Gita Satsangh, Chapter 10: The Yoga of Divine Glories Verses 5 to 6

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Gita Satsangh, Chapter 10: The Yoga of Divine Glories(VibhuutiyogaH)

Verses 5 to 6:

 

ahi.nsaa samataa tushhTistapo daanaM yasho.ayashaH .

bhavanti bhaavaa bhuutaanaaM matta eva pR^ithagvidhaaH .. 10\.5..

 

Chapter 10 5 "Fear and fearlessness, non-violence,

equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and disrepute,-

these diverse feelings of creatures emanate from Me alone."

 

maharshhayaH sap{}ta puurve chatvaaro manavastathaa .

madbhaavaa maanasaa jaataa yeshhaa.n loka imaaH prajaaH .. 10\.6..

 

Chapter 10 6 "The seven great seers (Marichi and others),

the more ancient four (Sanaka and others), and the fourteen Manus

(progenitors of mankind), who are all devoted to Me, are born of My

will; of them all these creatures in the world were begotten."

 

Important WEB Sites with Key Referencces::

 

The Gita Supersite: http://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/

contains verses, translations and commentaries in many languages.

This site will be a great treat for Gita lovers.

 

For Gita Dhyana Shlokas/Mantras and Mahatmya

/message/advaitin/6987

 

Adi Shankara's commentary, translated by Swami Gambhirananda, at URL:

advaitinGita/Shankara1/gmbCH10.ht

m

 

Swami Chinmayananda's commentary at URL:

advaitinGita/Chinmaya/COMM10.HTM

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

These verses describe the glories of the Lord. Some of the references

require some background information on the Vedic religion of Sanatana

Dharma. The Seven Rishis (seers) are known as Saptarishis and they

are the composers of Vedic Mantras or hymns and they have possessed

divine powers and they have transcendent vision. The are credited

with an intuitive perception of Dharma (Divine Law) and are founders

of the Smartha family lines. Marici, Angira, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha,

Kratu and Vasitha represent these family lines and the members of

these family formally identify themselves whenever they pay their

respect (Namaskarams) to their elders. For more information on

Smartha family traditions, please refer to Iyer Homepage:

http://www.bharatavarsha.com/iyer/gotra/gotra.html

Gothras (Family Lines), Veda affiliation (Yajur, Rig, Sama and

Atharva) and associated Sutras (specific sections vedas) are

explained along with other useful information on Iyer Heritage.

 

The seven seers or Saptarsis as they are called, change in every

Manvantara or tenure of office of a Manu. The Saptarsis mentioned in

this verse have been spoken of by the Lord as Maharsis, or great

seers, and as born of His will. Therefore, they are of a higher order

than Rsis or ordinary seers. Saptarsis of this class find mention in

the Santi-Parva of the Mahabharata. With reference to these, God

Himself, the Supreme Purusa, speaks as follows to Brahma and the

other celestials:- "Marici, Angira, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu

and Vasistha-these seven great seers have been begotten by you out of

your mind. They are all proficient in the Vedas, and I have made them

the principal teachers of the Vedas. They direct the worldly way of

life, and have been appointed by Me to carry on the duty of

Prajapati, the deity presiding over creation."

They are the Saptarsis of the very first Manvantara, viz, the

Svayambhuva Manvantara, of the present Kalpa (vide Harivamsa, VII.B-

9). Therefore, it is these seven seers who are referred to in the

present verse as 'Sapta Maharsayah.'

 

The words, 'Catvarah Purve' should betake to mean the eldest in

creation, viz, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara. They are

God's manifestations and appeared of their own will as the result of

Brahmas austere penance. Brahma's words about them are:-

"The Lord Himself appeared in the form of the four seers, Sanaka,

Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara, who are collectively known as

the four Sanas (embodiments of austerity), as the result of the

ceaseless penance done by me at the beginning of creation with-the

object of creating the different worlds. They fully expounded the

true nature of the soul, which had been lost to the world during the

dissolution at the end of the preceding Kalpa, whereby seers realized

the truth in their own heart. (Srimad BhagavataII.)*.

 

