Bhagwad Gita - Post 126

Verse 25

Maharsheenaam bhriguraham

Giraamasm yekamaksharam;

Yajnaanaam japayajno’smi

Sthaavaraanaam himaalayah.

  

Among the great sages I am Bhrigu;

Among words I am the monosyllable Om;

Among sacrifices I am the sacrifice of silent repetition;

Among immovable things the Himalayas I am.

While all fruits and flowers grow from the same land, only the best amongst them are selected for an exhibition. 

Similarly, everything that is manifest and unmanifest in the universe is the glory of God, but the prominent amongst them are singled out for mention as his opulence.

Amongst the sages in the celestial planes of existence, Bhrigu is special. He possesses wisdom, glory, and devotion. 

Lord Vishnu holds the mark of his foot on his chest as a consequence of a divine pastime described in the Puranas in which Bhrigu tested the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv. Shree Krishna’s glory is revealed best through him.

AMONG  WORDS, I AM THE ONE-SYLLABLED "OM"

If ordinary word-symbol indicate only the finite, the Rishis thought that they must conceive a word-symbol to indicate the Eternal. Thus, they discovered the one syllabled word 'OM,' which is the greatest mantra in all the Vedas and traditionally, up-to recent times, this has been, in the spiritual world, the one sound idol used as a prop (Alambanam) for all early meditators.

Of sound vibrations, Lord Krishna's vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence manifests as the sacred monosyllable OM which is uttered before every Vedic ritual can begin. The words ekam aksaram directly refers to OM.

In one of the sadan talks (Talk in a Sai Center in Oman), the author shared an incident when John Hislop asked Swami,

"Swami,  If we have to worship You without Your form, how do we do worship?”.

Swami answered, “Worship me as AUM”.

Let us go through some more words of Bhagwan on OM/ AUM.

“Om is the symbol of the unchanging eternal universal supreme God .... Om is the sound of the movement of the stars in the firmament; it is the sound that manifested when the dawn of Creative Will stirred the Niraakaara (the Attributeless) into activity. SSS6, Chap. 42 

If you have the ear, you can hear 'Om' announcing the Lord's Presence in every sound. All the five elements produce this sound, 'Om.' The bell in the temple is intended to convey the Om as the symbol of the Omnipresent God. When the bell sounds Om, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be aware of His Presence. That is the meaning of the bell which is rung in front of the inner shrine in the temple. SSS1, Chap. 9”

Yajña is the act of dedicating ourselves to the Supreme. The simplest of all yajñas is the chanting of the holy names of God. This is called japa yajña, or the sacrifice of the devotional repetition of the divine names of God. In the present age of Kali, the chanting of the names of God is even more emphasized.

Kalijuga kevala nāma ādhārā,

Sumiri sumiri nara utarahiṅ pārā

(Ramayan)[v28]

“In the age of Kali, the chanting and remembrance of the names of God is the most powerful means of crossing the ocean of material existence.”

The Himalayas are a mountain range lying at the north of India. Since ages, they have inspired spiritual awe and wonder in billions of devotees. 

Their atmosphere, environment, and solitude are conducive to the performance of austerities for spiritual progress. Thus, many great sages reside in the Himalayas in their subtle bodies, practicing penance for their own advancement and for the benefit of humankind. 

And so, of the multitude of mountain ranges in this world, the Himalayas best display his opulence.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 125

Verse 22

Vedaanaam saamavedo’smi

Devaanaam asmi vaasavah;

Indriyaanaam manashchaasmi

Bhootaanaamasmi chetanaa.

Vedānāṁ sāmavedo’smi: “I am the Sama Veda among the Vedas.” Because of its intonation, the beauty of its melody and the belief that it is the quintessence of even the Rigveda—and, in addition, it is set to music—the Sama Veda is considered to be especially sacred.

Devānām asmi vāsavaḥ: “I am Indra among the Gods” because he is the king of the Gods. 

Indriyāṇāṁ manaś cāsmi: “Of all the perceptive capacities, I am the mind.” This is because even though the sense organs are organs of perception, no doubt, without the mind they cannot perceive anything; the eyes cannot see, the ears cannot hear, etc. 

