वेदानां सामवेदोऽस्मि देवानामस्मिवासवः।इन्द्रियाणां मनश्चास्मिभूतानामस्मि चेतना।।10.22।।

10.22 Among the Vedas (वेदानां) I am सामवेद:; among the देव (देवानाम) I am इंद्र (वासवः). Among the sense organs (इन्द्रियाणां च) I am the mind (मन:), and I am the बुद्धि (चेतना) in creatures (भूतानाम्).

UB: 10:22 (1) – He is इंद्र among all देवता. Next – While He is present in all वेद, भगवान has chosen to say that He is सामवेद – why?  The reason is that while all वेद are मंत्र chanted as per the intonation पद्धति that applies to all वेद, सामवेद is however chanted in the way of a song. It is for this reason that all Indian classical music is said to have descended from the various स्वरा contained within सामवेद. And भगवान likes the कीर्तन style of addressing him – in fact, all of us like songs rather than a deadpan style of conveying an idea. Since His grandeur is accentuated via a song, He says that among all वेद, He is in the सामवेद.

UB: 10:22 (2) – And then he adds that He is our मन & बुद्धि too. मन is seen as the sixth sense organ after eyes, ears, etc and coordinates the signals from all different sense organs. Without such a coordinating agent, the impulses sent by the eye and the ear simultaneously may confuse us thoroughly. And बुद्धि makes us cognize the signals sent by the मन to draw meaning from our experience.

UB: 10:22 (3) – Now if our मन & बुद्धि work well, is it our own greatness?  NO. It merely means that the light of परम् is shining more brightly through our मन & बुद्धि. The same electricity glows more bright from a bulb which is free of dust – the more the मल (dust) is cleared, we will shine more. So remove the मल within us in the form अहम् and मम भावना (I-ness and My-ness). Once this is removed, the परम् within us in the form of मन & बुद्धि will shine in its full glory.  Nothing is ours really, even the so-called “our own” मन & बुद्धि merely operate as a विभूति of Her within us.

PA: Absolutely beautiful! Everything in us and around us is vibhuti of God within us. It’s our false belief that makes us believe that we are owner or doer or enjoyer of anything which causes us misery.

UB: 👍🏼👍🏼Since the names of certain classes of देवता are being mentioned here, I will dwell tomorrow on the idea behind ३३ देवता mentioned in Indian texts.

PA: Just thinking about it that every living thing except humans seem to have sort of a set function which it does again and again only we humans have this possibility where we have this potential of doing something different and new.  In a way it’s our desire for the infinite as we are part of God hence we desire to do and reach more and feel happy doing something that didn’t do before. The caveat is that this outward expansion of ours when we mistake it that it’s I that am doing it! And strengthen our egos 😊 We do it only because of this power house that is delivering the energy to us

UB: रुद्राणां शङ्करश्चास्मि वित्तेशोयक्षरक्षसाम्। वसूनां पावकश्चास्मि मेरुःशिखरिणामहम्।।10.23।।

10.23. And of the Rudras (रुद्राणां), I am शङ्कर; of the यक्ष and the राक्षस (रक्षसाम्) , [I am] the कुबेर (वित्त ईश:); of the Vasus (वसूनां), I am the अग्नि (पावक:); of the peaks (शिखरिणाम्), I am the मेरुः.

UB: 10:23 (1) – रुद्र, यक्ष, राक्षस and वसु are various classes of beings as per Indian texts. And भगवान् is asking अर्जुन to see Him as the prominent one among these classes. He is present in राक्षस too – no one is excluded. So who are these रुद्र, वसु, आदित्य, etc?  These are to be seen as elemental principles that shape our Universe both at a macro as well as micro level (ब्रह्माण्ड – पिंडाण्ड) level. ब्रृहद् अरण्यक उपनिषद् refers to ३३ principles देवता or forces that operate at the पिंडाण्ड (body) level as below:

UB: 10:23(2) – १२ आदित्य are १२ phases of the Sun in a year that shape our lives. ११ रुद्र are the ten senses and mind.  रुद्र comes from the root word रुद् which means ‘to cry’. Inasmuch as these ११ subject us to their dictates and make us yield to their demands & clamours and make us cry if we violate their demands, they are called रुद्र.

UB: 10:23(3): वसु means that which resides. That which is an abode or support of something is the वसु of that thing. Now there are ८ substances out of which everything is made including our own selves. These are Fire, Earth, Air, Atmosphere, Sun,  Moon,  Heaven and Stars. These are primal forces (will not into inner meanings of these now) and what we see as our physical Sun or Moon is a concretization of these primal forces. Our bodies are nothing else but conglomeration these वसु only. इंद्र is a force by which one asserts or feels a confidence in oneself. This hidden hope and energy is present in all beings and is thus our ruler whose energy of asserting itself gives a drive to life.

UB: 10:23 (4): प्रजापति is identified with यज्ञ or sacrifice. There is a compulsion upon everyone to accede to the law of the Universal. All of us offer what we have and what we are in some measure to the direction of something which we regard as the goal. This goal, say like climbing Everest, transcends our limited identity and when seized with this goal,  we feel compelled to yield to it for which we give us our normal selves by sacrificing it. While we appear free, it is actually a conditioned freedom since it is conditioned by a law that operates within us which calls for sacrifice of us by surrender of our value to the Eternal Value. This force that drives us to give up or sacrifice ourselves for something bigger is the प्रजापति.

