Query on Bhagavad Gita (IX-4,5,6) :

[Guest guest]

Dear advaitin friends,

 

I am just a beginer and attempting to read and understand the Gita for the

first time so I would appreciate if our learned members would please allow

me the liberty of posing more questions than providing explanations.

 

I was struggling with the apparent inconsistency between the first two

verses and what ProfVK mentioned in a recent post (#2356) helped me :

To the inquisitive question: The universe and all the Beings in it, where

are they located?, the Lord answers: They are all (appearing) in Me.

To the question: Are they really in You, Oh Lord?, He answers: Never. I am

the only Reality all the time.

 

I understood it as follows (my words) :

 

IX-4 :

The usual assumption is He is present in all of us (ex. Divinity is within

you).

But The Lord says, I am not contained within the created beings. (The

Creator cannot be contained within or limited by Creation just as - to give

a rough example - the potter cannot be contained within any pot that he

himself makes).

He continues :

The truth is, they are contained within me...

 

IX-5 :

But : I am not composed of them

(Creation - for the Created - seems to be separate from the Creator but the

truth is : the Creator is not "comprised of" or "composed of" or "defined

by" Creation since He is the only Reality ever.)

 

IX-6 :

Eventhough wind seems to have an entity of its own, it always exists within

and because of Space.

Similarly all beings - eventhough seemingly living individual existences -

continuosly abide in Me and exist because of me.

 

Can someone guide me if I am on the right path ?

 

I am handicapped by ignorance of Sanskrit and hence the precise meaning of

this word (mat-sthani) eludes me. Does it mean "I am the 'underlying

substratum' or 'sustainer' of all creation" or does it mean "I am the Cause

of all creation" or does it imply both. Intellectually, I understand The

Lord is Creator, Preserver and Dissolver of all Creation, but what does the

word "mat-sthani" mean and what does it imply ?

 

As an aside : In Venn Diagrams, we have a "Universal" set that encompasses

all other sets but is not limited by any other set. Isn't The Lord like that

?

 

Regards,

 

Ram2

[Guest guest]

Hari Om!

 

I am sure by this time you must have read the other answers to this

query of yours. I am here to share what I understood from these

slokas.

 

The "I" --- as explained by the other poster as the consciousness ---

is the King. He is the creator (Brahma), the sustainer (Vishnu) and

the destroyer (Siva). "I" is the Raja. This subject is heavily

discussed earlier by the kind scholars in this list.

 

When I go to sleep I create a world with in me called dream world.

The objects in the dream are in me, but they are not me because when

I wake up they vanish in to the thin air, but still when I dream -- I

dream --- as if I am involved! Where are those objects and beings

when I am awake? and where do they come from when i go to sleep? Are

they in me? if they are in me then why dont they show up when I am

awake!

 

It is that kind of logic when meditated upon, will bring us to the

beyond intellectual apprehension about that real "I" which is spoken

in the sloka.

 

Yours,

Madhava

 

-- In advaitin, "Thommandra, Rama K." <Rama.Thommandra@a...>

wrote:

> Dear advaitin friends,

>

> I am just a beginer and attempting to read and understand the Gita

for the

> first time so I would appreciate if our learned members would

please allow

> me the liberty of posing more questions than providing explanations.

>

> I was struggling with the apparent inconsistency between the first

two

> verses and what ProfVK mentioned in a recent post (#2356) helped

me :

> To the inquisitive question: The universe and all the Beings in it,

where

> are they located?, the Lord answers: They are all (appearing) in Me.

> To the question: Are they really in You, Oh Lord?, He answers:

Never. I am

> the only Reality all the time.

>

> I understood it as follows (my words) :

>

> IX-4 :

> The usual assumption is He is present in all of us (ex. Divinity is

within

> you).

> But The Lord says, I am not contained within the created beings.

(The

> Creator cannot be contained within or limited by Creation just as -

to give

> a rough example - the potter cannot be contained within any pot

that he

> himself makes).

> He continues :

> The truth is, they are contained within me...

>

> IX-5 :

> But : I am not composed of them

> (Creation - for the Created - seems to be separate from the Creator

but the

> truth is : the Creator is not "comprised of" or "composed of"

or "defined

> by" Creation since He is the only Reality ever.)

>

> IX-6 :

> Eventhough wind seems to have an entity of its own, it always

exists within

> and because of Space.

> Similarly all beings - eventhough seemingly living individual

existences -

> continuosly abide in Me and exist because of me.

>

> Can someone guide me if I am on the right path ?

>

> I am handicapped by ignorance of Sanskrit and hence the precise

meaning of

> this word (mat-sthani) eludes me. Does it mean "I am the 'underlying

> substratum' or 'sustainer' of all creation" or does it mean "I am

the Cause

> of all creation" or does it imply both. Intellectually, I

understand The

> Lord is Creator, Preserver and Dissolver of all Creation, but what

does the

> word "mat-sthani" mean and what does it imply ?

>

> As an aside : In Venn Diagrams, we have a "Universal" set that

encompasses

> all other sets but is not limited by any other set. Isn't The Lord

like that

> ?

>

> Regards,

>

> Ram2