The central cognitive or perceptive faculty is the mind. The mind is the king in this body, operating its satellites which are the sense organs. So “I am the mind among the sense organs—that is, the cognitive functions.”

Bhūtānām asmi cetanā: “I am consciousness among all people. Wherever there is awareness, consider Me as manifest there.”

Verse 23

Rudraanaam shankarashchaasmi

Vittesho yaksharakshasaam;

Vasoonaam paavakashchaasmi

Meruh shikharinaamaham.

Rudrāṇāṁ śaṁkaraś cāsmi: Just as there are twelve Adityas, there are eleven Rudras, of which the most peaceful and compassionate one—the salubrious and most easily approachable, calm and quiet one—is Siva. Rudra is supposed to be very angry, ferocious and active; but all forms of Rudra are not like that. 

 

Rudra is also Siva. There is the Siva aspect which is calm and blessed and subdued, and there is also Rudra which is fierce. “There are eleven Rudras, of which the glorious, peaceful Sankara am I, radiating love and compassion.”

It is said that Ravana worshipped Rudra in all the forms. Ravana had ten heads. The story goes that Ravana cut off one of his heads and offered it to one form of Rudra. He then cut off another head and offered it to the second Rudra. In this manner he offered his ten heads to ten Rudras; but the eleventh Rudra could not be appeased because Ravana did not have eleven heads.

The eleventh Rudra became angry because nothing had been offered to him, so he appeared in the form of fierce Hanuman.

It is said that Hanuman in Lanka was a manifestation of the eleventh Rudra — Rudravatara — who destroyed Lanka because Ravana could not satisfy him. It seems that Ravana wept and said, “If I had eleven heads, I would not have suffered like this. I had only ten.” 

Vitteśo yakṣarakṣasām: “Among the Yakshas and Rakshasas—the demi-gods, who are neither brutal Rakshasas nor Gods, but are something midway between them—I am Kubera, the Lord of riches, the treasurer of Rudra, or Siva.”

Vasūnāṁ pāvakaś cāsmi: “There are eight Vasus, called Ashtavasu, who are also demigods. Of them I am Agni, the fire God.”

Meruḥ śikhariṇām aham: “Of all the highest mountains with towering peaks, I am Meru Parvata.”

Verse 24

Purodhasaam cha mukhyam

Maam viddhipaartha brihaspatim;

Senaaneenaamaham skandah

Sarasaamasmi saagarah.

Purodhasāṁ ca mukhyaṁ māṁ viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatim  “Among all preceptors, guides, and all Gurus, I am Brihaspati.” This is because Brihaspati is supposed to be the most intelligent and wisest of all teachers. He is the Guru of the Gods, and is a God himself.

Senānīnām ahaṁ skandaḥ: “Among military generals, I am Skanda.” Skanda, or Kartikeya, was the most powerful leader of armies.

Sarasām asmi sāgaraḥ: “Among reservoirs of water, I am the ocean” because it is the vastest reservoir of water. 

Thus, as given in the introduction to these verses in the previous post, in all these declaration, Sri Krishna is either pointing out at highest physical power or vastness (of all other than human beings) or  highest intellect (when it is about Living beings). When Sri Krishna is referring to any incarnation (like Skanda), all powers, physical and intelligence and even beyond, are all considered together.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 124

Dear All,

God manifests Himself in creation through His essential natures. His natures can be classified as existence, knowledge, power and bliss. God is existence. Existence is common to all things. Even a rock, even a hill, even a stone exists, and in that sense, philosophically, we may say that God is present even in inanimate things. But the quality of existence seems to be a special consideration in the assessment of any kind of value.

God is manifest everywhere. The point made out in the Tenth Chapter is that He is especially manifest in certain things, though He exists uniformly everywhere as pure Being. Wherever there is knowledge and power, there God’s manifestation seems to be superb. In the list that is given here in the Tenth Chapter, the emphasis seems to be on knowledge and power.

