I am God: Autobiographical Fragments from the Bhagavad Gita

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Monday, December 19, 2005 12:53 PM

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I am God: Autobiographical Fragments from the Bhagavad Gita

 

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Article of the Month - December 2005

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I am God: Autobiographical Fragments from the Bhagavad Gita

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The Bhagavad Gita consists of seven hundred verses. Out of these, a massive

574 have been uttered by Krishna himself, giving us an unparalleled insight

into the true nature of divinity. The title of the poem too suggests this,

meaning the song (Gita) of God (Bhagavat).

 

For example, at one point Krishna says:

 

'Amongst the great sages (maharishis) I am present as Bhrigu.' (10.25)

 

Now this sage named Bhrigu has an interesting history. Once, in order to

test Vishnu's greatness, he charged up to the latter's abode and found him

resting (as usual), on the coils of a venomous snake, with his wife Lakshmi

lovingly massaging his feet.

 

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Incensed that the Lord did not get up to welcome him, the saint mounted the

serpent and planted a strong kick on Vishnu's chest.

Bhrigu's temerity in doing so is however eclipsed by Vishnu's own

reaction: He immediately got up and softly rubbed the aggressor's heels,

saying: "O dear sir, my chest is hard and your legs soft.

I hope I did not hurt you. I am blessed to have been so honored by your

lotus feet whose imprint will always remain on my body."

To this day, Vishnu carries on his chest this mark, known in popular

parlance as the Shrivatsa. (Bhagavata Purana 10.89)

 

It is well established that Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu; in fact, in

many instances, they are indistinguishable. As for Bhrigu, he is venerated

in ancient texts as a guru who exposes his disciples to torment and

suffering, making them resilient and amenable to the inevitable ups and

downs of life.

 

Thus does God inspire us to maintain equanimity in the face of adversity,

saying:

 

"The calm man is completely composed in heat and cold, pleasure and pain,

honor and dishonor." (6.7)

 

"One who deals equally with friend and foe, who is free from attachment, he

who takes praise and reproach alike, is silent and content with his lot

(santushta), without a sense of ownership (for his house etc), and of a

steady mind, such a devotee

(bhaktiman) is dear to Me." (12.18-19)

 

"He who regards a clod of earth, a stone and gold as being of equal worth,

is wise and views censure and praise as alike.."

(14.24)

 

Why does Krishna have to subject himself to this apparent insult?

To set an example, because:

 

"Whatever the best one does, that others also do. Whatever standards he

sets, the world follows. For me, in all the three worlds, there is nothing

that I lack. Yet I am ever engaged in action (karma). For if I did not

continue to work with alertness, humans would in every way follow my

example. If I did not perform karma, these worlds would be ruined.."

(3.21-24)

 

Here it needs to be observed that in the above narrative, God is both the

tormentor (Bhrigu) and the tormented (Vishnu).

 

 

The God of Suffering

 

Krishna's autobiographical intent is not restricted to a specific

humiliating circumstance. His wish is to encompass the entire spectrum of

human suffering:

 

"Among the Rudras, I am Shankara." (10.23)

 

Shankara is a synonym for Shiva, who is the God of destruction in the Hindu

pantheon. Rudras are the class of deities responsible for making humanity

grieve (rud: weep). Shankara is their leader and his name literally means

one who grants welfare (sham). This verse is illustrative of the Hindu

penchant for glorifying the enriching potential of suffering and indicates

that adverse circumstances in life are as much a gift of God as are

favorable ones. In fact, the philosophers of yore stated that it was only

those who were his favorite did God thus bless, much like a mother who knows

when it is best to shower her child with affection and when to yield the

stick, both of which are necessary for the potential flowering of the

infant's character.

Only she knows when to apply which principle. She may distribute sweets

equally to all children playing in a group; but will not chastise them in

equal measure when they misbehave. Only her own beloved child has a right

over her rod. Thus does Krishna also ensure our lasting welfare (Shankara),

by exposing us to the rudras of life.

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/product/ZL95/

 

Significantly, Vishnu (Krishna) here identifies himself with Shiva. This

seems a contradiction in terms since the former is credited with the

creation of the world and the latter with its destruction (death). However,

God clarifies matters:

 

"I am immortality (amrita) as well as death (mrityu)." (9.19)

 

"I am the all-depriving death and also the source of all future beings."

(10.34)

 

In Indian philosophy, death is not the opposite of life but its timely

fulfillment. Destruction is not the end of creation, but the beginning of a

fresh cycle.

