Gita Overview 10.34-42 – Krishna as victory adventure and other opulent manifestations

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Yesterday we discussed about the concept of the Gita, how it refers to manifestation of the opulence of God in this world. And we discussed about how metaphors have to be relevant and we can contextualise the metaphors to understand them and even if we can’t understand the context, still we can understand the principle.
Yes. In the yoga, some comparisons are to specific persons. I am Kama, I am Akshara.
Other places we say that I am a shark among the fish, among the aquatic. So, this is Ramanisha. So, in general the principle is that Krishna manifests his opulence in certain ways in this world.
So, those ways may be specific or may be general. That means, you have an example of Parashuram, which is like one extreme of the continuum. Parashuram is one extreme of a spectrum where he is only, he is one example of Parashuram.
On the other hand, we can have thousands of sharks. Now, in the intermediate, we could have someone like Indra. There are not innumerable Indras, but still their number of Indras are not as many as sharks.
So, that would mean that Krishna can manifest his opulence through various aspects of nature and those aspects may not be, can be entirely generic or can be entirely specific or can be somewhere in between the two. For example, now, later on we’ll see today, … … So, among the months I am among the seasons, I am the flower bearing spring. So, now this is something which is recurrent.
So, every year it recurs. So, within that specific category, say among months, is distinctive because of certain characteristics, because of the sacredness, because of the appropriateness for various occasions. Then, that is considered to be relevant.
Within that set, when as we said, it recurs, it will recur again and again. Similarly, now within avatars or within the satyavasha avatars, we could say, Parashuram is given as a representative. So, here he may be one.
Here, he may be the cyclic with every season or every year, every cycle of seasons or every year. And here it says, among all aquatics, there is thousands of seasons. So, the principle is that that particular aspect within that set is having something distinctive.
Now, that aspect may be singular or plural. That will vary according to what aspect is being talked about. The principle is God’s opulence has been manifested over it.
That’s all. So, it could be through one or many within the class. So, we discussed till 10.32. And 33 also we have discussed.
Let’s start 10.34. So, there are many thieves who steal away things. But, there is only one thief who steals away everything. That is Kunti.
That’s why Krishna is saying, Sarvaharashtaham. Everything is still one. We have Chauragra, Ganya, Ashta combined.
Krishna is glorified as the greatest thief. That is in a more devotional sense. Krishna steals the heart, steals the body, steals the garments of the gopis.
Here, he is talking more in a sense of the material world that nothing is left. So, among all the thieves, sometimes there is a complete job. So, you know, sometimes when one team wins against another win completely.
There is a clean sweep. But, death is the ultimate clean sweep. Nothing is left.
Everything is taken away. Sarvaharashtaham. But, Krishna is not only one side.
It’s not that Krishna only kills. Udbhavascha Bhavishyatam. I am the source of creation also.
In the future, whatever will be created, Udbhavascha Bhavishyatam, of future manifestations, I am the generating principle. So, we cannot blame God for being the destroyer. Actually, creation, destruction and maintenance are aspects of the creation, of the existence, of the material world.
And, all three take place by the arrangement. So, it’s not that God is cruel and he destroys. Nor is it that God is kind when he creates.
So, when a new life is born, people feel happy. Oh, we got a child. And, when somebody dies, people say, oh, this is very bad.
So, it is not that the bad is due to God and the good is not due to God. Actually, there was this movie, Oh My God, about which I have written a book, Oh My God, re-answering the question from two days ago. So, there it says, are earthquakes the acts of God? So, now, if we say, why should we consider earthquakes as the acts of God? The idea in the movie is that, there is this person who has taken insurance, his house gets destroyed.
When he goes to the insurance company, they say that your insurance is only up against acts of man, not acts of God. So, because the earthquake is the act of God, so, you are not insured against it. So, that’s the idea.
Now, actually, in insurance clauses, often there are these fine print clauses which nobody reads. So, they consider earthquakes to be acts of God. Now, what is the idea of calling earthquakes as an act of God? What is the logic behind that? Is it that everything beyond human control is an act of God? Then, if we say that, the quaking of the earth is an act of God, because it is beyond human control, then the not quaking of the earth is also an act of God.
Because even that we cannot do. We cannot say that just because one is common and the other is uncommon. So, therefore, one is an act of God and one is not an act of God.
So, when Krishna is saying, I am the destroyer or I am the creator, he is talking about the ultimate sense. Just like rains are the cause of vegetation, but rains are not the cause of whether a mango tree grows or a thorny tree grows. There is an intermediate cause.
The intermediate cause is the kind of seeds that are sown over there. Similarly, in the case of whether people get prosperity or adversity in this world, the cause only the ultimate sense is Krishna. But there is an intermediate sense where our own karma is the cause.
So, these verses cannot be taken out of the context to say that actually it is God who is doing all these things. But what is understood is, when this sort of destruction happens, then, sometimes such a power is demonstrated that it is completely beyond human capability. And that indicates that, okay, such a power is a kind of godly power.