UB: It is this ability to want to expand and go beyond ourselves is what is called as प्रवृति. And this is what even ब्रह्मा did at the start of the Universe where he sacrificed himself and projected the Universe. This act of sacrifice where one gives up the lower I to move towards a Higher I is similarly being replicated by all of us as we pursue some desire or another. We feel compelled to do this owing to the presence of ब्रह्मा or प्रजापति देवता within us. But because our desires are not पूर्णत्वम्, we keep doing यज्ञ or sacrificing ourselves again and again just as ब्रह्मा projects this Universe again and again. The day we give us up for the Highest, no further projection becomes necessary.

UB: पुरोधसां च मुख्यं मां विद्धि पार्थबृहस्पतिम्।सेनानीनामहं स्कन्दःसरसामस्मि सागरः।।10.24।।

10.24 O पार्थ! know (विद्धि) me (मां) to be बृहस्पति, the मुख्य among the priests in charge (पुरोधसां च) . Among comanders of armies (सेनानीनाम्) I am (अहं) स्कन्द; among natural bodies of water (सरसाम्), I am the ocean (सागरः).

महर्षीणां भृगुरहं गिरामस्म्येकमक्षरम्।यज्ञानां जपयज्ञोऽस्मि स्थावराणांहिमालयः।।10.25।।

10.25. Of the महा ऋषि (महर्षीणां), I am (अहं) भृगु; of the words (गिराम्) , I am the Single-syllable (ॐ) (एकम् अक्षरम्); of the यज्ञ (यज्ञानां), I am (अहं अस्मि) the जप (mental repetition of Her name); of the unmoving (mountain ranges) (स्थावराणां), I am हिमालयः.

UB: 10:24/25 (1) – भगवान् then adds – He is स्कन्द, the son of शिव,  who commanded the देवता army to defeat तारकासुर. What is the difference between शिखर (peak) and स्थावर (those that are stationery)? मेरु पर्वत is said to be the mountains that are pious for the देवलोक while हिमालय are pious in our मृत्युलोक. Hence, both are given separately. And सागर is rightly selected as Him among water bodies since none other water body can express grandeur/ tranquility/ fury as an ocean. So we can bend down with humility in front of it by admiring its grandeur seeing भगवान् in an ocean too.

UB: 10:23/25 (2) – जप is extolled as highest form of यज्ञ. जप, as you may already know,  is the continuous chanting of the name of भगवान्. यज्ञ involves giving where one offers various द्रव्य पदार्थ to the देवता who in turn offer us the goodies that we seek.  Give & take is thus the usual norm of life. Now जप is seen as the Highest form of यज्ञ because this requires no द्रव्य पदार्थ and thus avoids हिंसा. जप can be done by all people of वर्ण; there are no restrictions on who can perform जप.  And it is easiest कर्म to perform since it just involves oneself to sit in a single place peacefully to perform it. And,  the ‘giving’ involved in जप is the giving up of oneself since one fully devotes himself to giving up all this time to chanting the name of परब्रह्म with full भक्ति. When one gives up himself (meaning his ego),  he becomes the All,  the Universal.  So जप is stated as the highest form of उपासना.

UB: 10:23 (3) – भृगु has a special place among all ऋषि. And भगवान् says that He is ॐ. ॐ is the primal first word and is the root word vibration within the whole Universe is contained. And it is too detailed a topic to be covered here.

UB: अश्वत्थः सर्ववृक्षाणां देवर्षीणां च नारदः।गन्धर्वाणां चित्ररथः सिद्धानां कपिलोमुनिः।।10.26।।

10.26. Of all trees (सर्ववृक्षाणां), I am (अहं) the Pipal-tree (अश्वत्थः) and of the देव ऋषि,  नारदः; of the गन्धर्व (the Divine musicians) (गन्धर्वाणां), चित्ररथः; of the perfected ones (सिद्धानां), the sage Kapila (कपिल: मुनिः).

उच्चैःश्रवसमश्वानां विद्धिमाममृतोद्भवम्। ऐरावतं गजेन्द्राणांनराणां च नराधिपम्।।10.27।।

10.27. Of the horses (अश्वानां), you should know (विद्धि) Me (माम्) to be the born out of अमृत (अमृतोद्भवम्) उच्चैःश्रवस् (इन्द्र’s horse) (उच्चैःश्रवसम्); of the best elephants (गजेन्द्राणां), the ऐरावत (इन्द्र’s elephant); and among people (नराणां), their king (नर अधिपम्).

UB: 10:26/27 (1) – It becomes interesting now that one begins to see description of trees & animals. So when one sees an अश्वत्थः (पीपल) वृक्ष, one must see it as a विभूति of भगवान् since this वृक्ष displays grandeur or beauty. Some of the glories here are outcomes from the episode of सागर मंथन – the ऐरावत (elephant) or उच्चैःश्रवसम् (horse) are to be taken as विभूति of भगवान्. Wherever one sees beauty or a wondrous personality, bend down to it exclaiming how wonderfully the भगवान् has chosen a certain उपाधि to express Herself.

10:26/27 (2) – कपिल मुनि is a famous सिद्ध पुरुष meaning one who has acquired various forms of सिद्धी. The instructions by कपिल मुनि to his mother, देवाहुति is contained within श्रीमद्भागवतम् and is a masterpiece in itself rivalling other texts.

10:26/27 (3) – Among all human beings, भगवान्  then names a king or a leader as an expression of Him on earth (not a ब्राह्मण). If this text was a concoction by many a ‘wily’ ब्राह्मण as some Indologists have suggested, a ब्राह्मण instead of a क्षत्रिय should have been shown as a विभूति. The reason is obvious if one goes by the flow of earlier expressions – since there is grandeur and leadership quality expressed by a king who leads as per धर्म, he is to be seen as a विभूति of भगवान्. This is not to be seen as deifying of a human being. Any person is not great on his own but if his body is ended up being used by भगवान् to express leadership, he is to be seen as a विभूति of भगवान्.

