UB: श्री भगवानुवाच

भूय एव महाबाहो श्रृणु मे परमं वचः।यत्तेऽहं प्रीयमाणाय वक्ष्यामिहितकाम्यया।।10.1।।

10.1. The भगवान् – O महाबाहो ! Listen (श्रृणु) again (भूय एव) to My (मे) words (वचः) (revealing) the limitless (परमं). To you (ते) who are pleased (प्रीयमाणाय) at this (यद्),  I will expound (अहं वक्ष्यामि), with a desire for your benefit (हित काम्यया).

न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः।अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां चसर्वशः।।10.2।।

10.2. Neither the group (गण) of सुर (न सुरगणाः), nor the महाऋषि (न महर्षयः) know (विदुः) My (मे) origin (प्रभवं). For (हि), I am the first (अहम् आदि:), of each and everyone (सर्वशः) among the देव (देवानां) and (च) महाऋषि (महर्षीणां).

यो मामजमनादिं च वेत्ति लोकमहेश्वरम्।असम्मूढः स मर्त्येषु सर्वपापैःप्रमुच्यते।।10.3।।

10.3. The one (य:) who knows (वेत्ति) Me (माम्) as the unborn (अ-जम्) and beginningless (अनादिं च), Limitless Lord of the universe (लोक महेश्वरम्), that person (स:), being no longer deluded (असम्मूढः) among the mortals (मर्त्येषु), is freed (प्रमुच्यते) from all पाप (सर्वपापैः).

UB: 10.1/3 – These are simple verses.  A few things stand out. श्रीकृष्ण sees that the attitude of अर्जुन towards this topic is प्रियमाणाय. He is fully enjoying this conversation. Hence,  श्रीकृष्ण is encouraged to converse more. If अर्जुन was yawning or displays an edgy expression, श्रीकृष्ण would not have continued. Second,  because श्रीकृष्ण is अजम् (unborn) & अनादि (without a beginning), all देव and ऋषि cannot comprehend Him since all of them have an जन्म as well as have an आदि. They are an ‘Effect’ and an ‘Effect’ can understand the Cause as an external agent only since it sees “Cause” as separate from itself. But when it looks within itself, it will see the ‘Cause’ as present within itself as an अव्यक्त. One who discovers this source within is an असम्मूढ (one whose विवेक is सूक्ष्म and thus cannot waver). Once one reaches here,  all the accumulated पाप of such a one gets burned up or destroyed.

PA: UB could you please explain the meaning of अव्यक्त

UB: व्यक्त represents that which is visible or manifest. अव्यक्त is the invisible element that lies behind or the cause that enables manifestation. The thought in our mind is अव्यक्त but the actual कर्म that we do triggered by the अव्यक्त thought is व्यक्त since such a कर्म is visible

VG: UB, I am keen to know how old was arjuna when this war happened?

UB: 😀 Do not know – there are a few speculations but I have not dwelt much in detail on these

VG: your informed guess?

UB: No idea – maybe 40s or 50s

VG: ok

UB: बुद्धिर्ज्ञानमसंमोहः क्षमा सत्यं दमः शमः।सुखं दुःखं भवोऽभावो भयं चाभयमेवच।।10.4।।

अहिंसा समता तुष्टिस्तपो दानंयशोऽयशः। भवन्ति भावा भूतानां मत्तएव पृथग्विधाः।।10.5।।

10.4. From Me alone (मत्त: एव)

are (भवन्ति) different kinds of (पृथग्विधाः) things (भावा) belonging to living beings (भूतानां)- the capacity to know (बुद्धि:), knowledge (र्ज्ञानम्), freedom from delusion/ steadiness (असंमोहः), patience (क्षमा), truth (सत्यं), control [over sense-organs] (दमः), tranquility [of mind] (शमः), pleasure (सुखं), pain (दुःखं), birth (भव), death (अभाव:), fear (भयं) and also fearlessness (अभयं एव च)

10.5. [Also] non-injury (अहिंसा), equanimity (समता), contentment (तुष्टि:), austerity/ discipline (तप:), charity (दानं), fame (यश:) and ill-fame (अ-यश:).

