Bhagwad Gita Post 52

Dear all,

Let us see the translation of the initial 4 verses in chapter 4.

The Blessed Lord said:

I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvan; he told it to Manu; Manu proclaimed it to Ikshvaku.

This, handed down thus in regular succession, the royal sages knew. This Yoga, by a long lapse of time, has been lost here, O Parantapa (burner of foes)!

That same ancient Yoga has been today taught to thee by Me, for, thou art My devotee and friend; it is the supreme secret.

Arjuna raises  a doubt,

"Later on was Thy birth, and prior to it was the birth of Vivasvan (the Sun); how am I to understand that Thou didst teach this Yoga in the beginning?."

Now, the lord takes over from here and explains, to clear the doubt of Arjuna, as much as He clears the doubts of spiritual seekers in all times to come.

We will deal with few striking verses from this chapter in this regard, starting from verse 5.

Verse 5

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Bahooni me vyateetaani

janmaani tava chaarjuna;

Taanyaham veda sarvaani

na twam vettha parantapa.

The Blessed Lord said:

(Many births of Mine have passed, as well as of thine, O Arjuna! I know them all but thou knowest not, O Parantapa!)

Sri Krishna seems to be conveying to Arjuna through this verse, the following essence. 

Arjuna, I know your doubts. 

I am not this physical body, 

I (the Brahman) am the one who has no birth ( though in physical form, I might have descended many times) , 

I transcend all space and time. 

I am not limited by circumstances, 

I exist in all ages, in all times.

Based on  your limited knowledge about me (as My body), you are thinking that I belong to this Dwapara age. 

BUT, ALL THESE AGES ARE VERILY WITHIN ME.

Bodies change but I never change, I take on different bodies , at different times, to fulfill a mission required for each phase of time, each yuga!!

Dear All,

While the author read through the whole book titled “ Jivanmukhta Gita”, elaborated by Swami Sivananda, the one point which stood out amongst all the verses/all the exposition and what could be gathered from that exposition was, “ An Avatar/Lord can know all the past, all the present and all the future, whereas, a Jivanmukhta need not necessarily know all the past and all the future of Himself or   his  disciple.  

He might get to know about some past at some point of time ( of himself or any other being/ his disciple, when the Lord supreme grants him that capacity sometimes, only for him to serve his disciple or a set of disciples!!.

This one single point explains the depth of this one verse where, Lord/incarnation is aware of all past, all present and all future because, HE/THE ESSENCE THAT HE IS, EXISTS ETERNALLY , EVEN WHEN THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, IN TERMS OF SPACE AND TIME, COME AND GO!

The Svetasvatara Upanishad says (on God, as Nirakara Brahman or Sakara Eswara/ Avatar), 

'Thou art the Woman', 

'Thou art the Man', 

'Thou art Girl', 

'Thou art Boy', 

'Thou deceivest us as the old man tottering with the stick', 

'Thou movest everywhere, in the form of everything, in all directions', 

'Thou art the dark-blue Butterfly, and the Green Parrot with red eyes', 

'Thou art the thunder cloud, the Seasons and the Oceans',

'Thou art without beginning and beyond all time and space',

'Thou art That from which all the Universes are born'. 

'That alone is Fire. That is the Sun. That is Air, That is the Moon, That is also the starry firmament, That is the waters, That is Prajapati, That is Brahman.'

That Divine Being, who, though Himself formless, gives rise to various forms in different ways with the help of His Supreme Power for His own inscrutable purpose, and who dissolves the whole Universe in Himself in the end – may He endow us with pure understanding."

Love