Gita Essays - 17
In the concluding verse of
chapter 10 Lord Krishna exhorted Arjuna to become an Ananya bhaktha and
also gave the recipe for transforming oneself into Ananya bhaktha. Now in the 10th chapter, He extends
the field of bhakthi from Eka-Rupa bhakthi to Viswa
rupa bhakthi or Virat Bhakthi where universe and all its varied
aspects are seen only as manifestations of the Lord. Since Lord had revealed
earlier that the Supreme Brahman is the material cause of universe through his
power, Maya, it follows that universe itself is a divine manifestation
of Supreme Brahman, which idea is developed further by the Lord.
Lord first states that
neither the Devas nor the great Rishis know Him fully as they are
only product of Creation and Creation started from the Lord only. As Lord is there
before their time, they do not know Him verily with all His manifestations. In
verses 4 &5, Lord narrates that not only the external world of concrete
objects and beings but also the internal world of qualities and emotions of
beings have also originated from Him. To quote His words:
Intellect, knowledge,
non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain,
birth or existence, death or non-existence, fear and also fearlessness, (11-4)
Ahimsa, equanimity,
contentment, austerity, generosity, fame and ill-fame—(all these) different
kinds of qualities of beings arise from Me alone. (11-5)
This list indicates that the
inner world of thoughts and fields of experiences of the beings are also from
Lord only. He further states that the sapta rishis, the seven great
sages and the four ancient Manus were born out of His sankalpa
only and from them all the creatures of the world originated. Then the Lord talks about the devotees who
know the manifestations of the Lord, Vibhuthi, and the power of
manifestation, Yoga. They get
established in Lord’s bhakthi truly and unshakeably. They worship Him with
loving devotion, with the full understanding that He is the source of all and
from Him only everything evolves. Their
words, thoughts and deeds are all concerning Him only. As the Lord says:
With their minds wholly
occupied with Me, with their senses absorbed in Me, sharing mutually their
knowledge of Me, and speaking of Me always, they are ever satisfied and happy
(10-9)
To these steadfast bhakthas
who are ever united with Him in love and devotion, Lord says, He confers Buddhi
yoga through which they can attain Him. And for this He takes the responsibility of enlightening
them, destroying the darkness of Ajjnanam in their hearts through the
light of His Grace.
These words of Lord awaken
the desire in Arjuna to know about Lord’s Vibhuthi in full. He says he has complete trust in Lord’s words that neither Devas nor Danavas know about His
manifestations fully and that only Lord has full knowledge about Himself. Arjuna wants to have detailed knowledge of Lord’s
Vibhuthi and Yoga so that he can use it for meditation on the Lord. He cites another
reason also for seeking this exhaustive list.
However much Arjuna hears of Lord’s glories he does not feel satisfied
and his mind thirsts for more.
Lord in his reply states
that He could only reveal His main Divine Glories as there is no limit to His
manifestations. It is as limitless as
the Universe. He starts with the most
significant manifestation by revealing in verse 20 that He is the true Self,
Athma, of all, residing in their hearts. The list goes on unto verse 39. In these
verses from 20 to 39, Lord Krishna gives several examples of His manifestations,
totalling 72 that could be used for meditation on Him as the Supreme. They are
as below;
1) As Universal
Self seated in the hearts of all beings
2) As Beginning,
middle and end of all beings
3) As
Vishnu among twelve Adityas
4) As
radiant Sun among the luminaries
5) As
Marichi among Maruts
6) As
Moon among the stars
7) As
Sama Veda among Vedas
8) As
Indira among the devas
9) As
Mind among the sense organs
10) As
Sentiency in all living beings
11) As
Siva among eleven Rudras
12) As
Kubera among yakshas and rakshasas
13) As Agni
among eight vasus
14) As
Meru among the mountains
15) As
Brihaspathi among priests
16) As
Skanda among generals
17) As
Ocean among the lakes
18) As Bhrigu
among great rishis
19) As
the sacred syllable OM among words
20) As Japa
Yajna among Yajnas
21) As
Himalayas among immovable things
22) As Aswattha
among trees
23) As
Narada among Devarishis
24) As
Chitraratha among Gandharvas
25) As
sage Kapila among Siddhas
26) As
Ucchaisravas among horses
27) As
Airavatham among elephants
28) As
King among Men
29) As Vajrayudha
among weapons
30) As Kamadhenu among cows
31) As
Kamadeva among progenitors
32) As
Vasuki among Serpents
33) As
Anantha among Nagas
34) As
Varuna among water deites
35) As
Aryama among Pitrus
36) As
Yama among controllers
37) As
Prahlada among daityas
38) As
Time among reckoners
39) As
Lion among beasts
40) As
Garuda among birds
41) As Wind among purifiers
42) As
Sri Rama among warriors
43) As Shark
among fishes
44) As
Ganges among rivers
45) As
beginning, middle and end of all Creations
46) As Science
of Self among sciences
47) As
Logic in all discussions
48) As
the letter ‘A’ among letters in alphabet
49) As
the Dual among all compounds
50) As
the Lord of the imperishable Time
51) As
the Sustainer having faces all around
52) As
the Death and Prosperity
53) As
the qualities of Fame, Prosperity, Speech, Memory, Intelligence, Firmness and
Forgiveness among feminine qualities
54) As Brihatsaman
among hymns
55) As Gayatri
among metres
56) As Margashirsha
among months
57) As
Spring, the flowery season among seasons
58) As
Gambling among deceitful practices
59) As
splendour of the splendid
60) As
Victory of victorious
61) As
the Determination of the resolute
62) As
the Goodness of the good
63) As
Vasudeva among Vrishnis
64) As
Arjuna among Pandavas
65) As
Vyasa among Munis
66) As
Sukracharya among seers
67) As Subduing
power in rulers
68) As
Statesmanship among those who seek victory
69) As
Silence among secrets
70) As
Wisdom of the Wise
71) As
the Seed of all beings
72) As
the very Existence of all beings
As we can see from
the above list that Lord Krishna concludes his revelation of Vibhuthi
with the most important one that He is Sat, Pure Existence, pointing out that
nothing can exist without Him as He is their very Existence, being their
material cause. While ending the list He
once again reiterates that it is not full and it cannot be full, as there is no
limit to His Vibhuthi and that He supports the entire Universe by only a
fraction of His power.
But He makes one consoling declaration that whatever being is there
which is glorious, rich or powerful, all that Arjuna can recognise as a
manifestation of part of His splendour. For the entire world is in the
Lord’s glory, as a fraction of it.
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Great Glimpse. Congratulations and thanks.
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