Similarly, when creation happens, actually it’s a magical mysterious process. You know, it is it is not just that the lust and the lusty products of two human beings or two living beings, whatever it is, which can just produce new life. That can just produce some ejection and reception of foods.
But what actually produces new life is the act of God over there. It is the grace of God that is manifesting over there. So, whenever this causality is to be assigned, we have to understand the difference between the intermediate and the ultimate causes.
So, here Krishna is talking about the ultimate cause. He is the generating principle. In the Bhagavatam, in the past time of Chitraketu Maharaj, when he doesn’t get sons, it is said that actually sometimes the man may be capable of begetting children.
The woman may also be fertile. But still the child is not born. And doctors just don’t know why it happens.
They try, but they can’t do anything. So, it’s not that just the man and woman come together and beget children. Krishna is talking about generating principle, giving a deeper sense of it.
Now, here the next verse is explained differently by Dhritarashtra. Next part of the verse. So, among women, I am Yiltishri Vakchanari Nam.
So, fame, opulence, Vak is speech, and Smriti he is remembering, Medha is intelligence, Ruti and Kshama. So, firmness and patience. Now, interestingly sometimes we may quote that women are less intelligent.
But Krishna is saying, I am intelligence among women. So, if women don’t, even less intelligence, then what does it mean to say that Krishna is intelligence among women? So, we cannot just whip statements out of context. The goddess of, the presiding deity of intelligence is a goddess, not a god.
That is Saraswati. So, we cannot say Saraswati Devi is less intelligent, because she gives the intelligence to everyone. So, here, one of the meanings is that, just as in English, we have masculine nouns and feminine nouns.
He is masculine, she is feminine. So, this is with respect to pronouns, but nouns can also be masculine and feminine. For example, Gadi Chal Rahi Hai.
We don’t say Gadi Chal Raha Hai. So, the nouns are associated with certain genders. So, these nouns can signify certain qualities.
So, in Sanskrit, certain qualities are, from the grammatical point of view, considered feminine. And among those feminine qualities, these are characteristics of an attractive person. A person is famous, a person is well-spoken, a person is opulent, a person has good memory, good intelligence, patience, determination.
These are outstanding qualities that ornament a person. So, these are feminine qualities, not in the sense that they are exclusively possessed by females or primarily possessed by females, but they are in a grammatical gender sense, these are feminine nouns or feminine qualities. That is one understanding.
Now, Vishwaprabhupada gives general purport for this when he explains that Vishwaprabhupada is explaining over here that when a man is Vishwaprabhupada basically as Prabhupada says, the seven opulences listed are considered feminine. And then, if a person possesses them, he becomes glorious. Vishwaprabhupada gives a brief definition of these qualities also.
So now, a Vaak, in the Vedic literature, a Vaak is considered to be like a goddess. Vaak is the power of speech. And it is generally speaking that various languages have various capacities.
In terms of, in certain languages, certain sounds don’t exist. So if I’m not mistaken, in Chinese language, there is no r sound. So when those Chinese devotees chant, they don’t have the word r. So, among various languages, Sanskrit is said to have such a comprehensive number of syllables, words, and syntax that everything that can be spoken can be spoken in Sanskrit.
Everything that can be thought rather, which can be put into words can be put into Sanskrit. So, in a sense, language is a technology. Language itself is a technology.
You may say emails are a technology for communication. That’s true. By writing an email, I can communicate with somebody very far.
But language itself is a technology. You may not think of the word technology as compared to language. But technology is basically a mechanism by which something is done.
So, when I have certain thoughts and I want to convey my thoughts to you, so I use a technology called language. Now, different technologies have different capacities. For example, those people who are very primitive in certain parts of the world, they want to signal something to their neighbours or relatives.
If there is danger, then they would light a fire and if the fire is reddish, then it indicates danger. If the fire is yellowish, it indicates caution or it indicates all clear. If the fire is greenish, then it indicates, oh, there is a grey over here.
We can go and attack and get something. So now, when the technology for communication is just the colour of the puffs of smoke, then through such a technology, abstract philosophical thought cannot be expressed. If I want to say, you are sliding from the mode of passion to the mode of ignorance.
How do I show it with puffs of smoke? What colours do I put for that? So, the birds also have some level of communication. So, birds, by the way they make sounds, they also communicate some things. But, just as puffs of smoke or the chirping of birds, their level of communication, the technology that they are using, just the modulation of certain sounds or the sending of certain smokes, patterns of smoke over here, that is not adequate enough to convey sophisticated abstract thought.
So, just as there are certain limitations associated with certain technologies, so different languages have their own limitations. And the Sanskrit language is especially attuned for expressing abstract thought. And that is one of the primary differences between, say, languages like Sanskrit and languages like English.