 

Later, Krishna identifies himself with another, slightly different

instrument of destruction:

 

"Of weapons I am the thunderbolt (vajra)." (10.28)

 

The vajra is no ordinary weapon, having being created when all other means

failed to restrain the forces of evil wreaking havoc on the world. It was

carved out of the bones of the celebrated saint Dadhichi, who readily gave

up his mortal form for the divine cause. As the king of the positive forces

in the world, it was the privilege of Indra to wield the thunderbolt.

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/product/HD77/

 

In fact, God also says:

 

Amongst the demigods "I am Indra" (10.22) and "amongst the finest of

elephants (gajendera) I am Airavata" (10.27). The latter was recovered when

the demons and gods churned the ocean together to retrieve the nectar of

immortality. It was later handed over to Indra as his mount.

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/product/DD81/

 

Not surprisingly, there is a marked preference for Indra, whose name

literally means 'one who has conquered the sense organs (indriya)', an

attribute which God immensely appreciates:

 

"One who has controlled the sensory organs is superior." (3.7)

 

 

The God of Evil

 

What however, about the question of evil? Krishna states:

"Everything is God" (Vaasudev Sarvam 7.19).

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/book/details/IDF102/

 

Hence, whatever is present in this world is charged with God's own dynamism

and the latter has no qualms about declaring:

 

"Of the demons (rakshasas) and yakshas I am Kuvera (Vittesh)."

(10.23)

 

A rakshasa is someone who protects (raksha: protection). Here, Krishna is

referring to those of us who lord over our wealth, jealously guarding it

with our lives, inhibiting its circulation.

A yaksha is one who is not of a clenched fist, but nevertheless uses money

solely for his or her own consumption, without any intention of sharing it.

In the latter case, though there is a flow of prosperity, since one man's

expense is another's gain, nevertheless, because of the absence of

altruistic intentions it lacks in spiritual merit (punya). Indeed, money can

have only one of the following three kinds of mobility (it cannot remain

immobile):

 

1). Charity (daana)

 

2). Selfish pleasure (bhoga), or

 

3). Dissolution (naash).

 

It would have been hardly surprising if Krishna had identified himself with

the first characteristic. He however, speaks otherwise, saying that he is

present in those individuals who consume money selfishly and also those of

us who do not let a penny escape, thus affecting the dynamics of nature

adversely, ultimately leading to the annihilation of wealth.

 

The name Kuvera literally means one who has an ugly (ku) body (vera). Legend

has it that he was born extremely poor but by extreme penance managed to

please Lord Shiva who made him the guardian of the world's wealth. Our

prosperity too is a boon of God and we may justify our conduct taking cue

from Krishna above.

It must be remembered however that the result is obvious for all of us to

see. True to their names, Kuvera (and the yakshas), have been given

grotesque horrifying forms in the Indian art tradition.

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/kuvera.jpg

 

 

The God of Deception

 

"Among deceitful practices I am dicing (gambling)." (10.36)

 

The Bhagavad Gita is presented in the form of a dialogue between Krishna and

his friend cum disciple Arjuna. The latter had suffered lifelong due to his

elder brother's irresistible urge to indulge the dice. Thus Krishna here has

a chosen a particularly potent metaphor, lightening the serious mood of

philosophical discourse with the warmth of human interaction. This was one

evil element Arjuna could easily relate to. Though he and his brothers lost

their kingdom because of the deception of the group playing opposite, the

end result was the destruction of the villains, the establishment of dharma,

and the icing on the cake - a pertinent opportunity for God to deliver the

discourse of the Gita.

 

Truly God is present in all that is good and bad. The choice however remains

ours. Being subject to the inexorable laws of karma, we will reap what we

choose to sow. That is the reason he points out to us various specific and

temporal manifestations of his otherwise endless and eternal glory. By

following their biographical narratives to their logical conclusions,

expressed through an autobiographical discourse in God's own voice, we gain

a clearer roadmap for identifying, and making the correct choices in our own

lives.

 

 

The Female God

 

"In women, I am virtuous reputation (kirti), fortune (Shri), speech (vak),

memory (smriti), ability to imbibe things (medha), constancy (dhrti) and

forgiveness (kshama)." (10.34)

 

A well-known piece of humor has it that we can get a taste of heaven on

earth if we have the following:

 

1). An American salary to take home.