In the course of a cosmic day as many as fourteen Manus appear and

hold office in succession, and the tenure of office of each Manu is

called a Manvantara. A Manvantara consists of a little more than

seventy-one Caturyugis or rounds of the four Yugas (Satyayuga, Treta,

Dvapara and Kaliyuga). Reckoned in human years, Manvantara extends to

30,67,20,000 odd years; whereas according to the computation of the

celestials, it consists of 8,52,000 odd years (Visnu-Purana 1.3). *

Each Manvantara has its Saptarsis or group of seven seers for

regulating the operation of Dharma or the Divine Law and maintaining

the universe. With the change of Manu at the conclusion of a

Manvantara, other functionaries of the universe, such as the seven

seers, gods, Indra, and the sons of Manu also change. The names of

the Manus of the present Kalpa are: Svayambhuva, Svarocisa, Uttama,

Tamasa, Raivata Caksusa, Vaivasvata, Savarni, Daksasavarni,

Brahmasavarni, Dharmasavarni, Rudrasavarni, Devasavarni, and

Indrasavarni. * At the end of a Kalpa consisting of fourteen

Manvantaras the entire group of Manus changes. All these seers and

Manus are full of reverence and love for God; it is for this reason

that the qualification Madbhavah have been used with reference to

them.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

These comments are from Swamij's Bhagavadgita Homestudy Guide and

they can help us to strengthen our standing of Isvara (God) within

the confinement of Advaita Philosophy. Let me express my gratitude to

Arshavidya Gurukulam for permitting me to quote appropriate portions

of those notes for the Satsangh. Those who are interested to get the

complete notes (over 1200 pages of written materials) should contact

http://www.arshavidya.org directly.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

BHAGAVAN AS THE CAUSE OF THE QUALITIES OF LIVING BEINGS:

(Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidhya Gurukulam)

 

Buddhih and jnanam both have same meaning so we have to make a

distinction here. Buddhih, Sankara says, is the capacity of the

antahkarana to reveal subtle things, things not available for

perception at all. When you say something is beautiful, that beauty

is not available for mere sense perception. Yet it is something that

you appreciate. Any kind of enjoyment or anything inferentially

arrived is also subtle, suksma. Though not available for perception,

still you appreciate its existence. The capacity to reveal such

things belongs to the buddhi. The one who has that power is called

buddhiman. He may be a scientist or a musician, but we call him

buddhiman. He has the capacity to see things that are subtle in

nature.

Then, its product is jnanam. Those who have buddhi gain knowledge of

the meanings of the words like atwa etc. That is called jfianatn,

knowledge. Because the object is there, knowledge of it is possible.

That object is born of me. And knowledge is born of me because being

sarvajnah&\l knowledge is with me. Any time you come to know

something, it has come from me. Since omniscience is already there,

you do not produce any knowledge, you only remove the ignorance with

reference to a given object. Thus, knowledge is "born." You may think

you have produced a certain knowledge. Bhagavan says no, it has come

from me. The very faculty of knowing is from me and the knowledge

itself is born of me. If you see this, your ahankara gets diminished.

Asammohah, fredom from delusion. Whenever an object appears it is

known as it is. This means you pursue knowledge with discrimination.

This is called asammohah. If you come to a hurried conclusion

without discrimination, that is called sammohah. You see a rope and

you jump thinking it is a snake. Asammohah is deliberately, without

hurrying, looking into things and understanding them as they should

be understood. You keep an open mind and explore and understand;

then there is asammohah.

You should know that the senses etc. can deceive. They are capable of

distortion and do not really present objects as they are. Our

perception can be born of our own fear and anxiety etc. We can even

project things that are not there at all. This particular

understanding is very important. It will make you alert. That

asammohah is also from me, Bhagavan says.

Ksama. Suppose you are scolded by somebody or are subjected to verbal

or physical abuse. Ksama is a state of mind in which you do not

internalize it. If someone is angry, you have to deal with his anger.

But if, in the process, you become angry, you are internalizing the

problem. Not internalizing is ksama. If somebody is angry, you

confine his anger to him. Try to understand why he is angry and do

what has to be done. That is dealing with it. The mind that does not

undergo any internaiization in situations which are not very pleasant

is said to have ksama.

Satyam. Here Sahkara gives a definition of satyam. The spoken word

should be just as something is seen or heard or experienced by you in

order to make another mind understand. Something was heard or seen or

experienced by you. Therefore

 

you can talk about it. Not that you should go about talking to others

about everything. That is not necessary. But when you want to, please

say it honestly. As it was experienced directly through your own

sense organs or as it was reported to you by somebody else or even

experienced by you subjectively, in the same manner is it to be

spoken of for the purpose of making another person understand. That

is called satyam.

This all belongs to an order, a moral order uncreated by the

individual. It is all Bhagavan's creation. Satyam, damah, §amah, are

all Bhagavan's creation and when you have them, you are in harmony

with the creation, with Bhagavan. So what we speak is what we know.

Satyam vac/a, be truthful. Then it should also be pleasing, priyatn

vada. We make a prayer for this, jihva me madhumattama, let there be

honey on my tongue. May I speak in a way that pleases, that does not

hurt anyone.

Only a teacher can say hurtful words, nobody else. He has to say the

truth and when he does, it is not always very pleasant. But even he

has to say it in a way that does not frighten the person away. Though

he sometimes has to say something unpleasant, he has to say it in a

pleasant way. Therefore, be truthful but do not be indifferent to

your discretion. All these, Bhagavan says, emanate from me alone.