English is more attuned for expressing concrete thought. Of course, Sanskrit can also express concrete thought. Concrete thought means to name things.
Name this, name that, name that. So, that is concrete concept, concrete things and abstract concepts. So, Sanskrit is considered to be special because everything that can be thought that can be expressed in Sanskrit language.
Of course, a person will require adequate mastery to do that. But it can be expressed. Prihat samtatha samnam Next verse Prihat samtatha samnam Gayatri chand samaham Gayatri chand samaham Masana marga shee shoham Masana marga shee shoham Ritu nam kosuma karaham ritu nam kosuma karaham So, Prihat samtatha samnam So, Samveda is basically the Veda of glorification.
There are Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda. So, Rigveda is the Veda for invocation. When sacrifices are to be performed, the Devatas have to be invoked.
Please come. Aavahan. It is done.
Please come. So, Rigveda is for invocation. Yajurveda is for ritual performance.
Okay, what sort of yajna is to be done, at that time what mantra is to be chanted, how is it to be done. And Samveda is for glorification. It’s like when we want to invite someone, we want to invite some sanyasi, then we will send an email, please come.
So, that invocation is given in Rigveda. This is a broad, there are exceptions, but in a broad sense. Then, when he comes along, maybe we will offer him a room, we will offer him some prasad, we will do some welcoming for him.
And then we may offer some appreciation for him. We went on to introduce him, say that, which is all over the world and this and that. So, like that, same way with the Devatas.
So, Samveda is used for glorification. It is the Veda of musical glorification through songs. And among these, among the words of Samveda, there is a section called Brihatsaam.
Brihatsaam is a glorification of Indra and the Apsaras in Svarga along with the Gangarvas, when they are singing and dancing, for Indra’s pleasure they sing the Brihatsaam. So, Brihatsaam is considered in the material level to be the best of glorifications, the best of songs. Of course, we have Ramananda Raya telling Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the best song is about Radha and Krishna.
That is transcendental. In the material realm, it is called Brihatsaam Tatha Saamnaam. And in Gayathri, Chanda Saamaham.
So, Gayathri here, generally we know of Gayathri Mantra that we chant. That is of course true. Now Gayathri, we chant Om, Gur, Svaha like that, Mantra which goes on.
It is actually mentioned in the Rig Veda. And here when Krishna is saying Gayathri Chanda Saamaham, Chanda is a particular metre. So, Chanda is a particular metre.
And Chanda is like different verses we can sing different Chandas. For music there are Agas, for verses there is a Chanda. So, Gayathri is one particular kind of Chanda.
So, here it is not primarily written to Gayathri Devi. Although that can also be said that among Chandas, Gayathri is a particular Chanda. But normally Gayathri Mantra, when we recite it, we don’t recite it in a particular Chanda.
The word Gayathri can refer to various things. Gayathri can refer to Gayathri Devi. Devi who is invoked by the chanting of the Gayathri Mantra.
Of course, she is like the deity of the Gayathri Mantra and whom we are invoking to the Gayathri Mantra is Surya Narayan. And it can also refer to a particular metre. So, in this context, when Krishna is saying among the Chandas I am Gayathri, he is basically saying that there are various Chandas and Gayathri is considered to be a very melodious thing.
So, I am that Gayathri. And then I explained about the remaining two. So, Aakaraha means creator.
Just like the ocean is called as Ratnakara. Ratnakara, that which gives rise to Ratna. So, Kusumakara.
Kusuma is flower. So, that which gives birth to flowers. That is Kusumakara.
Next one. So, Jyutam Chalayatamasi. So, Chala means cheating.
So, normally when one person has to cheat another person, how the cheating is done is, some pickpocket is there. The person is looking away, you put your hand in the pocket and steal the money. But gambling is such a form of cheating, that person voluntarily takes the money out of his pocket and puts it away.
So, in that sense, it is a comprehensive cheating. You are not just robbing the person of the money, but robbing the person of the intelligence also. So, that he voluntarily gives up the money.
So, in that sense, it is a total kind of cheating. You make a complete fool out of the person. So, Jyutam Chalayatamasi.
Among cheaters, I am gambling. And Tejas Tejasvinamaham. So, this Krishna is describing over here that effulgence.
So, this he is talking about in chapter also, he is talking about the essence of things. So, among splendid things, I am splendid. Jaiyosmi Vavasaayosmi.
So, Jaya is victory. Vavasa is endeavour or adventure. So, Krishna is telling that at the end of a project, when we get success, you know, sometimes, for example, say when India won the World Cup a few years ago, the kind of delirium people went into, you know, what makes people so excited about it.
Or sometimes when a tennis match somebody wins, the person starts howling like a, you know what, you can’t know whether such sounds can be produced by a human throat. So, what happens? And actually, it’s at that particular moment of victory, the kind of feelings that rush to a person, they are extremely intoxicating. So, where do those feelings come from? Those feelings are so intoxicating that people want them again and again and again and again.