 

2). Chinese food to eat.

 

3). A British home to live in, and,

 

4). An Indian wife to go home to.

 

It is perhaps this fame of the virtuous Indian woman that Krishna is talking

about. The reasons are not far to seek. When the Gita itself says that God

resides in the steadfast woman, who lets only one man live in her memory

(smriti), much like the goddess Shri (Lakshmi), the prosperity of one who

has her for a consort is assured. Indeed, it is a belief in India that when

a man and woman are bound in holy matrimony, it is a conjoining of their

fortunes, and all sin (paap) and merit (punya) acquired by either is shared

equally between the two. The lips of such a woman speak

(vak) of no other than the one she has chosen to give herself up completely

to. Since her very childhood it has been imbibed in her to remain committed

to one only, till this chaste ideal becomes as integral a part of her

character as much as her breath is to her physical existence. It is her

infinite capacity to forgive and the forbearance inherent in womanhood that

lets such a divine relationship blossom on earth.

 

 

I am Me, You are also Me

 

In the tenth chapter God says:

 

"In the tribe called Vrishni, I am Krishna and amongst the five Pandava

brothers, I am Arjuna." (37)

 

Meaning, the one narrating the Bhagavad Gita (Krishna), is also the one

listening to it, namely Arjuna.

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/product/RB06/

 

 

God in The Philosophy of Language

 

"Amongst alphabets, I am the letter A, and of the different kinds of

compounds in grammar, I am the copulative compound." (10.33)

 

'A', pronounced as the first sound in the word 'amuse', is the immediate

sound that springs from the mouth as soon as it is opened, even though it

comes from the deepest levels in the throat. It is hence naturally the first

letter of the Sanskrit alphabet and is a grammatical reminder that God is

the origin of all.

 

The second part of the statement refers to the fondness of the Sanskrit

writer to make new, bigger words, by fusing together two or more of them.

These combinations are of four types:

 

1). Avyayibhava (Adverbial compounds): In this fusion, the first word

retains its primary importance, while the latter may be reduced to a prefix.

For example:

 

vanasya (forest) samipam (near) becomes upvanam.

 

 

2). Bahuvrihi (Possessive): None of the original words remain important, but

a new one emerges, meaning something other than the constituents:

 

neelam (blue) kanttham (throat) yasya (one who possesses) becomes Neelkanth

(Lord Shiva)

 

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3). Tatpurusha (Determinative): The second word retains primacy:

 

rashtrasya (of nation) pati (lord) becomes rashtrapati

 

 

4). Dvandva (Copulative): Both the constituents retain equal primacy.

 

Ram and Lakshman becomes Ramlakshmanau (au denotes duality).

 

Evidently, the copulative compound in Sanskrit is also the most democratic,

giving equal weightage to both its constituents, knitting them together in

one 'advaita' identity, without destroying their individuality.

 

 

The Fire in the Belly

 

"I am fire" (9.16)

 

"Know the fieriness of fire to be mine." (15.12)

 

"Abiding in all living beings as the fire of life, conjoined with the two

kinds of breaths (inhalation and exhalation), I digest the four kinds of

food." (15.14)

 

Ancient philosophy divides food (anna), into four categories; namely that

one can chew, drink, swallow or lick. In all cases it is God, existing in

our body as the warmth of life, generating the metabolic heat digesting it.

He carries out this task not only in humans, but in every being (praninam).

 

All fire needs air for ignition. Likewise, inflamed by the incoming breath

(apana), and the other, which is expelled (prana), flushing out the residue

from the furnace, the fire of life continues to pulsate in us.

 

Truly, we have to be very careful with what we eat. It is not ourselves but

God we are feeding, who consumes what we intake, much as the fire in the

Vedic sacrifice devours the sacred fuel nourishing it.

 

 

The Topsy-Turvy World of God

 

"Of all trees I am the banyan (peepal)." (10.26).

 

Krishna mentions the banyan tree again:

 

"The wise speak of the imperishable banyan tree (ashvattha), which has its

roots above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedas and he who knows

this is the knower of the Vedas. Its branches extend all about; nourished by

the three attributes of nature (luminescence, mobility and lethargy), the

sensory objects are its shoots and below, in the world of men, its secondary

roots stretch forth, binding them in karma. Its real form (rupa) is not

perceived here, nor its end nor beginning nor its foundation. Let man first

hew down this firm rooted banyan tree with the strong weapon of detachment."