UB: आयुधानामहं वज्रं धेनूनामस्मिकामधुक्। प्रजनश्चास्मि कन्दर्पःसर्पाणामस्मि वासुकिः।।10.28।।

10.28 Among weapons (आयुधानाम्) I am (अहं अस्मि्) the वज्रं; among cows (धेनूनाम्), I am कामधेनु (कामधुक्) I am deity that is desire (कन्दर्पः) who causes progeny (प्रजन: च), and among serpents (सर्पाणाम्) I am (अहं अस्मि) वासुकि.

UB: 10.28 (1) – Among weapons, वज्र is seen as the most potent as that is His विभूति . As you may know,  वज्र came about from the bones of दधीचि ऋषि whose bones acquired power owing to the intense तपशक्ति that the ऋषि had practiced. Power also thus comes about from तप meaning that a disciplined life gives power to oneself and this तपशक्ति that is already present within us but shines owing to performing तप is nothing else but a विभूति of परम् only.

10.28 (2) – भगवान् is कन्दर्प or popularly known as कामदेव – this is an interesting expression. Sexual desire causes progeny. If this desire was absent, there would have been no life. The intention of भगवान् expressed as ‘Let me be many’ would not have come about if sexual attraction was absent. Sexual desire is thus a nature’s gift for fulfilling its own desire for expansion. And भगवान् says here that sexual attraction for another is His expression within us. And this does not mean we wantonly indulge in it. It means that respecting the भगवान् in it, we use it for the cause of धर्म which is the primary reason nature has given this to us – for progeny. Or we may relish it fully and joyfully without any guilt provided we respect it as a विभूति of परम् within us and thus use it with responsibility and care just like we take care of an expensive car we may acquire (e.g., we will not use a Jaguar to drive for buying groceries).

10:28(3) – कामधेनु, the eternal wish-fulfilling cow that lives with ऋषि वसिष्ठ came out of सागर मंथन as well as वासुकि,  the poison-filled सर्प that coils itself around शिव and was used by देव & असुर for churning – both are विभूति of भगवान्. While वासुकि is filled with poison, शिव becomes its controller and uses it for लोक कल्याण; similarly our own poisonous orientations need to be identified and brought under our control and using them for लोक कल्याण.

UB: अनन्तश्चास्मि नागानां वरुणोयादसामहम्। पितृ़णामर्यमा चास्मि यमःसंयमतामहम्।।10.29।।

10.29 And among (many-headed) snakes (नागानां च) I am (अहं) अनन्त:, and वरुण: among creatures and deities of the waters (यादसाम्). Among the ancestors (पितृ़णाम्) I am Aryama (अर्यमा), and among the maintainers of law and order (संयमताम्) I am (अहं) यम: (King of Death).

UB: 10:29 (1) – The precious verse named वासुकि which is a सर्प (poisonous one), another type of snake is नाग viz many-hooded non-poisonous named as अनंत. अनंत also referred to as आदिशेष meaning that which remains after the entire व्यक्त पप्रञ्च is destroyed.  This, नारायण has a विष्णु form with Conch, Discus,  four hands,  etc which is भगवान् in the form of ईश्वर but this ईश्वर rests on the परा तत्व or ब्रह्म तत्व which is eternal which always IS. भगवान् in अव्यक्त or निर्गुण mode is called as ब्रह्म and in व्यक्त with गुण state is referred to as ईश्वर.

UB: 10:29 (2) –  भगवान् then adds that He is यमः among संयमताम्. संयम means to be in balance and यम: stands for discipline thus highlighting that only a disciplined person can retain his or her balance. And that quality of being disciplined or that which makes discipline possible Is Him only. Equally, यमदेव is also seen as देवता of Death who regulates the lives of all as per their कर्म. यम stands for equilibrium and यम holds the entire Universe in equilibrium as per the कर्म stock of all individuals. If the equilibrium gets distorted, यम invokes death and thus restores the balance. This idea requires more explanation but maybe we can do this at a later date.

UB: 10:29(3) – वरुण is seen as a deity of water in all पुराण. अर्यमा is the head of पितृलोक which is again a space where all people go to immediately post leaving the body. Both are Him only.

UB: प्रह्लादश्चास्मि दैत्यानां कालःकलयतामहम्। मृगाणां च मृगेन्द्रोऽहंवैनतेयश्च पक्षिणाम्।।10.30।।

10.30 And among beings born of दिति (दैत्यानां),  I am प्रह्लाद:, and I am (अहं) Time (कालः) among those who calculate time (कलयताम्) . And among wild animals (मृगाणां) I am the lion (मृग इन्द्र:), and among birds (पक्षिणाम् च) I am Garuda, the son of Vinata (वैनतेय:).

UB: 10:30 (1) – Use of मृग (lion) and गरूड can be easily appreciated since both signify kingliness among animals and birds. In the पुराण event on गरूड, श्रीविष्णु is impressed with गरूड and willingly asks him to seek a वर्दान. गरूड replies that he does not need anything but is instead willing to perform any wish that श्रीविष्णु Himself may seek. श्रीविष्णु then asks गरूड to become His वाहन. And if possible, one must read the गरूड event – it is fascinating and uplifting.

10:30 (2): Earlier, He says that He is इंद्र among देव – he is the son of अदिति (that which is not divisible). Now, among दैत्य (or the sons of दिति also referred to as असुर), He is प्रह्लाद, the great भक्त of नारायण in श्रीमद्भागवतम्. Everyone must at least read the story of प्रह्लाद directly from श्रीमद्भागवतम् if interested in getting an idea of Highest wisdom or marks of a true भक्त.