So, what are those feelings? Krishna is saying that actually, that taste of victory that you get, I am that taste. So, of course, because that person has endeavoured, because that person has done some karma, the person is getting that taste of victory. But that exhilarating taste of success, I am that.
Devasaayosini means, devasa is sustained endeavour. How does Prabhupada translate devasa here? Adventure. So, you know, there is this whole genre of, genre means category, of on the edge sports.
On the edge sports means people want to risk their lives. Some people, they sort of jump out of a helicopter and then they don’t jump with a parachute. And they have it, just fall, fall, fall, fall, fall and they get a thrill out of it.
And when they come near the ground, then they will start the parachute. So, if the parachute doesn’t start, they will just crash down. But the idea of sort of being on the border of life and death, that gives a certain kind of thrill.
Or when there is this, what is the word for high speed sports? Or when they do racing, what is it? Formula 1 racing. Within a moment or two from zero speed, the vehicle, it propels to extremely high speed. And it can be completely disorienting at that particular time.
Just a little bit shift over here or there, the person can just die also. But that kind of adventure, where there is risk, where there is thrill, and where one is sort of playing, flirting with danger. There are so many mystery novels and adventure stories, where people get into danger and they come out of it.
So, what is it? So, normally speaking, if we see, animals don’t get into adventure for the sake of adventure. Mouse doesn’t think I will go near the mouth of a cat and then run away from there. It doesn’t do that.
So, why? Because in the human species, actually, we are all trying to experience God. The soul has a development of consciousness by which the soul can experience the exhilaration of love for Krishna. But when that experience is not God by developing a relationship with Krishna, then we want to experience Krishna in some other ways.
So, even from, leave alone from the point of view of the animal kingdom, even from the scientific perspective, these sort of adventure sports go against Darwin’s theory. The idea is everybody is struggling for survival. But here people are risking their life.
Why? Actually speaking, it’s because all of us want to experience Krishna. And adventure and victory are ways in which we can experience Krishna in a fractional sense. It’s only for a few moments, but there is an experience of it.
And that’s why people feel so intoxicated by this. But instead of that, a devotee by developing a relationship with Krishna, as Sanjay will tell in 18.767, I am thrilled constantly, every moment. So, I am the strength of the strong.
I am the power of the form. So, Jiva Goswami explains in Sandarbhas that here Vasudev refers to Balram, not to Krishna. Krishna is talking about himself, not talking about himself, he is talking about his opulences of life.
So, Vasudev had, Krishna was not the only son of Vasudev. Vasudev’s son was also, through Rohini, was also Balramji. So, because he is talking about his manifestations, here this Vasudev doesn’t refer to Krishna, it refers to Balramji.
And then, Pandavana Dhananjaya. So, it’s interesting that Krishna doesn’t, that Krishna, Arjuna is thinking, oh, among Pandavas, he will say Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira is Dharmaraj.
Pandavana Dhananjaya. Pandavas, yes, I am Arjuna. Oh, then Arjuna doesn’t say, oh, I didn’t know, we two are one, then shut up now.
There’s no need for you to speak anything more. I didn’t know, you yourself said that I am God now. So, he doesn’t say that, because this is in terms of opulence, it is not in terms of ontological oneness, it’s not in terms of mayavad over here.
So, what were actually Arjuna’s characteristics, because of which he was so dear, we see that at the start of the battle itself, that the characteristic of devotion is to choose God, not the world. The world is offering us so many pleasures, and we turn away from the pleasure of the world and choose God. That’s what Arjuna did at the start of the battle.
That is a sign of his devotion. And there are many other signs of devotion which we see in the Mahabharata and Mahabharata. So, Vyasa is referring to Vyasadev, Vyasa Muni.
So, he is the compiler of all the Vedic literature. And actually, it’s a Herculean feat to write all the Vedic literature and that is Vyasadev is also considered to be a literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord. And Ushinakavi, Shukracharya, sometimes we may deride him as a priest.
He is a priest also, a paid priest is not considered to be very great. And that too a paid priest of the Rakshasas. But it’s not that Shukracharya is any ordinary person.
If you look at the 8th Canto, after the Bali Maharaj pastimes in Chapter 24, Chapter 23, actually, when Vamanadeva asked Ushinakavi, Shukracharya, what was wrong with the sacrifice? And then he says, Mantra das tantra das chitram. Actually, if the names of Vishnu are chanted, then there is no flaw in the sacrifice. So, Shukracharya, who is actually a Karmakandi sacrifice, knows the power of Vishnu, knows the glory of the names of Vishnu.
So, it’s not that he is detruited. The only thing is, because he is attached, so he focusses on certain things and neglects certain things. So, among the category of priests, Shukracharya is definitely the greatest.
