Bhagavad Gita (10)

[Guest guest]

CHAPTER 10THE DIVINE

GLORIES(Vibhuti Yoga)"I am the silence of things secret, the wisdom of the wise."1. Krishna speaks : "I notice, O Warrior, that your heart delights in My words of wisdom, so I will elaborate.2.

"Neither the gods nor the great sages really know My beginning. As I am

the origin of them all, My glory remains only partially known to them.

Like children who repeatedly ask about their parents' birth and

childhood, they can never fully understand, no matter how much they

inquire.3. "Some wise ones intuit from glimpses and partial

knowledge that I, the Supreme Godhead, am the source of all creation.

Thus enlightened, they eagerly join their lives to Me and are freed

from misdeeds.4-5. "Certain godly attributes of ordinary humans

are My creation. I am in all living beings as the following qualities :

intellect, patience, wisdom (knowing Atma),

peace of mind, self-restraint, control of ego, discrimination

(distinguishing Real from not-Real), equanimity, nonharm to others,

austerity (purification), self-discipline (tapas),

charitable giving, and other positive traits. All these human

refinements proceed from Divinity; all are aspects of God expressed in

diverse ways.6. "From My mind were born the seven great sages of antiquity, the four elders, and the fourteen officials (manus).

The sages symbolize planes of consciousness; the elders stand for

humanity's progenitors; the manus are symbolic of the group of

administrators empowered to operate the universe. Everything issues

from Me."KNOWING GOD'S GLORIES, YOU LOVE HIM7.

"Knowing these mystical details, you glimpse My Divine power. You know

that whatever you sense or perceive in the entire cosmos is that power,

and you therefore know that you could no more be separate from Me than

you could be separate from your very life.8. "Wise yogis

love Me ceaselessly. They know that the love they are experiencing for

Me is Me, for I am Love, Arjuna. Just as the good farmer puts all his

attention on to the soil, concentrating his mind fully on cultivating

the land, yogis give their minds and hearts fully to the Divine, knowing that God alone is the source of everything.9. "With their attention and life vitality flowing to Me, absorbed in Me, these yogis take delight in speaking of Me with others of like mind. Nothing is dearer to anyone than their life, Arjuna, and I am life! Devoting one's life to Me brings boundless contentment.10-11. "To those who give Me their whole hearts I confer buddhi

(beyond worldly intellect), the power of discriminating between the

Real and not-Real. As familiarity with My power and glory grows they

are ever more ardently drawn to Me. I am

their wisdom, Arjuna. Out of compassion I choose to dwell in their

hearts, and from there I dispel dark ignorance with the light of

knowing that they are the Divinity within."12-15. Arjuna, in awe, begins to review his dawning understanding of God's power and glories. "Dearest Krishna! You are

the Godhead, the Supreme Presence! In Your manifested (visible) form

You are the entire universe; in Your unmanifested (invisible) form You

exist as the Godhead, Pure Consciousness."You are the

underlying essence of all things, the origin and the dwelling place of

everything visible and invisible in this universe. You are all of

nature, and yet You are beyond that, everlasting. You are everywhere in

everything as the Omnipresent. Those who have used special intuitive

powers to understand and reach You, extol this."Now from Your

own lips You are confirming it! Ah, and yet Your coming in this human

body remain unknown to even the gods! You alone know Your glory in its

entirety.16-18. "Krishna, please tell me more about Your Divine

glories. Tell me how I can develop constant awareness of You. Tell me

again, O Divine One, of Your powers and attributes, for I never grow

weary of hearing of them."19. Krishna replies, "Very well O

warrior friend. Absorption in the attributes of the Divine is as good

as absorption in Divinity itself. But because all the splendors of

nature are attributes of My majesty, I will only give you a glimpse of

a few. From this partial knowledge you may infer My infinitude.20.

"I am the innermost True Self, the Atma seated in the hearts of all

beings. And I am the beginning, middle, and end of all beings.21.

"Of the deities presiding over light, I am the one for January, loved

by all for turning the world's course toward warmth. Of the wind gods

who bring immense good in the world, I am the whirlwind. Of the daytime

luminaries I am the radiant sun, and of the lights of the night I am

the moon.22. "Of the ancient scriptures I am the foremost, the

Sama Veda. Of the secondary gods I am Indra, the chief among them. Of

the sense organs I am the mind that records all sensations. Of the

numerous levels of life awareness that exist in all life-forms, I am

Pure Consciousness.23. "Of the eleven deities of destruction I

am Shiva, destroyer of evil in the mind, who brings humanity's lasting

welfare. And I am Rudra, who brings grace to humanity through sorrow.

