Hari Aum.
In the tenth chapter of the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that He is the origin of everything and that knowing this, the wise worship Him.
"Aham sarvasya prabhavo, mattah sarva pravartate,
Iti matva bhajante mam budha bhavasamanvitah"
Meaning (as per my Guru, Sivananda):
"I am the source of all; from Me everything evolves; understanding thus, the wise, endowed with meditation, worship Me".
He then says (this is a well-known sloka of how devotees enjoy discussing the Lord):
"Macchitta madgata-prana, bodhayanta parasparam,
kathayantashcha mam nityam, tushyanti cha ramanti cha"
Meaning (as per Sivananda):
"With their mind and their life wholly absorbed in Me, enlightening each other and ever speaking of Me, they are satisfied and delighted."
Krishna then says that those who worship Him with love are blessed by Him with wisdom. Out of compassion for them, He says He destroys the ignorance within them and lights the lamp of knowledge (beautiful description).
Arjuna then asks Krishna to tell him how to think of Him (how to train his mind to see God everywhere). He asks Krishna to tell him all about Himself.
Krishna replies saying that there is no end to His manifestations and glories (these are infinite!). He therefore tells Arjuna that He will provide an outline of the main manifestations so that Arjuna can learn to see Him everywhere and in everything (and thus reach a stage of constant remembrance of God-- which purifies the mind and leads to attainment of God).
He then describes a portion of Himself to Arjuna. He says that He is the:
1. Self (soul) in the hearts of all beings
2. Beginning, middle and end of all beings
3. Vishnu amongst the Adityas (a class of celestial beings)
4. Sun
5. Marichi amongst the Maruts (a class of celestial beings)
6. Moon
7. Sama Veda amongst the Vedas
8. Vasava amongst the devas (demi-gods)
9. Mind
10. Consciousness/intelligence (chetana) in living beings
11. Shankara amongst the Rudras (a class of celestial beings)
12. Kubera (the guardian of wealth)
13. Pavaka (fire)
14. Meru (the celestial mountain)
15. Brihaspati (guru of the demi-gods)
16. Skanda (the chief of the army of the demi-gods and Shiva's son)
17. Ocean amongst water bodies
18. Bhrigu (one of the seven great sages)
19. Om amongst all words
20. Japa (mantra recitation) amongst all sacrifices
21. Himalayas amongst immovable things
22. Peepul tree amongst trees
23. Narada amongst the divine sages
24. Chitraratha amongst the gandharvas (celestial musicians)
25. Kapila amongst sages
26. Ucchaishravas (celestial horse) amongst horses
27. Airavrata (divine elephant) amongst elephants
28. King amongst human beings
29. Thunderbolt amongst weapons
30. Kamadhenu (celestial cow) amongst cows
31. Kamadeva (demi-god of romance, worldly love)
32. Vasuki (divine serpent) amongst serpents
33. Ananta amongst nagas (a class of celestial beings)
34. Varuna (demi-god of water)
35. Aryaman amongst pitris (ancestors)
36. Yama (demi-god of death)
37. Prahlada (great devotee of God) amongst asuras (demons)
38. Time
39. Lion amongst animals
40. Garuda (divine eagle) amongst birds
41. Beginning, middle and end of all creation
42. Science of self-realisation amongst all sciences
43. Logic (of those who engage in debates)
44. Sound 'A' amongst syllables/letters
45. Dvandva (dual Sanskrit words) amongst compounds
46. Everlasting Time (an eternal principle beyond our ordinary time)
47.Giver of karma (fruits of actions) who is omnipresent
48. Death
49. Prosperity
50. Fame
51. Speech
52. Memory
53. Spiritual intelligence (medha)
54. Firmness/endurance (ability to bear suffering)/detachment (dhriti)
55. Forgiveness (kshama)
56. Brihatsaman among hymns
57. Gayatri metre (amongst Sanskrit metres)
58. Margashirsha (occurs in Dec-Jan) amongst lunar months
59. Spring amongst seasons
60. Gambling amongst the fraudulent
61. Spiritual splendour (tejas)
63. Victory (jaya)
64. Determination)
65. Goodness (sattva)
66. Vasudeva/Krishna amongst Vrishnis (a human clan in which Krishna took birth)
67. Arjuna amongst Pandavas
68. Vyasa amongst munis (wise seers)
69. Ushanas amongst poets
70. Sceptre (danda) amongst punishers
71. Statesmanship amongst those seeking victory
72. Silence (maunam) amongst secrets
73. Knowledge of those who know
74. Seed (cause) of all beings
Krishna concludes His description of some of His manifestations by saying that "there is no being, whether moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me".
He then says that there is no end to His divine glories and this is only a brief outline. Whatever exists that is glorious, prosperous or powerful, that He says is a manifestation of a part of His splendour.
He concludes by telling Arjuna that He supports the whole universe of creation by just a part of Himself. Sivananda says that this verse is connected to the Purusha sukta (the famous hymn of the Rig Veda) that states that all creation constitutes just one-fourth of the Supreme Being; the remaining three-fourths is divine and transcendental (beyond this worldly existence).
To be continued....