(15.1-3)

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/cosmictree.jpg

 

The banyan tree is unusual in that it can send forth from its branches

secondary roots, often reaching down to the ground.

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/artimages/banyantree.jpg

 

This is a daring, almost surrealistic metaphor - a tree with roots above and

branches below. At the top of such a tree resides God and in the trunk is

Brahma, responsible for the creation of all manifested existence. We are

however accustomed to a very different kind of tree, exactly the opposite of

the one thus described. Hence are appearances deceptive. Things are not what

they seem at first sight. The richest are the poorest inside.

Those who are seen smiling outside, feel terrible within, and the one

successful is only sitting over his mound of failures. Once we gain this

discriminating vision, what Krishna calls the "divya chakshuh" (11.8), only

then can we see through appearances and perceive the root cause common to

all - God.

 

The farther we move (evolve) away from the top of the cosmic tree, the more

distant we are from God himself and what we normally feel to be progression

is in spiritual terms regression.

Nevertheless, even though the branches and leaves may spread out far and

wide, they are always joined to their root cause (mula), and therefore never

separated from God, although perhaps at a remote distance from him.

 

What we are able to see in the world is in truth the exact opposite of how

things actually are. Conforming to this flawed vision our priorities too

have become inverted. For example, spiritual activity is thought to be the

opposite of worldliness.

For those of us who have understood the true nature of the tree of life,

living life inside out is the correct way to progress on the spiritual path.

God acknowledges this when He says:

 

"What is night for all beings is the time of waking for the disciplined

soul; and what is the time of waking for all is night for the sage with

vision." (2.69)

 

How can we gain this vision? By standing detached from the world, very much

like a person on the moon, who would perceive all the trees of the world to

be hanging upside down, as they actually are, only because he stands apart

from it all. Somewhat like Archimedes, when he said: "Give me a firm spot on

which to stand, and I will move the earth." The eagerly sought spot is

however not a geographical location separate from where we already are.

It is the mental condition of unattached (asanga) equanimity, with which we

need to cleave the flawed tree of our distorted perception.

 

 

The Silent, Secret God

 

"In things mysterious, I am silence." (10.38)

 

"The silent one (mauni) is dear to me." (12.19)

 

"Silence is the penance of mind." (17.16)

 

A typical malady of the modern era is mankind's inner turmoil, the offshoot

of an unnaturally fast pace of life. Silence (maun), means quietening this

turbulence by withdrawing from activity and turning all effort inwards. The

internal dialogue quietens gradually; and then, when the silence becomes

profound, the voice of God speaks.

 

Thus, the more we come near to hearing God's own voice, entering the

ultimate of mysteries, our own need to speak becomes lesser.

Shri Ramakrishna compared this to the honeybee, which hums only while

hovering over a flower. No sooner than it lands and begins to suck the

nectar, all humming ceases.

 

 

The Serpentine God

 

"Among snakes (sarpas), I am Vasuki." (10.28).

 

"Among serpents (nagas), I am Ananta." (10.29)

 

In consecutive verses, Krishna identifies himself with two different

serpents. There is a fine distinction between them.

While the sarpas are single-hooded and live on land, the multi-headed nagas

dwell in water.

 

Specifically, Vasuki adorns Lord Shiva's finger as a ring and served as a

rope during the churning of the ocean. Ananta is the serpent on whom Vishnu

reclines during his yoga-nidra (sleep).

 

Illustration: http://www.exoticindia.com/book/details/IDE080/

 

Metaphysically, Ananta represents the infinite potential energy lying

dormant in us (Kundalini); and Vasuki, with one head, its singular

uncoiling.

 

 

Conclusion:

 

The Bhagavad Gita is in many ways God's picture album filled with

self-portraits. However, his voice is different from ours, and

identification with one is not the negation of the other. When he says, "In

the rivers I am Ganga" or "amongst birds I am Garuda", it is the underlying

qualities making these manifestations special that he is calling to

attention. The Great Teacher knows that human intellect is but naturally

attracted to what it perceives to be extraordinary. This is made explicit

when he defines himself to be "the brilliance of all that is brilliant and

the splendor of all that is splendid." He is the invisible infinite, whose

essence permeates all finite things, much as "gems beaded on a string"

(7.7), poetically revealed as "the flavor (rasa) of water" (7.8).

 

(This article is dedicated to the memory of Swami Ramsukhdas, who was never

photographed and whom the author never met. He died early this year.)

 

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