10:30(3) – And then He says that among all things that are calculated, He is time. What is the real calculator in our lives?  Our कर्म. Every moment of our life, whatever action is undertaken by us,  it is being calculated or tabulated and this outcome of calculation has a bearing on our future life. This supercomputer that has an updated record of all our कर्म is given the name of चित्रगुप्त. This record is गुप्त meaning it is hidden but is indeed maintained. It is this record that is used by यम to regulate our life (and death). This चित्रगुप्त is again a विभूति of भगवान्.

UB: पवनः पवतामस्मि रामः शस्त्रभृतामहम्।झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मिजाह्नवी।।10.31।।

10.31 Of those that purify (पवताम्), I am air (पवनः); among the wielders of weapons (शस्त्रभृताम्), I am रामः. Among aquatic creatures too (झषाणां च), I am the shark (मकर:); I am Ganga (जाह्नवी) among rivers (स्रोतसाम्).

UB: 10:31 (1) – Air is a great purifier; if there is smell inside the house, we open the windows and air purifies the atmosphere. If one can thus bow down to the life-giving purifying air around us, we are bowing down to Him.

UB: 10:31 (2): And He is राम. If one reads रामायण, one is amazed by the prowess of राम in the battle scenes – even रावण is struck by the stunning manner in which राम draws His weapons out and fights. To see this playing out itself was divine. राम is seen as special during the time of the गीता itself unlike what the Western Indologists seem to suggest that राम became popular only in the past few centuries. And therefore, राम is always pictured with his कोदण्ड, his bow and arrow and called by one of His many names, कोदण्ड राम.

UB: 10:31 (3) – And He is गंगा – I need not to sing eulogies of गंगा in this forum as this would be known to all. मकर: is either translated as a shark while some others translate this as a whale. Take your pick.

UB: चित्रगुप्त and यम here too 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼. Is the translation right? What is meant by the point about them singing here?  The word used in Punjabi is विचारे and सवारे.

UB: सर्गाणामादिरन्तश्च मध्यं चैवाहमर्जुन।अध्यात्मविद्या विद्यानां वादःप्रवदतामहम्।।10.32।।

10.32. Of the cycles of manifestation of the Universe (सर्गाणाम्), I am (अहं) the beginning (आदि), the end (अन्त:) and also the middle (मध्यं च एव), O अर्जुन ! Of all the fields of knowledge (विद्यानां), [I am] the अध्यात्म विद्या; of those who discuss (प्रवदताम्), I am the argument (वादः).

UB: 10:32 (1) – The cycle of manifestation of the Universe is called as सर्ग. Now, भगवान् says that He is the start, middle and the end of this Universe. As stated earlier, in the Indian tradition, we do not use the word “Creation” but instead mean projection. Since “something” cannot come from “nothing”, the “something” that is projected onto as the Universe is merely a विभूति of भगवान् Himself. It is not something separate from Him. It is Him only at the start, middle and end. He is not watching the Universe as an outsider but is watching Himself from inside (since there can be nothing outside भगवान्).

UB: 10:32 (2) – We discussed already at the start of Ch 9 that among all types of विद्या,  अध्यात्म विद्या is the Highest. Any other विद्या is external to oneself like भूतविद्या (physics) or रसायनविद्या (Chemistry) and has an end learning day beyond which there is nothing to learn while अध्यात्म विद्या is the only one which is learnt and practiced throughout life till the last day and it is still not completed.

UB: 10:32(3) – And lastly, there are three types of argument – the reverse psychology argument called as वितंड where one is not arguing for pursuing truth,  the arguments given merely to win viz जल्प where the goal again is to play with words and not get to truth. But भगवान् says He is the वाद, the ‘clinching argument’ that reveals the Truth. Thus, whether in a लौकिक legal case or the ब्रह्मवाक्य  line in a debate on अध्यात्म विद्या, when one gives clinching arguments establishing the Truth, learn to see the operation of भगवान् within such an argument. I love this विभूति. One cannot miss the विभूति of भगवान् if one develops a दृष्टि of seeing Her in everything and if we still cannot, that is our दृष्टिदोष.

PA: Actually on this chapters of the Bhagwat it’s so beautifully described that all that we see around us, all that sustains us , all that causes us to act, the cause behind causes and doer and the receiver, everything belongs to god and comes from god. There is a sutra in the japji describing all the sustainers of the the universe singing the praise of God! (As in the screenshot) why praise God? Actually the whole of Gurbani is based on the idea of following and living on the divine Hukum / order / will / Razaa and the way is to keep remembering and singing gods praises because what else is left for a mortal as God the understanding .. So for example sun is also happily doing ikeeps doing its job of providing life energy to everyone (that’s the work assigned to Sun by God) so it relentlessly does this all the time and remembers that although it’s so powerful yet behind its power is finally the all-pervasive omnipresent brahm. As even the sun has a finite life time and all these vibhutis know that what is behind them .. hence they do their assigned work and keep thinking of the Gods grandeur and in awe of God. It’s only we humans that cannot see this;

UB: Wonderful – understand the idea of विभूति singing the praise of भगवान् since one kind of दृष्टि is to see it as an agent of भगवान्. I guess once we shed our ‘literal’ दृष्टि and adopt a ‘poetic’ दृष्टि, it will become easy to pick up these ideas. In the पुराण,  it is expressed that श्री is always devoted to नारायण or पार्वती to शिव as a पतिव्रता which is nothing else but विभूति intricately connected to भगवान्. Different ways of expressing poetically…..

