Gita 10.08 – Knowledge of Krishna’s position transforms our disposition

Thank you Bhagavad Gita 10.8 aham sarvasya prabhavo matah sarvam pravartate itimattva bhajinte mam udhvabhava samanvitaha aham sarvasya prabhavo this is the first verse from the Chatur Shloki Bhagavad Gita and here Krishna is speaking and he states that he is the source of everything aham sarvasya prabhavo matah sarvam pravartate everything emanates from me everything is sustained by me itimattva bhajinte mam itimattva those who know this, those who understand this bhajinte mam they worship me udhvabhava samanvitaha udhva they are wise bhava samanvitaha with emotion with all the emotion of their heart they worship me so this verse basically has two parts the first two lines aham sarvasya prabhavo matah sarvam pravartate they focus on explaining how Krishna is the source of everything, they explain the Krishna's position and the next two lines describe how understanding Krishna's position affects people's disposition especially those who truly understand his position what happens to their disposition they choose wholehearted devotion suppose you know we are sick we are in pain and we are befuddled because nobody is able to diagnose what disease we have, no medicine that has been prescribed to us has been working and we are just going through the motions of life weakened and sickened and exhausted because of this undiagnosable and incurable disease at that time if somehow we could come to know if we were just walking along the road and suddenly we saw a person there and you might think oh this is just another person but then suddenly we recognized that person told us or in some way we came to know that person is the most famous doctor in the whole country possibly the most celebrated doctor of the whole century and that doctor has specialized in treating diseases which are very difficult to treat we realize this is the very person that I am that I need, that I am looking for then well initially we might have been looking at that person with apathy or with just some casual curiosity just understanding their position will change your disposition you will immediately become inquisitive and submissive and you will ask the doctor these are the I would like to consult you, these are my symptoms, this is what I have tried, what else can I try can you can you take me as your patient if the doctor agrees you will be delighted because we understand that that doctor specializes in curing difficult cases so similarly once we understand that Krishna is the supreme being but Krishna is the source of everything if we think of Krishna simply as God in terms of some being who might have existed or might not have existed some people believe as believe as God that is different but if you understand God's position as a source of everything then you understand that he is my source also he is the source of my mind and he is the goal of my heart understand that whatever is attractive in this world its attractiveness attractiveness also comes from Krishna because everything comes from Krishna the fact that the attractiveness of attractive things comes from Krishna and not anyone else that will be told later in the same chapter in 10.41 so here when we understand that Krishna is our source the source of whatever is attractive to us the source of so once we understand that Krishna is the source of everything that is attractive then we understand that whatever satisfaction we get in becoming attracted to something attractive we will get all that and more when we become attracted to him thus it is that devotion to Krishna becomes the natural and essential choice of the head and the calling of the heart bhakti is both a choice and a calling bhakti has to be a choice before it becomes a calling choice usually refers to something that we do based on conscious deliberation whereas calling usually refers to something which is a very strong pull within us where often even without our conscious decision we feel inspired to move in particular directions so some special souls they may have bhakti as a calling which Krishna talks about in 6th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita he says ye te yavasho pisaha they are attracted helplessly towards spiritual truths so now here that attraction to spiritual principles happens because these yogis have practiced spirituality in a previous life so bhakti as a calling will happen in the advanced stages of spiritual realization but till then we can focus on primarily choosing bhakti and here Buddha if we philosophically understand the position of Krishna as the source of everything then we will understand that actually there is nothing that we can do to avoid that this is the best choice for us and if we don't choose Krishna then we stay bound in material existence so initially the philosophical understanding of Krishna's position becomes the intellectual foundation for our making for our choosing Krishna so Buddha refers to a person who is wise not a person who is mudha, mudha is a person who who is foolish and makes unwise choices so we become Buddha at that time we consciously choose Krishna and as we choose Krishna and as we become devoted to Krishna by that devotion our attraction to Krishna increases more and more and as the attraction becomes stronger and becomes spontaneous the devotion then becomes a calling sabhava samanyata this verse talks about how that the synergy of the head and the heart in the practice of devotion that once we understand Krishna Krishna's supreme position devotion to him becomes the becomes the choice of the head and then becomes the calling of the heart.