Of the celestial beings who acquire and hoard wealth (Yakshas and

Rakshasas), I am their king, Kubera, the lord of fabulous wealth. Of

the eight elements in the structure of nature (earth, fire, water, air,

space, mind, intellect, and ego), I am fire, the one who brings warmth

and life. And of all mountains, I am Mount Meru, which in the human

structure equates with the life force in the spinal column."Of

the high spiritual teachers who administer the code of conduct, know Me

to be Brihaspati, the Chief Priest, Holy even among the gods. Among the

warrior chiefs I am Skanda, who leads the world to victory over the

demons. Of all the bodies I am the ocean, into which all the rest merge.25. "Among the rishis (seers) I am Bhrigu, ever in the highest plane of superconsciousness. Of sacrifices I am the most potent, japa, repetition of the name of the Divine. Of all utterances I am Om, the most sacred of sound symbols. And of fixed, stationary things I am the Himalayas.26. "Of the trees, Arjuna, I am the holy fig tree (Ashvatta, the peepul

tree), which represents the 'upside-down' tree of life with its roots

above in spirit and its branches below in the earth. Among the most

spiritually enlightened divinities I am Narada, the foremost of those

who teach the principle of unity amidst the world's vast diversity. Of

the celestial beings I am their king, Chitraratha. Of those

high-perfected souls (siddhas) I am Kapila, the best of the best.27. "Of horses I am Ucchiasravas, the nectar-born one. Of elephants I am Airavata, the one from the sea of milk. And of all humans, I am born as royalty, the monarch.28. "Of weapons I am God's thunderbolt, which descends on wickedness. Of cows I am Kamadhenu,

the celestial milk cow of cheerful and willing mind with the power to

satisfy all requirements of life. Among instincts I am the procreative

urge. Of snakes I am Vasuki, god of snakes, symbol of kundalini, the coiled up reservoir or cosmic energy in each person.29. "Among nonpoisonous snakes I am Ananta, symbol of the five elements of nature, on whom I rest. Of water deities I am Varuna, their king. I am the presiding deity of the departed ancestors (Aryama). And of the controllers of the universe I am Yama, the god of death.30. "Of those who defy evil, iniquity, and injustice, I am Prahlada,

who is virtuous even though he is the son of the sworn enemy of the

gods. Among those who keep records I am the unfailing reckoner, Time

itself. Of animals, I am the lion. Of birds I am the Lord's eagle, Garuda.31.

"Of the four purifiers in nature - earth, water, fire, and air - I am

the wind, which purifies the other purifiers. Of those who wield deadly

weapons I am Rama, who uses

his weapon only for the good of humanity. Of all fish I am the shark,

the most powerful. Among rivers I am Ganges with its sanctifying water.32. "Of all things created, Arjuna, I am the beginning, the middle, and end. Of all sciences I am spiritual knowledge - Atma

knowledge - the science of Self that makes ignorance vanish. Of all

humanity's instruments for inquiry and debate, I am pure logic.33.

"Of the sum total of all sound in the cosmos I am the letter A. In

grammar I am the compound word, the most powerful of words. As I am

time itself, I am without beginning and end. I mete out the karma of all beings, and thus am called the Disburser-Whose-Face-Is-Turned-Everywhere.34.

"I am the certain death that devours all, and I am also the seed of all

that are to be. Of the qualities that, due to their grace and

tenderness, are termed 'female', I am fame and fortune, sweet speech,

memory, intelligence, steadfast perseverance, loyalty, and forgiveness.35. "Of the great Sama Vedas I am the best (Brihat Saman). Of poetic meters I am the foremost, the Gayatri adoration. Of the months, I am Margasirsha (parts of November-December), the most favorable time for spiritual practice. Of the seasons, I am the flowery spring.36.

"Among deceitful practices I am the roll of the dice. I am the splendor

and radiance of the physically strong. Of that which takes humanity

forward, I am effort. Of the three constituents of nature I am goodness

(sattva).37. "Among

the Vrishni clan I am Krishna. Among the Pandavas I am Arjuna. Among

the great, God-realized sages, I am Vyasa, known as an incarnation of

Divinity. Among the omniscient seers (kavis) I am Usana, the foremost of them.38.

"Among those who punish other I am the scepter, the symbol of measured

justice. I am the art of statesmanship in those who seek victory by

noble means. I am the silence of things secret. I am the wisdom of the

wise.39. "O Arjuna, beloved comrade, I am the source of

everything in creation, the origin of all beings, all lives. In fact, I

am whatever can be thought, imagined, or conceived. Nothing in this

world, animate or inanimate, can exist without Me.40-41. "There is no end to My divine manifestations (vibhutis).

What I have described is but a tiny glimpse into My glories. Whatever

is beautiful, mighty, or glorious in this world has emanated from just

a part of My infinite power.42. "And finally, Arjuna, as this

variety of details is of little use to you, just know that I, Brahman,

exist, and that I stand holding this entire creation by a small

fraction of My Supreme Glory."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/