UB: 10.4/5 (1) – All human expressions come from Her. She is the source or the primary trigger from where our expressions come about. When you thus see अहिंसा operating within you,  you see Her only. In these verses,  some words are used without an opposite – बुद्धि, ज्ञान, क्षमा, सत्यं, अहिंसा,  etc while there are others that operate in two modes – सुख-दु:ख, भय-अभय,  etc.  Why is this? Certain human expressions are absolute. So बुद्धि & ज्ञान are absolutes used by all. But depending on how there are used,  one may experience both सुख & दु:ख. Thus,  owing to our ज्ञान of a terrorist,  our बुद्धि makes us experience भय; however,  the child of a terrorist also has ज्ञान of the same terrorist and her बुद्धि makes her experience अभय. Even the so-called fool or a मूढ has ज्ञान present in him. However while in a lowly evolved person,  the absolute expressions are dim and thus clouded,  in an evolved person,  these are sharp and thus more effective.

UB: 10.4/5 (2) – There is no devil or शैतान in धर्म traditions. From the absolute,  the relative emerges. आनन्द is our absolute भाव,  सुख & दु:ख are lower level relative भाव caused owing to dimming of our आनन्द state. सत्यं (existence) is our absolute भाव,  जन्म & मरण are lower level relative भाव caused owing to dimming of our सत्यं state. तुष्टि (contentment ) is our absolute भाव, chasing यश & or obtaining अयश are lower level relative भाव caused owing to dimming of our तुष्टि state. One who has तुष्टि at an absolute level experiences ऐश्वर्य at all times and thus need to chase यश does not arise in him.

UB: 10.4/5 (3) – Can अहिंसा be seen as an absolute? After all,  हिंसा is its opposite – is it not?  Well,  when a lion’s stomach is full,  it will not kill a Zebra that is within its reach.  If हिंसा is its natural भाव,  it would have killed at all time for sport which is not the case. I thus see the opposite of हिंसा as आलिंगन (embracing). We can thus say that अहिंसा is our natural भाव and when it dims, our बुद्धि makes us either experience अभय making us do आलिंगन and when it expresses as भय, we resort to हिंसा. So the pursuit of धर्म traditions is to shed the relative and court the Absolute भाव of the परमात्मा within us viz  बुद्धि:, ज्ञान, असंमोहः, क्षमा, सत्यं, दमः, शमः, अहिंसा, समता, तुष्टि:, तप: & दानं IN THEIR PURE FORM. Or we may conclude that all higher or lower भाव come from Her only – so accept all states as Her manifestations within us and thus remain peaceful.  That is the goal of उपासना,  साधना & भक्ति.

UB: श्रीकृष्ण has said earlier – Be निर्द्वन्द्व or shed the द्वन्द्व which means shed the dualities of positive and negative, Good or bad,  happiness and sadness and court the Absolute. Today’s verse gives an insight into the possible meaning of such a phrase.

PA: Thanks for the nice explanation UB🙏🙏 What’s also an interesting question for me is that how long was this talk between Arjuna and Krishna (how many hours or days). It shows also the tremendous level of Arjuna soul to digest this gyan so quickly. Comparing to us mortal souls who are struggling in a few slokas over months

UB: It is a difficult to answer this – we can only speculate. Firstly,  this is a conversation between अर्जुन & श्रीकृष्ण but this was reported by संजय to धृतराष्ट्र and we do not know what edits were made by संजय. Then व्यास wrote the text in a श्लोक form and some edits may have been made by him too.  But assuming व्यास struck to the core, someone said that continuous chanting of the text takes about 90 mins but if you take out certain portions like श्री भगनानुवाच,  etc,  the narrative comes down to 70 mins. But one must note that it takes longer for us to assimilate these ideas since the ecosystem of Vedic Gyan is not part of our daily DNA unlike अर्जुन. Therefore,  learning for us has to be much more steep than people of their era and without commentary,  we cannot appreciate the ideas but someone trained in the Upanishads can absorb these ideas without any such commentary.

UB: महर्षयः सप्त पूर्वे चत्वारो मनवस्तथा।मद्भावा मानसा जाता येषां लोक इमाःप्रजाः।।10.6।।

10.6. The ancient (पूर्वे) सप्तऋषि (महर्षयः सप्त) and also the Four Manus (चत्वार: मनव:), whose minds were in Me (मद् भावा), were born (जाता) from My mind (मानसा). From them (येषां),  all beings (इमाःप्रजाः) of the Universe (लोक) (were born).