That’s why Kavina Ushinakavi. And then, Dandodamaya Tamasmi, Dandodamaya Tamasmi, Nithirasmi Jagishatam, Nithirasmi Jagishatam, Maunam Chaivasmi Govindanaam, Maunam Chaivasmi Govindanaam, Jnanam Jnanavatamaham, Jnanam Jnanavatamaham, Dandodamaya Tamasmi. So, Danda is Danda Dinaam.
Danda and Danda are related. Danda is given to Danda. This is a stick.
The idea is Dama Yataam means to control or suppress. Later on in the 18th chapter when Krishna will talk about the senses, he will say the characteristics of the Brahmanas are Shama and Dama. Shama is control of the mind.
Dama is control of the senses. So, Dama Yataam means the ability, the controlling of the senses, controlling the behaviour of people. So, normally there are various ways to control people.
So, one is by instruction. But when instruction doesn’t work, then punishment may have to be given. Sometimes punishment is required and if punishment doesn’t work, then a higher punishment is to be given.
And the highest punishment is capital punishment. A person may have to be killed if the person is incorrigible in this life. So, Krishna is telling that among all forms of suppression, Dandodamaya Tamasmi, punishment is required.
And if nothing else works, that’s the last resort of the law. If that doesn’t work, then one person has to be killed. So, that’s why it is the strongest among all means of control.
And we also see that at the highest level, when there is love, there is no fear of a person doing something wrong. When we love Krishna, we have such a higher taste in devotion that we will not do anything wrong. But till then, there is, Danda is a very strong impetus for keeping ourselves under control.
For example, we come from Mangalarthi. So, what happens is, if there is no sort of Danda for coming late from Mangalarthi, then what may happen is that we will just become lax, gradually. So, Danda is important.
So, fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The Bible says that fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Of course, it is not the end of wisdom.
The end of wisdom is love of God. But fear of God is the beginning. And now Krishna is telling over here that many people can attain victory in battle.
But when a person attains victory by virtues means, by sticking to proper conduct, then actually it is a fair battle of skill and will. See, if a person cheats, why people are attracted to sports in a sense is because you can get to see competition among people. So, many sports are essentially battles of skill and will.
How talented a person is, how determined, how intensely a person is wearing and how we can keep his composure and move on towards the championship or whatever. So, now, when a person behaves, when a team wants to win the match and they have the umpires of their own country and the umpires just give all the other batsmen out, other country’s batsmen out, then victory, there is no glory in that. So, that is like a backdoor victory.
Backdoor victory means you just artificially got all the players out or something like that and then you won. But when there is a fair and square battle and after that there is victory and that is a truly glorious victory. So, among the victorious, the morality of the victorious, I am that.
So, the best way to keep a secret is to keep it secret. That means, they don’t tell it to anyone. There is no such thing as a secret kept between two or three or four or five people.
It just keeps increasing. Sometimes we may have to tell some things to some devotees or some senior devotees, we want to consult some people. But generally, the secrecy, the more it is shared, it gets less and less.
So, maunam chaivaas me guhiyana. If you want to keep secret, the best way is not speak it. Not that you speak it and then try to make people hate you.
Isko bolna matna. Isko bolna matna. That is not as effective a way of keeping a secret.
If you truly want to keep a secret, don’t speak it at all. Maunam chaivaas me guhiyana. And actually, secrecy is not necessarily bad.
Certain things don’t need to be known to everyone. Krishna has given us the facility to keep the thoughts of our mind private. If every one of us could see what everyone was thinking of everyone else, there would be no possibility of relationships.
Isn’t it? Because we all get such kind of nasty thoughts at times. So, if you want to keep certain things, we don’t want to bury those things. If certain things are troubling us, we do have to express them so that we can get them relieved.
But the important thing is that certain things can and should be kept confidential. And the best way is by maunam. And gyanam gyanapatamaham.
And knowledge of knowledge. This is related with later on, 15.15. Mattah suthir gyanam abohanam cha. That is, I give knowledge.
So, Krishna is there referring more to a dynamic state. That sometimes you remember, sometimes you forget. Here he is referring more to a steady state.
Some people are very knowledgeable. So, where does that knowledge come from? Among these six opulences that are there, if somebody is beautiful, somebody is wealthy, somebody is strong, somebody is famous, just by that alone, we won’t normally mistake a person to be spiritually advanced. Because somebody is good looking, we won’t think that this person is spiritually advanced.
But if somebody is very knowledgeable or somebody is very renowned, then we start thinking, oh, he must be spiritually advanced. Not necessarily like that. So, sometimes there can be materialistic people who have no devotion, but they may have phenomenal levels of knowledge.
So, that knowledge is actually a manifestation of Krishna’s opulence. But, this is an important point because we are coming to the end of the chapter. These vibhutis can be present among godly people and these vibhutis can also be present among ungodly people.
But gyan is an opulence of Krishna. And somebody who has got the karma from a previous life and has done the endeavour from this life, that person can become a phenomenal gyan. There are some material scientists, some material scholars, they know so much.