PA: your example of the light bulb with the actual source and power coming from the electricity without electricity the bulb is useless so are all the different vibhutis they know well that what’s the sustaining source behind them.

UB: Yes – electricity analogy is good except with one addition in this chapter. Here, the suggestion is that the bulb is a condensation of electricity in a particular form. Bulb is not different from electricity since after all, there is only One substance everywhere. It is like Sunlight inside home is no different from Sunlight outside home though the light inside home seems like a smaller manifestation. So the sunlight inside home is a विभूति – so if one learns the properties of विभूति, One can learn about the wider Sunlight too. Both are one only. That makes this assertion very interesting since we need not say that Sunlight inside home depends on the Sun outside but say that the same Sun outside home is the Sun inside too. 😀

PA: Beautiful!

UB: अक्षराणामकारोऽस्मि द्वन्द्वःसामासिकस्य च।अहमेवाक्षयः कालोधाताऽहं विश्वतोमुखः।।10.33।।

10.33. Of the letters (or sounds) of the alphabet (अक्षराणाम्), I am अ (अकार:); of the compounds (सामासिकस्य च), the द्वन्द्वः; none but Me (अहम् एव) is the immortal Time (अक्षय काल:); The all-pervasive (विश्वतोमुखः) giver (धाता) (of कर्म फल) is Me (अहं).

UB: 10:33 (1) – In संस्कृत भाषा, अ is a fundamental word that is present in all words and makes a clear expression possible. क is made up of क्+अ and त made up of त्+अ. Thus, अ is present in all words. As per the संस्कृत विषय on phonetics, all अक्षर have come out of ‘अ’. You may be aware that every अक्षर has a specific अधिष्ठान देवता and the अधिष्ठान for ‘अ’ is ब्रह्मा since this सृष्टि has been projected by ब्रह्मा. Thus, भगवान् says that among all अक्षर,  He is the most fundamental expression, अ.

UB: 10:33 (2) – सामास means a compound word in संस्कृत grammar formed from joining words. And there are multiple types of सामास I am told that there are total of 35 types of सामास totally. It is said that in poems like श्यामला दण्डक,  कालीदास used सामास words that span an entire page. Now भगवान् says that out of all variants of सामास, He is द्वन्द्व which is a compound word created by joining two words – thus, राम: & कृष्ण: becomes रामकृष्णौ.  Now only संस्कृत purists can explain the beauty of द्वन्द्व. From our perspective, if and when we chant a द्वन्द्व, we can experience Him simply by uttering a द्वन्द्व. All we need is to be alert and conscious of His presence while speaking (or listening). Not difficult, is it?  😊

UB: 10:33 (3) – And He names the Immortal Time as His own विभूति. He is also the विश्वतोमुख धाता. He is the only giver of कर्मफल to all at all times. Whatever one gets in life, in the past, present or future, One gets on account of Him only.  He only keeps track of all our कर्मफल for every कर्म that we do and gives us what we need in tune with our कर्म only. He is thus the Universal giver.

UB: मृत्युः सर्वहरश्चाहमुद्भवश्च भविष्यताम्।कीर्तिः श्रीर्वाक्च नारीणां स्मृतिर्मेधा धृतिःक्षमा।।10.34।।

10.34. I am the Death (मृत्युः) that carries away all (सर्व हर: च) and also the Birth (च उद्भव:) of all that are to be born (भविष्यताम्); and among the feminine (स्त्रीलिंग words in संस्कृतं), I am the Fame (कीर्तिः), Wealth (श्री), Speech (वाक्), Memory (स्मृति), Wisdom (मेधा), resolve (धृतिः) & accommodation (क्षमा).

UB: 10:34 (1) – I am Death and I am that which is born in the future. Death is thus always seen as not a permanent aspect but a transformation. Mud dies and a mud plate is born; mud plate dies and mud cup is born…..  and eventually everything turns back into mud which again then turns into a mud plate. But mud is always there and this is why one of the three aspects of भगवान् is known as सत्. सत् is translated as Truth and what is true is that which ALWAYS exists – rest all is temporary transformation. Do read 2:16 again. So I am a boy; then a teen, then a man,  then a married (harried) man, then an old man – but the “I” remains all the time. Will this “I” go away post death? As per Vedanta, there is an aspect of “I” that always remains and that is सत् or the ब्रह्म तत्व within us. “Something” can only come from “Something” and cannot come from “Nothing”. A “Cause” does not become a fully different “Effect” but it is merely the same “Cause” that has donned a new exterior as a situation demands. The core “Cause”, our आत्मा तत्व, the real “I”, is always there – reconnect back with this सत् and become free.

UB: 10:34 (2): Certain words in संस्कृत are used in feminine form – कीर्तिः, श्री, वाक्, स्मृति, र्मेधा, धृतिः, क्षमा – why?  It is a very interesting question. One meaning of this verse could be that भगवान् is saying that all these feminine (not female) भाव in all people are Him only. Equally, one cannot but admire at the reality that aspects like speech (वाक्), memory (स्मृति), perseverance (धृतिः), big heartedness (क्षमा), higher IQ (मेधा), etc are more prominent in women and it is these qualities that gives them beauty/ grace/ majesty (श्री). Take these away from anyone and you are left with a dirty male 😊. And भगवान् says that these grand भाव that make a human being civilized, these feminine (not female) भाव in all are Him and Him alone. Wow!!!!!!  I love this one. All these भाव are revered as देवी in Indian texts and if these permeate my persona, the महादेवी is fully expressing Herself through me – what else can anyone ask for in life?