एतां विभूतिं योगं च मम यो वेत्तितत्त्वतः। सोऽविकम्पेन योगेन युज्यतेनात्र संशयः।।10.7।।

10.7. He (य:), who knows (वेत्ति) correctly (तत्त्वतः) this extensively manifesting power (एतां विभूतिं) and the Yogic power of Mine(मम योगं च), that one (स:) is endowed (युज्यते) with the unwavering (अविकम्पेन) Yoga (योगेन), in this (अत्र), there is no doubt (न संशयः).

UB: 10.6/7 (1) – The धर्म cosmology is revealed here. The unmanifest Univese became manifest. As per various पुराण, the initial conceptions of our Physical universe are the seven ‘गृहस्त’ ऋषि. These seven names also keep varying in various पुराण though the number remains static. In the संध्यावन्दन क्रिया, the names given are अत्रि, भृगु, कुत्स, वसिष्ठ, गौतम, काश्यप and आंगीरस. Who are पूर्वे चत्वारो (previous four) differs across various commentaries. Some gave this as the four ever-yourthful मानसपुत्र of ब्रह्म viz सनक, सनन्द, सनत्सुजात & सनत्कुमार.

UB: 10:6/7 (2) – ब्रह्म created the चत्वार: first asking them to project the Universe. They refused stating that they prefer to be devoted to ब्रह्म चिंतन and not waste their time in useless activity. ब्रह्म then created the सप्तऋषि from whom सृष्टि was actualized. What is interesting is that the two PRIMAL components present within all of us are प्रवृति (expansion) and निवृत्ति (withdrawal) were the primal dual aspects present right at the beginning. And all of us oscillate between प्रवृति & निवृत्ति from time to time. However,  both forces were ब्रह्मज्ञानी though both chose different paths and even we can achieve ब्रह्मज्ञान irrespective of our chosen primal orientation. Thus, when reads the पुराण, one will notice that all texts attributed to the सनत्कुमार brothers relate to निवृत्ति मार्ग (a very famous text called as सनत्सुजातीय comes in महाभारत which on its own is an important as the गीता itself) while सप्तऋषि are approached by all for प्रवृति कर्म.

UB: 10.6/7 (3) – परम् has two primary expressions – the योगं which here means ‘potentiality’ of projection as well as विभूतिं viz the physical projection itself (akin to potential energy and kinetic energy). This Ch is known as विभूति योग and the विभूति word is introduced here for the first time.  The entire व्यक्त प्रपञ्च is Her only. Wherever you see in this Universe,  you are seeing a विभूति of the भगवान्. भूति means ‘to be or being-ness’ and the prefix ‘वि’ is used in two forms. One form is विविध meaning many or diverse. Another form is विशेष meaning special. While भगवान् is everywhere,  Her grandeur is specifically visible in certain उपाधि. When we come across such an उपाधि, we end up saying WOW. In this Ch, भगवान् will attempt to locate Her within a few विशेष विभूति. Over years of practice, if we achieve a strong tuning with विशेष विभूति, we become focussed on seeing Her in special events. This unshakable focus will take us to विविध विभूति and thus we will end up seeing भगवान् in every part of this Universe. This Ch of विभूति योग is thus very important for people seeking practical clues on साधना and thus wanting to do उपासना to reach Her.

UB: Apart from व्यास narrating what सन्जय spoke to धृतराष्ट्र who in turn was conveying the words spoken by श्रीकृष्ण  to अर्जुन, one must note that entire महाभारत as we read it today is a narrative of वैशंपायन, a शिष्य of व्यास to जन्मेजय, the grandson of अभिमन्यु. This is thus a fourth person account that we are reading today. 😀

VG: I also keep reading how people especially Brahmins, over the years, changed the narrative to make the text holy and suppress or justify practices which didn’t go well with Hindu traditions – Draupadi’s polyandry is one such case which they justified

UB: Hahahaha – I can see the influence of Western Indology here 😀

VG: I knew this was coming 🙂

PA: Thanks for your reply UB🙏🙏 So basically this chapter should give us practical clues on how to start seeing God in special events and slowly we can develop the vision of seeing Him everywhere. Actually that’s what the initial verse says 👍🙏🙏all human expressions originate from God

UB: That is true

PA: 👍👍🙏

PA: Well to some degree I do agree to you VG because there was of course a time when taste  power made the Brahmins corrupt and they instead of guiding people and standing by them ; stood in between God and them. The only thing that i think I know is that we cannot know God unless HIs Grace is on us; but to be worthy of His Grace we have to try; however let go of the fact that we will be successful after x years

🙏🙏

PK: Very true👍👍👍… skepticism and questioning attitude is very good I think .. I see no value in being naive and accepting everything at face value … but the other extreme of extreme doubt is equally counter productive – we are all seeking moments of Grace … when and how is probably not up to us

UB: अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते।इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधाभावसमन्विताः।।10.8।।

10.8 I (अहं) am the origin (प्रभव:) of all (सर्वस्य); everything continues (सर्वं प्रवर्तते) owing to Me (मत्तः). Realizing thus (इति मत्वा), the wise (बुधा) ones, filled with (समन्विताः) this vision (भाव), adore Me (भजन्ते मां).