Their encyclopaedia can be very large. So, their vibhuti is also coming from god. But that vibhuti is not considered to be dahi vibhuti.
It is considered to be asuri vibhuti. Why asuri vibhuti? Because that is not taking them towards god, nor is it taking others towards god. So, there may be some movie singers who sing very sweet.
Their singing ability is coming from god. But is it taking them towards god? Their singing might be from which is god. So, all these are vibhutis, definitely.
But by seeing them, we can remember Krishna. When Hanuman ji sees Ravana for the first time, second time actually, he sees Ravana when he is sleeping in the bed chambers when he is searching at night. After that when he is arrested and then he sees Ravana in the court.
So, there in the court, Ravana is looking majestic. And the first thought that he gets in his mind is, if only Ravana had been a devotee, he would have been such a great protector of the gods. So, that is the glory of the Krishna consciousness of Hanuman.
That is not the glory of Ravana. Ravana had by his karma and whatever, he had got the dominance. But it is Hanuman ji’s consciousness that he can go only if he has been engaged in Krishna’s service.
So, that vibhuti could, that vibhuti was taking Ravana away from god, from Ram. But that increased Hanuman’s remembrance of god. So, even by seeing the vibhuti of a demoniac person, we can increase our Krishna consciousness.
We can remember Krishna. But we have to see whether that vibhuti is taking us towards Krishna or away from Krishna. jānāt yānapatāṁ ham yacchāpi sarva-bhūtānām yacchāpi sarva-bhūtānām bījaṁ tad aham arjuna bījaṁ tad aham arjuna na tad asti bina yacchā na tad asti bina yacchā mayābhūtam carācaram mayābhūtam carācaram yacchāpi sarva-bhūtānām So, for all living beings, bījaṁ tad ahaṁ arjuna, that I am the seed.
So how is Krishna the seed for all living beings? Because wherever life manifests, it’s actually a mirror and the creation, the seed of creation comes ultimately from Krishna. The soul is a part of Krishna. The soul is what gives life to the body and how the soul comes into a particular biological medium where life manifests.
It is a mysterious process. So that is actually the arrangement of Krishna. na tad asti vināyatyān mayā bhūtaṁ carācar That without me, nothing can exist.
So then, somebody has said, Krishna is now giving sort of generic conclusions. He has given many specific examples. Okay, among this, I am this.
Among this, I am that. So now Krishna says that, okay, among aquatics, I am shark. And does that mean I am not the fish? No, I am not the fish.
Or I am not the tadpole, or I am not the starfish. No, actually, everything exists because of me. So now, in these three verses are concluding, last four verses are giving conclusion.
So first thing is making a very clear statement. That actually, existence of everything is sustained by me only. This is similar to 10.8. ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvam pravartati Do you remember I explained what are the difference between these two lines? Prabhava and pravartati.
Prabhava and pravartati. Prabhava refers to the origin. Pravartati refers to the maintenance.
By me, everything comes. By me, everything. From me, everything comes.
By me, everything is maintained. So Krishna is telling over here, same point over here. I am generating seed of everything.
So 10.39 is essentially repeating 10.8. So he is telling, further that, akalasthi vināyatyānmayābhūtaṁ charātyaḥ That nothing can exist, chara or achara, without me. I am the sustenance of everything that exists. So, these are concluding points.
And then, if everything is ultimately an opulence of Krishna, then somebody may get the question, why is Krishna speaking on only these few things? Only these specific opulences why he is speaking? So he addresses that in that way. na antausti mama divyānāṁ na antausti mama divyānāṁ vibhūtīnāṁ parantapa vibhūtīnāṁ parantapa eṣa-tuddheṣa-taprapto eṣa-tuddheṣa-taprapto vibhūtair vistaromayā vibhūtair vistaromayā So, na antausti mama divyānāṁ Actually, there is no end, na antausti. And what are these? vibhūtīnāṁ parantapa Divine opulences, there is no end to it.
Then, eṣa-tuddheṣa-taprapto tuddheṣa-taprapto means as a sample, as a representative, as a few examples I have given this. vibhūtair vistaromayā Again, he says these are vistar. There are many, many opulences like this.
So, first Krishna has said in the 39th verse, that everything is sustained by me, everything comes from me. Actually, my opulences are endless. Then, is there some general principle where you can know which are the opulences of Krishna? He is saying that everything comes from me.
But my opulences are so many, I have just given a few samples. Now, are these opulences there apart from these samples also? Yes, there are. So, how can we know that? That principle Krishna will tell in the next verse.
So, I have given a list. But you can expand this list based on understanding this principle. yad yad vibhūti mad-sattvam yad yad vibhūti mad-sattvam śrīmadhūrjitaṁ eva vā śrīmadhūrjitaṁ eva vā tattva devāva gacchattvam tattva devāva gacchattvam mamate jomśa sambhava mamate jomśa sambhava Yes, yad yad vibhūti mad-sattvam.