PA: Love these lines!! The core Sat is always there reconnect with this core and become free as rest is all temporary. All that’s visible and the invisible vibhutis are gods expressions of grandeur.  I think even that all is temporary? Because they all finally are just symbols pointing towards God but not god himself as Bhagwan is formless timeless and death less. Mediate and connect to this Sat by looking at his wonderful grandeur of the Lord which is everywhere. And originating from the sat. Fully agree about the dirty male that’s left back after all the daivik qualities are taken out  😃👍👍🙏🏻 A small consolation is that each of us male has also feminine energies although less dominant 🙏🏻😄😊

UB: 😀😀 Yes – we are all a mix of masculine and feminine with one aspect probably more dominant than the other.

PK: Curious if there are ” male” attributes described? Is it coming in the next shlokas.

UB: No idea – the ones described yesterday were specifically highlighted as feminine. Else, nothing else has been stated

UB: बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्रीछन्दसामहम्। मासानांमार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनांकुसुमाकरः।।10.35।।

10.35. Likewise (तथा), among the सामवेद verses (साम्नां), I am the बृहत्साम; of the metres (छन्दसाम्), I am the गायत्री; of the months (मासानां), I am the मार्गशीर्ष: and of the seasons (ऋतूनाम्), I am the season abounding with flowers (कुसुम आकरः).

UB: 10:35 (1) – अर्जुन, who can be expected to be familiar with वेद can appreciate what is the significance of बृहत्साम within सामवेद. Thus, not only is सामवेद special, बृहत्साम is special within सामवेद (just like श्रीरुद्रम् is special within यजुर्वेद). And He is the बृहत्साम, the highest and revered part of the सामवेद and when one is chanting this, One must feel the presence of भगवान् through and through.

UB: 10:35 (2) – Next, all of वेद is sung in seven primary छंद (metres). People familiar with संध्यावंदन कर्म will be familiar with these seven –  गायत्री,  उष्णिक्, अनुष्टुप,  बृहति, पंक्ति, त्रुष्टुप, जगत्य:. And special among all of these is गायत्री. Equally, the word छंद is another word for मंत्र and among all the मंत्र, the गायत्री मंत्र which is uttered in गायत्री छंद is seen as the highest. A गायत्री छंद has three lines with each line having 8 sylabbles and each line has been taken from the three prominent वेद viz ऋग्, साम & यजुस्. Thus, even if one does not chant the entire वेद, even if one chants the गायत्री मंत्र, One gets the same benefit. But this is a massive topic and I will leave it at that.

UB: 10:35 (3) And मार्गशीर्ष, which is roughly from mid-Dec to mid-Jan, a pious month for various reasons, is again to be seen as a month that भगवान् says as expressing Himself. And among all seasons, He is the favourite ऋतु, the वसंत ऋतु, when the flowers bloom, and here referred to as कुसुम आकार:, wonderful name used by the भगवान् here. Hence, these times used to be littered with rituals/ festivals to remember भगवान् with more intensity though these have ebbed in recent times as we have become more “scientific”. 😊

UB: I am indulging in novice talk here to convey the idea of male-female perspectives in Indian texts. There is an aspect of “being” where भगवान् remains in सत्-चित्-आनन्द mode and this may be taken as masculine or beyond गुण. We call this state as ब्रह्म. There is another feminine aspect called as प्रकृति or माया which has three other modes – इच्छा-ज्ञान-क्रिया. इच्छा is the expression “Let Me be many”. ज्ञान is the actual method by which the इच्छा can be realized and क्रिया is the actual act of materializing. As per अद्वैत, formula works as follows:

ब्रह्म/ पुरुषोत्तम – Highest mode (beyond गुण or male/female)

प्रकृति/ माया – feminine element

ब्रह्म + प्रकृति (इच्छा-ज्ञान-क्रिया) = ईश्वर

ईश्वर = State where माया is under the control of ब्रह्म

मनुष्य = State where माया is in a controlling position.

UB: Now this ईश्वर state is described as व्यक्त state from the standpoint of ब्रह्म while from our own perspective, it is still अव्यक्त. ईश्वर may also be taken as ब्रह्मा (as against ब्रह्म). Do note that ईश्वर state itself, प्रकृति and पुरुष (feminine and masculine) have already fused and hence we as products of ब्रह्मा also have these two fused within us.

UB: So why is the above important? Once Meera goes to an Ashram to meet a very famous Guru. This man however had put a rule that he will not engage with women at all and used to keep them away. When this was conveyed to Meera, she replied – “Is anyone male in this world? I thought that there is only one male viz कृष्ण and rest all are women only.” The Guru immediately rushed out and apologized. This idea thus sees the Highest as masculine (mixed up as male) or father. Even Vedanta at many places suggests that one must shed प्रकृति and become ब्रह्म. This view thus seems to regard feminine as a baggage at certain places though careful reading will also expose is to statements that the Highest is neither male or female. Meera on the other hand celebrates Krishna as Her Male husband but sees all people in the world (males and females) as women only, as Gopis. Many भक्त (female or male) are of this mould but while some see भगवान् as male, some as father, some as mother, many others see भगवान् as neither male or female. Take your pick – idea is more important than male – female politics.

UB: Other दर्शन that is found in Kashmir Shaivism as well as various पुराण take a different approach. They see the Highest as both male and female simultaneously. For them, both Shiva and Uma are not separable just like we cannot really separate Sun from its Sunrays even though we may use different words to describe each of these. This mother and father collectively be in निवृत्ति mode (mode of no qction) when they are in सत्-चित्-आनन्द mode and प्रवृत्ति mode when they remain in सत्-चित्-आनन्द mode but joyously project the world and in this mode, both of them are shown as dancers dancing joyously doing सृष्टि. As wife and husband, both are extremely devoted to one another – this is obvious since one can never remain without the other. But if there is too much निवृत्ति mode, Uma draws Him out (hence marriage of Shiva-Uma is critical) and if there is too much प्रवृत्ति, Shiva will pull Her back. Thus, both retain balance in the Universe and we too need to find this balance in all our engagements. Once again, woman is not shown as lower than male – both are not just equal but inseparable and fully in love with one another.