मच्चित्ता मद्गतप्राणा बोधयन्तः परस्परम्।कथयन्तश्च मां नित्यं तुष्यन्ति च रमन्तिच।।10.9।।

10.9 With minds centered on Me (मत् चित्ता), with powers (of sense and vision) (प्राणा) are resolved into Me (मद्गतप्राणा), enlightening each other (बोधयन्तः परस्परम्), and always speaking of Me (कथयन्त: च मां नित्यं), they derive satisfaction (not needing anything else) (तुष्यन्ति च) and happy (in Me) (रमन्ति च).

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम्।ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्तिते।।10.10।।

10.10 To them (तेषां) who are ever devoted (सततयुक्तानां) and worship (भजतां) Me with love (प्रीतिपूर्वकम्), I grant (ददामि) that (तं) possession (योगं) of wisdom (बुद्धि) by which (येन) they (ते) gain Me (माम् उपयान्ति).

तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः।नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेनभास्वता।।10.11।।

10.11 Out of compassion (अनुकम्पा-अर्थम) for them alone (तेषाम् एव), I (अहम्), residing in (स्थ:) (every) thought (भाव) in their minds (आत्म), destroy (नाशयामि) the darkness (तम:) born of ignorance (अज्ञान जं) with the shining (भास्वता) lamp of Knowledge (ज्ञानदीपेन).

UB: 10.8/11 (1) – There are two ways to conceive of भगवान् – one way is look at the world and say – भगवान् is NOT in stone,  in the mountains, in the river, in animals and fellow humans since He is the अव्यक्त. But while this may appear as academically true,  it is impossible for स्थूल minds to focus on such a भगवान्. The other way is to look at the same stone,  river,  etc and exclaim that all are infused with Her.  Since everything originates from Her,  She will be present in all Her creation just like the essence of हिमालय is present in the entire stretch of गंगा all the time. श्रीकृष्ण is favouring the latter approach and uses the word भाव समन्विता. Infuse all with the भावना that He is present in all. A dry ascetic will see dryness even in a rich juicy leaf while one with भाव समन्विता sees richness even in a dry leaf. Which one do you prefer?

UB: 10.8/11 (2) – A person who sees भगवान् everywhere sees पूर्णत्वम् everywhere. When he is alone,  he will think of ideas within श्रीमद्भागवतम्. When he talks to another,  he talks about stories in श्रीमद्भागवतम्, when he sings,  he sings songs in श्रीमद्भागवतम् and when he reads,  he reads श्रीमद्भागवतम्. Now for such a भक्त who is always satisfied and joyful by remaining in श्रीमद्भागवतम्, भगवान् gives him a special बुद्धि. Such a भक्त thinks/ talks/ sings about परा with a प्रीतिपूर्वकम् attitude. There is no fear,  favour,  unhappiness or greed when thinking about परा; instead he enjoys dwelling in this zone. With this attitude,  he gains बुद्धि given to such a person by भगवान्.   Such बुद्धि can then be used to light up his own ज्ञानदीप by which knowledge descends into him and all his अज्ञान is destroyed. With this done,  he reaches Him.

PA: That’s beautiful. So the constant 24×7 remembrance is reiterated again. Yes there is this joy and happiness when talking about it and discussing about it and absence of greed fear and unhappiness. It’s our soul medicine or longing. However life keeps on throwing those curved bends and challenges where these emotions of unhappiness, fear and greed come up again. The problem is not that why they come up rather the problem is when we repress and reject them, I think. We reject them saying that everything is bliss and beautiful and God is everywhere. The process of rejection of these emotions makes them come up with intense vigor the next time. The key is suppose is that firstly not to get swayed by those emotions and wait for the mind to be calm again (sleep helps in such situations or a walk ). Once the mind is back to its calm state perhaps ots time to Analyse why those emotions came in first place ?  What’s that is waiting to be healed in us or rather the mind patterns that are throwing those ripples in our normally calm mind lake. These ripples are just our long association with the maya or illusion and the 3 guna nature and obviously cannot vanish in a day. Slowly slowly we are genuinely in state where we are remembrance and gratitude all the time as these ripples get smaller and smaller with practice.