So, wherever you see the vibhūti, and what are the vibhūtis, Krishna has three characteristics. These are three, not an exhaustive list. It’s a typical representative list.
śrīmadh is beautiful, pūrjitaṁ is glorious, eva vā So, wherever there is all the opulent, beautiful and glorious, that is mamate jomśa sambhava. That is the spark of my splendour. So, in this material world, whenever we see anything that attracts our attention, we can use this as a generic principle.
If somebody says that I am madly attracted to the beauty of this film star or to the style of this cricketer or to this thing or that thing. Yes, fine. If you are attracted, that is good.
But where does that attraction come from? That same person who now thinks of himself so expertly, when that person was born, that person didn’t even know what was a man. Isn’t it? So, where did the opulence come from? Actually, it’s God’s grace. So, wherever we see anything attractive in this world, this verse can help us to not let that attractiveness disconnect us from Krishna, but to let it reconnect us with Krishna.
See, this verse offers us a balance between the two extremes. One extreme is, we see the attractiveness of this world as inherently, independently attractive. We get attracted to it and forget Krishna.
That is the path of Karmakand. In Karmakand, in karma, in material enjoyment, I just get attracted to this world and I forget God. On the other hand, the path of Jnanai, everything in this world is false.
Just forget the world, get out of the world. So, now this path is actually difficult to sustain because ultimately our heart needs some attraction. So, remember we discussed, don’t romanticise the world, don’t demonise the world, utilise the world.
So, romanticise means, I get attracted only to the world and forget everything else. Forget God, rather. Demonise the world means, this world is just Maya, Maya, Maya.
Turn away from the world. Make the world into a demon and think that I’ll focus only on God. So, romanticising the world is the path of karma.
Demonising the world is the path of Jnanai. Utilising the world is the path of Karmakand. So, when we see attractive things in this world, we can acknowledge their attractiveness, but then say, this attractiveness comes from Krishna.
That principle Krishna is giving over here. Yet, we don’t see much of Him. And actually this, if we can actually understand this principle, this can help us to become free from envy.
When we see some good qualities in someone else, if we see their good qualities as independent of Krishna, then we will feel envious of that person. Oh, why does this person have these qualities and I don’t have these qualities? Why does he think that this person has these attractive qualities? Does this come from Krishna? How attractive Krishna must be? So, actually when we want to use whatever attractive qualities we have to gain fame in this world, then others’ attractiveness makes us insecure. I want to sing so that people will praise me.
Oh, what a good singer I am. But if somebody else sings better than me, then we become insecure. You know, people are attracted more to Him than to me.
But if my goal is to become attracted to Krishna, then I am using my vaka shakti, I am using my singing ability to glorify Krishna. Why should I become attracted to Him? And I also see others’ singing ability and think, Oh, this person is reflecting the spark of Krishna’s all attractive singing ability. So, if this is attracting so much, so many people, how much more will Krishna attract? And in this way, we can actually, wherever we see anything attractive, rather than becoming competitive, we can become more devotional.
Instead of becoming competitive, we can become contemplative. We can focus on redirecting our attraction to Krishna based on our remembrance of Krishna that the opulence of others brings. And then Krishna says, Actually, again, He says, there is no need to give me this entire list of opulence because this is one more concluding verse which will become the seed for the next chapter.
So, otherwise, What is the use of I telling you about all my opulences? Why? Parveded by what? By only one fragment. By one fragment of myself, I sustain the whole Jagat. So, this is referring to which fragment of Krishna? Supersoul.
He permeates all things. So, by one fragment, I pervade all of the creation. So, in the third canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, in the sixth chapter, which is the discussion between Vidura and Maitreya, the chapter’s title is Creation in Universal Form.
So, there it is described that how all the whole universe was created. Brahmaji had done his creation and the demigods had also been created. But the universe was not functioning.
Till the Lord entered into it. The demigod of speech was there, but the Vishwaroop was not able to speak. The demigod controlling the hand was there, but the hands of the Vishwaroop were not moving.
But only when the Lord entered, Lord Vishnu entered, then all of life came about. So, the Virat group is a conceptual form meant to enhance our appreciation of the glories of the Lord. But this particular analysis explains that how the various faculties and the various personalities associated with those faculties may both be there, but still the activity will not happen till there is a presence of the Divinity.
So, there is faculty, there is personality, there is activity and there is divinity. So, faculty is the power of speaking. That’s my faculty.
And the personality is I am the soul who is present over here. But then, the faculty and the personality both may be present, but the activity will not happen. Activity is speaking.
Till there is the divinity. There is the Lord present within. So, Ekam Shiyanistito Jagat.
So, that 3.6 in the Bhagavatam illustrates that only when the super soul enters into this world, then everything else becomes active. So, the faculty and the personality get the capacity to do activity by the presence of divinity. So, Ekam Shiyanistito Jagat.
