the “CONTINUUM OF ENERGY” explained in the above answer.

A Jivanmukhta is the one who realizes and experiences intuitively the “CONTINUUM OF ENERGY” within him and in this entire creation which is THE ATMAN. 

With this grand revelation, we will understand that in this entire chapter, Krishna means “the presence of continuum of energy” or “the SELF”  in each and everything mentioned in various verses . 

Love.