UB: 👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼 No words to the above

PK: 👍👍… I am trying to appreciate and be aware of the things that give me joy or a moment of serenity and hoping that those moments … most times it’s for an instant and then back to usual state of confusion 😃😃

UB: अर्जुन उवाच

परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान्।पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यमादिदेवमजंविभुम्।।10.12।।

आहुस्त्वामृषयः सर्वे देवर्षिर्नारदस्तथा।असितो देवलो व्यासः स्वयं चैव ब्रवीषिमे।।10.13।।

10.12. – 10.13. अर्जुन said! You are (भवान्)  the परं ब्रह्म, परं Abode (परं धाम), परमं Purifier (पवित्रं). All the seers (सर्वे ऋषय:) and also the divine seer नारद:, असित:, देवल:, व्यासः describe You as the timeless One who fills everything (पुरुषं शाश्वतं), you are दिव्यम् (not of this ordinary world), unborn (अजं) and all pervasive (विभुम्). And You (स्वयं) too (च इव) say so to me (मे ब्रवीषि).

सर्वमेतदृतं मन्ये यन्मां वदसि केशव।नहि ते भगवन् व्यक्तिं विदुर्देवा नदानवाः।।10.14।।

10.14 O केशव! I consider (मन्ये) to be true (ऋतं) all this (एतद् सर्वम्) which (यद्) You tell me (मां वदसि). O Lord (भगवन्)! Indeed neither (न हि) the देव nor the दानव (न दानवाः) comprehend (विदु:) Your manifestation (ते व्यक्तिं).

स्वयमेवात्मनाऽत्मानं वेत्थ त्वंपुरुषोत्तम।भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेवजगत्पते।।10.15।।

10.15 O पुरुषोत्तम! (one who transcends all),  the Progenitor of beings (भूत भावन), the Lord of beings (भूत ईश), देव of देव (देव देव), the Lord of the Universe (जगत् पते), You Yourself (त्वं स्वयम्) alone (एव) know (वेत्थ) Yourself (आत्मानं) by Yourself (or with Your mind) (आत्मना).

UB: 10.12/15 – For the first time, अर्जुन uses adjectives to describe श्रीकृष्ण – परंब्रह्म, परंधाम, पवित्रं, परमं, पुरुषं, शाश्वतं, दिव्यम्, आदिदेवम् अजं, विभुम्, etc. All these descriptions also appear in texts like श्रीविष्णु सहस्रनाम, श्रीललिता सहस्रनाम, श्रीशिव सहस्रनाम, श्रीगणेश सहस्रनाम, etc. But अर्जुन uses these words because other ऋषि have used these and because श्रीकृष्ण Himself used some of these words to describe Himself (Ch 9).  And while he also agrees because he has full श्रद्धा in the words of श्रीकृष्ण, this is NOT based on his own experiential vision.  And therefore,  he says that while others use these words,  only परम् can know Himself by Himself. No one else really knows and he also merely “believes” (though still skeptical internally).

PA: you yourself know yourself !! only Param can know himself !! Beautiful! This idea has been mentioned innumerable times in Gurbani

UB: Exactly the same expression 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

UB: From Tuesday, this chapter will get into the core of its intent – it should be fun. This chapter can be taken as a summary of exactly the same expression conveyed in the रुद्रम् that comes in the यजुर्वेद which is more detailed. So once one finishes this, One must try to get hold of a good commentary of that text too – but there are not many good commentaries though there are many translations.

UB: वक्तुमर्हस्यशेषेण दिव्या ह्यात्मविभूतयः।याभिर्विभूतिभिर्लोकानिमांस्त्वं व्याप्यतिष्ठसि।।10.16।।

10.16. You (त्वं) are [alone] capable of fully (अशेषेण) (without leaving out anything) describing (वक्तुम् अर्हसि) the auspicious (दिव्या) manifesting powers (याभि र्विभूतिभि:) of Yours, by which manifesting powers of Yours (आत्म विभूतयः) indeed (हि) You remain (तिष्ठसि) pervading (व्याप्य) these worlds (इमान् लोकान्).