By one fragment of myself, I pervade all of existence. So, in a sense, the universal form is like a material body. It’s like we have a material body.
When the universal body is talked about, it is also talked about in material terms. When it is talked about in material terms, the body has a soul in it. And soul gives life to the body.
Similarly, the Virata Rupa has a soul. And that soul is actually the super soul. Krishna is referring to that over there.
So, that is the link over there. So, in a sense, Krishna says in this chapter that Ekam Shiyanistito Jagat. By one fragment of me, I am pervading.
I am pervading all of creation. In the next chapter, Arjuna will ask Krishna, can you please show me this form? Show me how you pervade all of creation. And what does Krishna do? Krishna shows the Vishwa Rupa.
So, Krishna doesn’t show, in a sense, the super soul within the universe. He shows the universal form only. Why? Because he himself is the super soul.
So, it’s like there is a soul inside the body. So, similarly, there is a Virata Rupa, there is a universal form and there is a super soul who is an expansion of Krishna. So, try to understand this flow.
Krishna is here in the spiritual world. And then Krishna is saying Ekam Shiyan. Of mine is the super soul.
And this super soul is pervading all of creation. There is a three-level connection. Krishna, super soul and Virata Rupa, universal form.
So, when Arjuna asks Krishna, in the next chapter he will ask, how do you pervade the universe? Please show it to me. Now, what will Krishna show? Will Krishna show how his super soul form extends with the head from the Satya Loka to the legs to the Naraka? No, he doesn’t show that super soul form. He actually shows the universal form.
That is the material manifestation. So, normally, we with our material eyes can see material things. So, when he shows the pervasion, he shows the pervasion how? By showing how from him the Virata Rupa manifests.
Is this point clear what I am saying? See, Arjuna asks, please show me how you pervade him. So, Krishna will describe by showing that I am here and next moment you see the next moment you see the whole universal form. Where does that come from? Please come to me.
So, I am pervading this whole form and I can reveal this whole form to you. That’s how Krishna answers Arjuna’s question. We will discuss more about it in tomorrow’s class.
In this chapter, we discussed starting with the continuation in the 9th chapter that focus on the glories of the Supreme Lord. So, that glories of the Supreme Lord talked about how he is the source of everything and it began with if one understands this In 10.3, Krishna describes that if you understand my glories you will become free from all sins. That’s the first result of understanding Krishna.
Then in 10.7, he describes the full result. If you understand my glories, you will become purified of all sins but along with that you will engage in my pure devotional service. Without any alternative and without any doubt wholeheartedly you will engage in my service.
And that Krishna summarises in Chittu Shloka Gita and after Chittu Shloka Gita, Arjuna accepts whatever Krishna has said, acknowledges Krishna’s supremacy states that what he has said is also confirmed by the great priest and then asks please help me to remember you in this material world and in response to that from verse 20 onwards till verse 38 Krishna gives a list of his various opulences in the material world. And Krishna gives four summary verses where he describes everything sustained by me but that which is attractive within everything that is sustained by me that is reflecting as part of my glory and you can use that to remember me. Any question? Yes.
Yes. Yes. So what it refers to is that there is something that there are beings who are in the material realm and there are beings who are in the spiritual realm.
So ultimately Lord Vishnu alone is transcendent. Lord Brahma is exalted but not transcendent. Lord Shiva, if it is referring to Shadashiva then he is transcendent.
But quite often when scriptures talk about Lord Shiva they refer not to Shadashiva, they refer to Lord Shiva who is in Kailash. I think I have discussed this earlier, isn’t it? In our Ishopanishad class we have discussed it. Dashiva lives at the border of the material and spiritual world.
So he is transcendent. Normally speaking when the scriptures refer to Shiva he is often referred to as Kailash who is in the Kailashapati who is there in the Kailash in the celestial areas. So he is not considered transcendent.
So the essence of offence is to equate the material with the spiritual. That is the essence of offence. When we say that to see the Vaishnava Jati Murthi, Arche Vishnu Shri Radhe, Guru Shri Naramathi.
So what is all this doing? We are seeing the spiritual to be equated. That is the principle. Now that which is transcendental, that is Vishnu and that which is material.
In the sense that they are the material existence. Shiva when we equate the two that leads to the continuation of the cycle of Godhead. So it’s not so much certainly that misunderstanding is there.
It’s a misunderstanding that needs to be corrected. But underlying the misunderstanding is an equalisation of the materialistic existence. And that is the cause of the materialistic existence.
Once one understands that this is matter and I have to go from matter to spirit. Then that feels the power to me. Clear? Yes, last question.
Yeah, faculty, ability. Yeah. Yeah.
Is it based on 18.40? There is slightly difference because there is also circumstance over there. It’s a very important verse. We will discuss that when we come to it.
But here Krishna is more talking about the context of how he is the sustainer of everything. So without him nothing can happen. Thank you very much.