Damah is discipline with reference to external organs. It is

control at the level of expression, a capacity not to be carried away

by an action which has already arisen in your mind. Having arisen it

can be carried out either perceptually or by an organ of action. The

capacity to refrain from that is called damah.

Samah, a mastery over the very ways of thinking. We do not yield to

certain patterns of thinking which we know are harmful or useless.

You get a certain space because of which you are able to have a

mastery over the ways of thinking. That is called £amab. When ^ama is

there we do not need dama. There is no problem. But in the absence of

$ama, we do require dama.

Sukham, inner pleasure or happiness. Even sukha, Bhagavan says, is

born of me. It means there is nothing you can claim as your own.

These are ail desirable things and they are all from me alone. Even

undesirable things are from me, he is going to say later. But here he

emphasizes desirable things because undesirable things do not cause a

problem in terms of inflating your ego. But Bhagavan makes it clear

that whenever you get desirable things, which can cause pride, this

pride is meaningless. This is what he wants to prove. Wherever there

is something praiseworthy, the source of that is me. Therefore, you

cannot be proud about it. In one form or another the ahankara wants

to survive. So Bhagavan says that whatever you accomplish, that

accomplishment belongs to me. It is my glory, my fame. As an

individual there is no fame unless you say I am the Lord. Then you

are not an individual. You can say everything is mine. But purely at

the individual level one has to recognize all glories or

accomplishments as vibhutisof Is"vara.

Duhkham, affliction, Bhagavan says, is also from me. All pain is

according to the law of karma which is myself. And therefore, it also

comes from me.

Bhavah, creation. Any creation is from me. Even though you may be the

father of a child and may say the child is born of you, in fact, it

is born of me, Bhagavan says. I saw a cartoon of Bhagavan as a kid

trying to make a chicken. He had all the genes in a test tube then

the tube broke and all the genes scattered everywhere. In the cartoon

they show him with a question mark? He is God and he is wondering

what to do! It is very revealing - putting together all these genes

to make a chicken is not an ordinary thing. So if anybody thinks that

I am the doer, it is meaningless. The hen can think she created the

chick, the rooster can say he is the author. But Bhagavan says I am

the author. Even a creation within the creation is from Bhagavan.

That is the idea.

Abhavah. Abhavah has different meanings. The prefix a can be

total absence, abhavartha, or inadequacy, alpartha, or it can be used

in the sense of opposite, viparyayartha. When you say there is no

light, there is darkness. Or it can be inadequate light. Here

Sankara takes it as opposite, viparyaya. Why? Because Bhagavan

has said creation, bhavah. If creation is from Bhagavan, its

opposite, destruction takes place because of Igvara alone. That

there is the possibility of destruction is because of me alone.

Destruction means destroying something that is created. There is a

law that governs life and because of thai law, life continues.

Because of the same law, life goes. The law is Bhagavan here and that

is why he says destruction is also from me.

Bhayam, fear also is from me Bhagavan says. Because the source of

fear is the vastness of the creation. And the irrevocability. Certain

things, namely death and time, that you can never reverse and that

inevitability causes fear. Death and time are also Bhagavan. So all

fear, bhayah is caused by him. You can avoid this bhaya if you hold

on to Isvara but if you think you are going to stop things, bhaya

comes. As long as an individual thinks that he is an individual,

separate from everything else, there will be fear. Isvara himself

becomes bhaya-karanam, the source of fear.

The Taittiriyopanisad says air, vayu, moves because of fear of

Isvara, and the sun

rises because of this fear alone, meaning because of Isvara's

mandate. Agni and

Indra both do their jobs, Agni keeps burning and Indra rules the

heaven all

because of igvara's mandate. Even Death is on the move because of

this.

Abhayam, fearlessness. The same Isvara, if you do not look upon him

as separate, is abhaya-karanam, the very source of fearlessness. Both

fear and fearlessness are from Isvara. If Isvara is not known to you,

the whole world is separate from you because to know Isvara is to

know everything is Isvara. If this is not known, the fear will start

from cockroaches. If it is known, there is no fear at all.

Ahimsa, not hurting another living being deliberatly. How do you know

ahimsa is from ISvara? Is it revealed in a scripture? Otherwise, how

can you prove that anything came from Igvara? Ahimsa does not need to

be revealed because ills known to us. It is revealed already by

common sense. The law is there. We all know. One does not want to get

hurt nor does one see anyone else wanting to get hurt. Therefore,

ahimsa exists as an integral part of the moral order. The moral order

is a part of the creation. It does not need to be mandated by Isvara

in some scripture. If such a thing happens to be there, it is

universal. If it is universal, it is not manmade; it is from ISvara.

Therefore, Bhagavan says, ahimsa is from me. They are all from "me"

and they are also good for getting "me" because when you follow them,

you are in harmony with "me."