कथं विद्यामहं योगिंस्त्वां सदापरिचिन्तयन्। केषु केषु च भावेषुचिन्त्योऽसि भगवन्मया।।10.17।।

10.17 O योगिन्!  (while) Always (सदा) contemplating You everywhere (परिचिन्तयन्), How can (कथं) I (अहं), know You (त्वां विद्याम्)? And in what (केषु केषु च) things (भावेषु च), O Lord (भगवन्) , are you (असि) to be meditated upon (चिन्त्य:) by Me (मया)?

विस्तरेणात्मनो योगं विभूतिं च जनार्दन।भूयः कथय तृप्तिर्हि श्रृण्वतो नास्तिमेऽमृतम्।।10.18।।

10.18 O जनार्दन! Please tell me again (भूयः कथय) in detail (विस्तरेण) about the attainment of Yourself (आत्मनो योगं) and glories (विभूतिं च). Because (हि) I have (मे) no (न अस्ति) satiation (तृप्ति:) by hearing (श्रृण्वत:) Your ambrosial words (अमृतम्).

UB: 10.16/18 – After a few words of praise,  अर्जुन comes to the point. He says that श्रीकृष्ण pervades all of Universe through his विभूति. While I understand this theoretically,  how do I get a sense of this practically?  How do I do चिन्तन of You living in this world? I am enjoying this conversation very much. Please keep talking.  Tell me again your विभूति in much more elaborate manner since I do not want you to stop talking about Yourself. अर्जुन is thus exhibiting his trait as a wonderful student who is fully love with the topic being conveyed by his teacher. Equally,  he must be wondering how come his best friend, though brilliant, can suddenly talk that He is भगवान् Himself.  So each time श्रीकृष्ण stops,  अर्जुन prods Him to speak further so as to get this matter resolved. And भगवान् continues.

PA: How do I keep you in remembrance while living on this world !  Beautiful !

🙏🙏

PA: Some thoughts on the outer actions: Normal interactions in business involving people – one would automatically be transparent and honest in ones dealing – because God resides in each fellow human.  Quality of whatever one does will be better I suppose as how could one offer something that is stale and rotten to God?

Some thoughts on internal interaction: Give your fullest to whatever the present moment demands of you and don’t let your anxieties (bringing future worries into the present or past regrets)! That’s the theory where when one is calm and centered it’s easier to deliver the best to the present Moment however in practice our attachments springing from deep down desires and beliefs that a loss or gain of certain ‘things’ causes us into state of excitement or anxiety and this affects the quality of present moment. The future moment is any way not there! And the past is also not there! So logically only present is what we have hence nothing stops us right now from doing what’s expected from us! It’s a life long struggle to really let go of all fruits and act with utmost zeal in the present!

UB: श्री भगवानुवाच

हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि दिव्याह्यात्मविभूतयः। प्राधान्यतः कुरुश्रेष्ठनास्त्यन्तो विस्तरस्य मे।।10.19।।

10.19. The भगवान् said! Well now (हन्त). O कुरुश्रेष्ठ! I will tell (कथयिष्यामि) to you (ते) the extraordinary (दिव्या:) glories of Mine (आत्म विभूतयः) wherever there is importance (प्राधान्यतः) since (हि) there would be no end to (अन्त: न अस्ति) My (मे) detailed description (विस्तरस्य).

अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः।अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एवच।।10.20।।

10.20 O गुडाकेश! I am (अहं) the Self (आत्मा) residing in the minds (आशय स्थितः) of all beings (सर्वभूत), and I am (अहं) the beginning (आदिश्च) and the middle (मध्यं च) as also the end (अन्त एव च) of (all) beings (भूतानाम्).

UB: 10.19/20 (1) – भगवान् uses the words हन्तते which can be read as – “Oh!!  Come on. I have already told you so much. How come this is still unclear to you? “. But out of His love for His शिष्य, He continues. And as is apt here,  अर्जुन is given a संबोधन as गुडाकेश,  the one who has conquered sleep.  Typical response when someone is listening to अध्यात्म is to fall asleep 😊. अर्जुन however is approaching this topic with a प्रीतिपूर्वकम् attitude and श्रीकृष्ण can visibly see this enthusiasm and hence probably used गुडाकेश as an apt संबोधन here. This attitude towards अध्यात्म has excited the teacher too. There was a famous 90 year old Guru who once remarked wryly – “I know soo much that I am keen to pass on. But no one wants ब्रह्मज्ञान and sole reason why they visit me is to get something out of me. And I am still waiting for such an eager शिष्य”.