UB: Interestingly, male principle seems to prefer the निवृत्ति mode while female principle the प्रवृति mode.  In all species interestingly, the female species is far more activity oriented while the male is lazy – an amazing expression of spiritual truth. Now I know why I am innately lazy 😁. But the moot point to convey is that highest spiritual principles are clean and balanced. However, people will lesser intelligence or those inclined to politicking may make lesser interpretations and subjugate women. The blame for these must to the people themselves but we must be careful to lay blame for such conduct to अध्यात्म ideas whose sole purpose is to push us to Truth.

UB: द्यूतं छलयतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम्।जयोऽस्मि व्यवसायोऽस्मि सत्त्वंसत्त्ववतामहम्।।10.36।।

10.36. I am gambling (द्यूतं अस्ति) of the fradulent (छलयताम्); I am the brilliance (तेज:) of the brilliant (तेजस्विनाम्); I am the victory (जय:); I am the clarity of thinking (व्यवसाय:); I am the contemplative disposition (सत्वं) among the contemplative (सत्त्ववताम्) .

वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि पाण्डवानांधनंजयः। मुनीनामप्यहं व्यासःकवीनामुशना कविः।।10.37।।

10.37. Of the वृष्णि clan, I am the वासुदेव:; of the sons of Pandu (पाण्डवानां), धनंजयः (अर्जुन) [I am]; of the sages too (मुनीनाम्) , I am व्यासः; of the seers (कवीनाम्) , the शुक्राचार्य: (उशना कविः)

UB: 10:36/37 (1) – This is a fascinating line from the Indian texts. भगवान् says that among people who indulge in छल, He is the gambling instinct. Gambling is a skill that also is an expression of भगवान् – if everything has come from the One, even the gambling skill has to come for the same source. No devil can be credited as the source of this since even the devil is Him only. One must thus make a distinction between a gambler and his or her gambling instinct. Both a truant hacker and an ethical hacker use the same skill and the skill on its own is beautiful though one uses it to cheat others while other performs a noble role. Thus,  the भाव of pure skill of छल is Him only. In the श्रीरुद्रम्, One finds a mention of various types of theives and the verses states that रुद्र is present in all these types of theives.

UB: 10:36/37 (2) – Wherever one sees brilliance displayed anyone, it means भगवान् is shining through such a person. He is जय; among the brilliant people, He is the तेज or brilliance and He is also सत्व गुण that manifests among सात्विक people. Whenever one is able to display perfect clarity of thought, one can say that भगवान् is operating through such a person at such a time. He is अर्जुन among पांडव (He did not say युधिष्ठिर), He is व्यास as well as शुक्राचार्य (who is regarded as गुरु of असुर and whose greatness can be known if one reads पुराण).

UB: दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मिजिगीषताम्। मौनं चैवास्मि गुह्यानां ज्ञानंज्ञानवतामहम्।।10.38।।

10.38 Of the punishers (दमयताम्) I am (अस्मि) the (punishing) rod (दण्ड:); I am the नीति or righteousness of those who desire to win (जिगीषताम्). And of things च इव अस्मि) secret or mystical (गुह्यानां), I am silence (मौनं) and of those who possess knowledge (ज्ञानवताम्), I am knowledge (ज्ञानं).

UB: 10:38 (1) – दण्डनीति is the name of Law in संस्कृत. For a sane society where members can live happily, policing must work effectively. And if culprits are caught and given the right level of punishment in tune with their nature of crime, the society can remain safe. There are four ways to ensure compliance – साम,  दाम, भेद and दण्ड and दण्ड is prominent since it is strongest, stands out because it is visible to all. Lest people conclude wrongly that since भगवान् is present in gamblers too and we need not punish them, भगवान् probably gave this verse too meaning that दण्ड must be administered where necessary. Now, if operating in tune with the event, such दण्ड is भगवान् Himself. So भगवान् exists in a society where justice is administered and cannot be said to be present in a society which has either excessive दण्ड or no दण्ड. Next, among all victories, भगवान् is only present in such victories where there is नीति.  Without नीति or righteous principles, any such victory is not seen as being sanctified by Him.  श्रीकृष्ण is supporting पांडव since नीति is on their side.

UB: 10:38 (2) – The Upanishads state that the Highest truth is मौनम्. Whenever someone utters a word to describe the truth, there is a descent, a climbdown and such expression lowers it’s value.  And in recent times, रमण महाऋषि chose this path and used to remain silent for most of the time and in this silence, his visitors felt that he conveyed everything. Till a generation back, taking मौनव्रत from time to time used to be found in families as an अध्यात्म साधना though one must add that mental silence is very difficult to practice than stopping to talk. One can describe the experience of Niagara Falls with a lot of words but the best experience will be to watch it with eyes in complete मौनम् and recognize the presence of भगवान् in such joyous मौनम्.

UB: 10:38 (3) – And lastly, He represents ज्ञान in its pure form. So whenever we come across someone uttering a word of ज्ञान which wows us, we can say that भगवान् is expressing Himself through such ज्ञान. And ज्ञान is His विभूति. By this logic therefore, all scientific developments by which we have developed phenomenal insight into matter in the past few centuries –  maths, physics,  internet,  space research, etc is His विभूति only. All ज्ञान ranging from how to operate a screwdriver to complex theoretical physics is His expression only. He is thus all encompassing.