We can appreciate that knowledge cannot be found anywhere except in a human being. There is some kind of knowledge in everything—even plants have an inkling, and animals have some knowledge. When we speak of knowledge, we generally speak of the understanding that characterizes the human species. But power can be either physical or mental. In physical power, animals are superior to man. Man cannot stand before animals as far as physical strength is concerned; but man has a mental power which is superior to animals. Hence, while any animal can terrify man physically, man can subdue any animal mentally.

Thus, in the delineation of the categories of the manifestation of God in the Tenth Chapter, perhaps God—the Lord—wants His glories to be seen where there is intense knowledge and intense power, both physical and mental. Wherever we see supreme physical strength, we may say there is an inkling or a little expression of that which surpasses all that is inferior to us. As far as mental power is concerned, there is no need to say much about it because it is supreme power. Mental power can control the whole world, while physical power is local and it can work only at a particular place, and not everywhere.

The God that is supposed to be manifest in all things is mentioned here as revealed throughout creation—in all the realms of being, right from Brahmaloka downwards, because even the names of celestials are mentioned here as manifestations.

Briefly, it is said that the supreme manifestation of God is in the Selfhood of all people. Aham ātmā guḍākeśa sarvabhūtāśayasthitaḥ (10.20):

Now the specific manifestations are mentioned. The general manifestations are as the Creator, the Sustainer and the Destroyer, the Self and the Soul of all things. These are the general Supreme manifestations; but there are lesser manifestations as particular items of creation.

All the verses coming up should also be contemplated / taken in the context of bolder example given in an earlier post. Thus, irrespective of the species / anything  referred in the following verses, with clarity we got from that boulder example, God must exist  in wholesome / complete!!!

Verse 21

Aadityaanaamaham vishnur

Jyotishaam raviramshumaan;

Mareechirmarutaamasmi

Nakshatraanaamaham shashee.

Among the (twelve) Adityas, I am Vishnu; among the luminaries, the radiant sun; I am Marichi among the (seven or forty-nine) Maruts; among stars the moon am I.

The greatest and the most adorable of the particular units of creation before us is the sun god. “Among the Adityas, twelve in number, Vishnu Aditya am I.” 

Sūrya ātma jagaṭasṭa (R.V. 1.115.1). Surya is supposed to

be the self of everything that moves and does not move. Sūrya ātma jagaṭasṭa is a Vedic statement, and we know very well the extent to which the sun god determines life in this world. Verily, the sun is God. 

It is said there are twelve manifestations of the sun. It is difficult to explain as to what these twelve are, because it is mentioned “among the Adityas, Vishnu am I”. Towards the end of the Bhagavata there is some mention of twelve suns, which are just nomenclatures of the manifestation of the same sun during the twelve months of the year.

But there are other interpretations which say that the twelve suns are not just the names of the same sun during the twelve months of the year, they are concentric circles of solar manifestation in the cosmos, which is something very difficult for us to understand. It is a purely theological, astronomical or mystical concept which we usually never hear of. It is believed that because this earth is one of the planets going around the sun, the sun may be said to be the father of the entire family of the planets.

This solar system is also like one of the planets that goes round another sun, and there are many other solar systems also going around it like planets.

That second sun, which is a superior central luminosity which regards this solar system as its planet or satellite, is itself a satellite of another sun; and the entire superior second solar system goes around that sun as a planet.

In this way, it goes on higher and higher until we reach that supreme state, which is the twelfth sun, identified with Lord Vishnu himself—that is, God Himself is the final sun. That is what we can make out, if at all we are able to understand the sense of this statement ādityānām ahaṁ viṣṇuḥ: “Of the twelve Adityas, Vishnu am I.” 

Jyotiṣāṁ ravir aṁśumān: “Of all brilliances, the brilliance of the sun is Me.”

Marīcir marutām asmi: “There are forty-nine Maruts, of which Marichi, the pre-eminent one, is Myself.” 

Nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī: At night, the biggest luminosity is the moon. Though the moon is not a star, it is figuratively considered to be a star because of the luminosity that it sheds. Because it is the biggest luminosity at night, it is considered to be star-like in appearance. “That is also My glory—particularly the luminosity of the full moon.” 

Love.