UB: 10:19/20 (2) Because His list of विभूति is endless, He says that He will give out only the प्रधान (prominent) ones only. And in line with the Indian style where the best is revealed right at the start, He says,  He is the आत्मा in all beings. And it is this आत्मा that triggers the beginning as birth,  the middle as our life and oversees our end too as death. All beings rest in Him – He is the sole connecting link that connects all beings as primary background material. So whether a person is a भक्त/ नास्तिक, high/low, plant/ animal/ bacteria, etc,  he/she/it is sustained by the आत्मा only – this is thus a Universal idea. Anyone who says he stands for humanity is not really noble from an अध्यात्म view since he is excluding other life forms who too are sustained by आत्मा.

UB: 10.19/20 (3) – The नमस्ते idea in India comes from this central अध्यात्म idea of ourselves. If it is the आत्मा that connects all,  when we meet another,  we thus physically join two holds to symbolically express that let the two come together and become one in the external world too as both of are One internally already from a तात्विक point anyway.

UB: Some reactions: 1) I think we must be honest only with honest folks and dishonest with dishonest folks. Yes – same One rests in all but if the person is disconnected with the One (which most are), their outer orientation must not be ignored. So if we are not nasty with someone who is being nasty with us, we are doing disservice to the One within us too. Now, whether the other person is really nasty or is it our own perception is a separate debate altogether 😀.

UB: What we call as present is fully dependent on my past (learnings,  actions,  etc) and all our actions today are done with a purpose that is based on future. So past,  present and future are intricately connected and cannot be detached from one another. Past,  present and future together represent total time and all actions need to be thus done with a total time idea in mind. And in the total mind state,  One needs to connect with Sanatan ideas like – Sat,  Chit, Anand as well as other eternal virtues (we discussed these a few days back in this Ch itself). Thus,  living in present alone is a non-starter whereas living in total time aligned with eternal Dharma ideas is what real living means. But while is a play of words,  I have no clue how to make these lines into a living reality on a daily basis 😀😀. This needs to be studied more……

PS: Interesting.  And perhaps helpful.  😀 Are there instances in the Mahabharat where good people are dishonest or nasty in response to such actions from others?  Just curious where this interpretation comes from… thanks.

UB: Isn’t Krishna not telling Arjuna to kill his brothers/ relatives? Krishna himself killed Shishupala. Yudhistira himself, post war,  dragged Duryodhana from below the pool and got him killed. No mercy was shown. UB: So many instances…..

VB: That is not dishonesty.  Too tempting to post views. But job will not allow. My view in a nutshell. Behave same with all.

PS: I see.  So it is allowed in the context of a fight for upholding धर्म, but not otherwise as merely a response to nastiness?  Though I’m still having trouble separating the two – a fight for धर्म can be easily be misrepresented as a justification for bad behavior.

VB: Allowing it leaves the entire gate open for all. Sorry. Have to stop. This is too tempting. Will end up here only.

PS: The horse has bolted after leaving the gate open…  😀

PK: Interesting discussion – I am having trouble with this too although I am probably a  nasty woman 😃😃 (pun intended in terms of US election ) 😃😃😃

UB: A mother has LOVE for the child. In this sense, she is the same at all times. But if a child eats mud,  she slaps him and if he steals butter,  she kisses him. Different actions demand different expressions with the same idea of LOVE inside. A judge similarly holds on to JUSTICE/ TRUTH and jails a criminal or release an innocent person. A businessman holds on to PROFIT MAXIMIZATION. A student is focussed on PASSING, an army on DEFEATING ENEMY. So three aspects are critical :

 1) What set of values does one value dearly?  Patience,  Forgiveness, Love,  Ahimsa,  etc.  Plot these on X-axis

2) What is the overall remit that drives your actions – self-only,  family,  extended family,  nation,  universe,  etc. Plot these on Y-axis

3)  Outer action become easy to determine when one plots what point in the graph one is at.  Let us assume that we are honest in tabling the chart.