यच्चापि सर्वभूतानां बीजं तदहमर्जुन। नतदस्ति विना यत्स्यान्मया भूतंचराचरम्।।10.39।।

10.39 Moreover (यद् च), O अर्जुन, whatsoever is the seed (बीजं) of all beings (सर्वभूतानां), that also (अपि) I am (तत् अहम्). There is no (न अस्ति) thing (भूतं) moving (चर) or non-moving (अचरम्) which can exist (स्यात्) without (विना) Me (मया).

नान्तोऽस्ति मम दिव्यानां विभूतीनांपरंतप। एष तूद्देशतः प्रोक्तोविभूतेर्विस्तरो मया।।10.40।।

10.40. O परंतप ! There is no end (अन्त: न अस्ति) to My (मम) extraordinary manifesting Power (दिव्यानां विभूतीनां). Rather, I (मया तु) have told (प्रोक्त:) in part (उद्येशत:) this (एष) detailed description (विस्तर:) of My glory (विभूते).

यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा।तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं ममतेजोंऽशसंभवम्।।10.41।।

10.41 Whatever (यद् यद्) being (सत्त्वं) is possessed of power(विभूतिमत्), or of splendour (श्रीमत्), or of energy (ऊर्जितम् एव वा), know (त्वम् अवगच्छ) that (तद् तद् एव) as born (सभवं) from a fragment (अंश) of My (मम) power (तेजस्)
अथवा बहुनैतेन किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन।विष्टभ्याहमिदं कृत्स्नमेकांशेन स्थितोजगत्।।10.42।।

10.42 Or, on the other hand (अथवा), what (किम्) is gained of your knowing (तव ज्ञातेन) this much (एतेन बहुना), O अर्जुन? I (अहम्) remain (स्थित:) sustaning (विष्टभ्य:) this whole (इदं कृत्स्नम्) Universe (जगत्) with a part (of Myself) (एक अंशेन).

10:39/42 (1) – I am the space in the room. I am the space in the kitchen. I am the space in the hall. I am the space outside the house. I am in space in India. I am the space in Nigeria. I am the space outside Earth. I am the space outside the solar system. I am the space inside you. Is that enough or not? Do you want me to explain every विभूति? I can go on and on forever which does not make sense – so I have given you a sample for you to infer from this. If you can see Me in one विभूति, you will be able to see Me in all.

10:39/42 (2) – In the पुरुष सूक्त, भगवान् says that only 1/4th part of Him is the visible universe and 3/4th is hidden. What does one mean by this? Essentially, the four parts are described as परा, पशयन्ति, मध्यम & वैखरी. So take a seed to be in a परा state. When the seed swells up, it is in a पशयन्ति state. When the seed sprouts, it is in a मध्यम state and seed in a tree form is वैखरी. Speech also is divided into the very same four parts. What does this mean? भगवान् in a state having the full इच्छा, ज्ञान & क्रिया शक्ति within Himself and remaining in that mode is the परा state. You may have come across the words परा शक्ति, शिवपरा, etc as names of Highest found in ललिता सहस्रनाम. भगवान् then takes संकल्प to project the Universe and this is the पशयन्ति state. And भगवान् plans a specific type of layout to project the Universe and outline or plan mode is the मध्यम state. Finally, the actual Universe materializes in a व्यक्त form and this is the वैखरी mode. Essentially, we have access only to the वैखरी mode using our telescopes since the other aspects are अदृष्य owing to them being सूक्ष्म.

10:39/42 (3) – So beyond a point, do not bother about focussing only on वैखरी to know Me. Start with it of course and over a period of time, you will develop a दृष्टि of seeing Me in all. Once this happens, your दृष्टि transforms into a दिव्य दृष्टि naturally and you will then have access to all aspects of Myself. And then you will be one with Me or you will become Me – अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि.

10:39 (4) – All the विभूति – ज्ञान, बुद्धि, मेध, तेज, श्री, etc belong to भगवान् only – they are His wife. His wife is always sustaining our lives working within us in its pure form. But owing to ego, we end up having an opinion that His wife or our Mother is ours only – this is akin to stealing the wife of भगवान् as was done by रावण wanting to turn his mother into his wife. This is अधर्म and we will certainly pay for this transgression. Thus, while all विभूति are present in रावण too, भगवान् did not say He is रावण too since His विभूति do not manifest outside in their pure form through the उपाधि of रावण unlike that of प्रह्लाद. However, if we offer the श्री (wealth, fame, etc) that comes into our possession to Him and keep only what we need with His permission and use our मेधा/ बुद्धि/ स्मृति, etc only for धर्म instead of ego-boosting कर्म, we are being a good son or daughter to our parents. And both our parents will surely take us to their home viz our home – this mindset is essential for an उपासक to possess at all times.

10:39/42 (5) – Religion carries meaning of presence of someone called God and a devotee who keeps praying to seek favours/ peace of mind. Such a Religion must be confined to a private space inside the house. However, सनातन् धर्म is not a religion – it seeks to convey eternal truth. All aspects of Universe in a pure form are भगवान्. Given its व्यापकता, how can one that is all-pervasive one be confined to private homes? Can दण्डनीति be confined to home? Can औषध/ वाद/ क्षमा/ दान/ नीति, etc be confined to homes? A just society, a just lifestyle, etc are not possible unless the विभूति of भगवान् are flowered in these. Our objective is to thus flower these across the society and if we do this, we are indeed invoking the भगवान् in all spheres. So allow the विभूति to prosper in all spheres of life and attain freedom.

Thus ends the दशम अध्याय named as विभूति योग.