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
In the tenth chapter of the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that He is the origin of everything and that knowing this, the wise worship Him.
"Aham sarvasya prabhavo, mattah sarva pravartate,
Iti matva bhajante mam budha bhavasamanvitah"
Meaning (as per my Guru, Sivananda):
"I am the source of all; from Me everything evolves; understanding thus, the wise, endowed with meditation, worship Me".
He then says (this is a well-known sloka of how devotees enjoy discussing the Lord):
"Macchitta madgata-prana, bodhayanta parasparam,
kathayantashcha mam nityam, tushyanti cha ramanti cha"
Meaning (as per Sivananda):
"With their mind and their life wholly absorbed in Me, enlightening each other and ever speaking of Me, they are satisfied and delighted."
Krishna then says that those who worship Him with love are blessed by Him with wisdom. Out of compassion for them, He says He destroys the ignorance within them and lights the lamp of knowledge (beautiful description).
Arjuna then asks Krishna to tell him how to think of Him (how to train his mind to see God everywhere). He asks Krishna to tell him all about Himself.
Krishna replies saying that there is no end to His manifestations and glories (these are infinite!). He therefore tells Arjuna that He will provide an outline of the main manifestations so that Arjuna can learn to see Him everywhere and in everything (and thus reach a stage of constant remembrance of God-- which purifies the mind and leads to attainment of God).
He then describes a portion of Himself to Arjuna. He says that He is the:
1. Self (soul) in the hearts of all beings
2. Beginning, middle and end of all beings
3. Vishnu amongst the Adityas (a class of celestial beings)
4. Sun
5. Marichi amongst the Maruts (a class of celestial beings)
6. Moon
7. Sama Veda amongst the Vedas
8. Vasava amongst the devas (demi-gods)
9. Mind
10. Consciousness/intelligence (chetana) in living beings
11. Shankara amongst the Rudras (a class of celestial beings)
12. Kubera (the guardian of wealth)
13. Pavaka (fire)
14. Meru (the celestial mountain)
15. Brihaspati (guru of the demi-gods)
16. Skanda (the chief of the army of the demi-gods and Shiva's son)
17. Ocean amongst water bodies
18. Bhrigu (one of the seven great sages)
19. Om amongst all words
20. Japa (mantra recitation) amongst all sacrifices
21. Himalayas amongst immovable things
22. Peepul tree amongst trees
23. Narada amongst the divine sages
24. Chitraratha amongst the gandharvas (celestial musicians)
25. Kapila amongst sages
26. Ucchaishravas (celestial horse) amongst horses
27. Airavrata (divine elephant) amongst elephants
28. King amongst human beings
29. Thunderbolt amongst weapons
30. Kamadhenu (celestial cow) amongst cows
31. Kamadeva (demi-god of romance, worldly love)
32. Vasuki (divine serpent) amongst serpents
33. Ananta amongst nagas (a class of celestial beings)
34. Varuna (demi-god of water)
35. Aryaman amongst pitris (ancestors)
36. Yama (demi-god of death)
37. Prahlada (great devotee of God) amongst asuras (demons)
38. Time
39. Lion amongst animals
40. Garuda (divine eagle) amongst birds
41. Beginning, middle and end of all creation
42. Science of self-realisation amongst all sciences
43. Logic (of those who engage in debates)
44. Sound 'A' amongst syllables/letters
45. Dvandva (dual Sanskrit words) amongst compounds
46. Everlasting Time (an eternal principle beyond our ordinary time)
47.Giver of karma (fruits of actions) who is omnipresent
48. Death
49. Prosperity
50. Fame
51. Speech
52. Memory
53. Spiritual intelligence (medha)
54. Firmness/endurance (ability to bear suffering)/detachment (dhriti)
55. Forgiveness (kshama)
56. Brihatsaman among hymns
57. Gayatri metre (amongst Sanskrit metres)
58. Margashirsha (occurs in Dec-Jan) amongst lunar months
59. Spring amongst seasons
60. Gambling amongst the fraudulent
61. Spiritual splendour (tejas)
63. Victory (jaya)
64. Determination)
65. Goodness (sattva)
66. Vasudeva/Krishna amongst Vrishnis (a human clan in which Krishna took birth)
67. Arjuna amongst Pandavas
68. Vyasa amongst munis (wise seers)
69. Ushanas amongst poets
70. Sceptre (danda) amongst punishers
71. Statesmanship amongst those seeking victory
72. Silence (maunam) amongst secrets
73. Knowledge of those who know
74. Seed (cause) of all beings
Krishna concludes His description of some of His manifestations by saying that "there is no being, whether moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me".
He then says that there is no end to His divine glories and this is only a brief outline. Whatever exists that is glorious, prosperous or powerful, that He says is a manifestation of a part of His splendour.
He concludes by telling Arjuna that He supports the whole universe of creation by just a part of Himself. Sivananda says that this verse is connected to the Purusha sukta (the famous hymn of the Rig Veda) that states that all creation constitutes just one-fourth of the Supreme Being; the remaining three-fourths is divine and transcendental (beyond this worldly existence).
To be continued....
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
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