UB: It is evident that external actions must differ even though one holds on to the same values inside since the remit of application of these values varies from person to person or situation to situation. It is not easy for lowly evolved person to take the right external action despite drawing a graph. So at lower levels, we follow a Guru or a role model like parents,  friends,  etc who we think fits our profile. As we grow,  we then hold on the ideas conveyed by case studies in Puranas/ Panchatantra. As we evolve further,  we try to hold on to Sanatan principles like Ahimsa, Kshama, etc where role models are more evolved. As we reach the highest,  we need not hold on to anything since our behavior by years of practice already has become Dharmic. And we achieve freedom owing to the spontaneity cultivated by years of experience – that is the idea.

UB: Realized that the thesis is incomplete – need to work more 😀

AK: Nicely said. Still ruminating on this but what you said above felt different from what you said earlier on ‘ act dishonestly with a dishonest person’.

UB: Which is why I realized that my thesis is incomplete

PA: Very nicely and beautifully put👏🏻👏🏻👍👍

VB: Be honest to all. Try to avoid dishonest folks or minimize interaction and if you have to, be true to yourself

PA: Well said VB

PK: Life is fragile. We should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly and if possible sincerely. It is too easy not to make the effort and then wring our hands and repent when it’s too late.  I like this philosophy – it’s not an exact quote but mostly identical from one of my favourite wise authors Haruki Murakami

PA: Beautifully said! PK 🙏🙏

UB: आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषांरविरंशुमान्। मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मिनक्षत्राणामहं शशी।।10.21।।

10.21. Of the sons of Aditi (आदित्यानाम्), I am विष्णु; of the र्ज्योतिषाम्, the Sun (रवि) with its rays (अंशुमान्); of the Maruts, I am मरीचि; of the objects in the night sky (नक्षत्राणाम्), I am the Moon (शशी).

UB: 10.21 (1) – भगवान् gives illustrations of prominent विभूति which अर्जुन (and anyone with ज्ञान of पुराण) are familiar with. And what one must notice is that भगवान् gives ३ types of विभूति – प्रथम पुरुष,  मध्यम पुरुष & उत्तम पुरुष. His list will also include पुल्लिंग, स्त्रीलिंग & नपुंसकलिंग too. By the end,  all categories are covered signifying that all is भगवान् and nothing is left out.  So the list starts with १२ आदित्य representing १२ phases of the movement of सूर्य each having a different name and the one having the name विष्णु is भगवान् Himself. विष्णु here is not परब्रह्म but stands for सूर्य in the कार्तिक मास which is seen as a pious period. Similarly,  there are ७ मरुत out of which He is the prominent one named मरीचि.  There are mystical meanings of words like आदित्य, मरुत,  etc but I will avoid going into these for now.

UB: 10.21 (2) – Among all objects that glow He is सूर्य and among all objects that glow in the night sky,  He is the power operating within the चंद्र too. Now,  this may unsettle a “educated” man since he knows that the सूर्य & चंद्र are not the brightest in our Universe. Maybe भगवान् does not know enough of Science making him express primitive statements. To avoid falling into such “enlightened wisdom” 😊,  one must turn to what अर्जुन is seeking – he wants the विभूति of भगवान that he can SEE. And howsoever brighter a नक्षत्र is than सूर्य,  it cannot be seen as a विशेष विभूति as they are not विशेष to our eye. But सूर्य stuns us with its majesty and a चंद्र by its beauty. No matter how bright a tubelight glows outside,  what is of value to me is the tubelight of my bedroom. Howsoever beautiful someone else’s mother may be, my mother is the most Divine to me. Hence,  I bow down to it as a विभूति of भगवान् IN MY experiential realm.

UB: 10:21 (3) – Till the advent of modern Science that converted our Sun into a lifeless ball of fire,  most ancients sought inspiration from the Sun. Sun teaches us discipline (since it never stops rising even for a day),  Sun gives life to others and seeks nothing for itself,  even when it sets,  it gives itself to us through the moon,  etc.  Thus,  it is the highest ideal for तप, दान & निष्काम कर्म like no other indeed and represents the best विभूति of भगवान्. Like आत्मा,  it acts an eternal  साक्षी since nothing escapes its eye during day as well as night (via the moon). Sun is glorified in almost all texts from the ऋगवेद to रामायण. And the great अद्वैत जगद्गुरु recognized शौर along with वैष्णव, गाणपत्य, शैव, स्कान्द & शाक्तेय as valid paths to attain परब्रह्म. Therefore, we have Sun temples in various parts of our पुण्यभूमि.  So why bother about an abstract bookish भगवान् – just watch the Sun and bow down to it as भगवान् or as a willing उपाधि through whom भगवान् is expressing Herself in all Her resplendent glory.