Gita Satsangh: Chapter 10 - The Glories of Bhagavan

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

This introduction by Swami Dayananda Saraswati is quite appropriate

for focusing our mind on the upcoming Gita Satsangh. I will be start

posting the verses from next week and during this week, we can

discuss the relevance of knowing the "Glories of the Lord" directly

from him. From the advaitic point of view, beneath the teachings of

Bhagawan Sri Krishna, devotion to Him plays an integral part. By

focusing the glories of the Lord, we can refocus our mind and

recognize our True Divine Nature. In the west and in the Internet,

there is so much news about "Identity theft!" Our real problem is

the "Loss of our True Identity" and a heavy dose of Bhagavad Gita can

certainly help us to regain our True Idenity. Arjuna was able to

recover from the "Identity Crisis" and we can also hope to achieve

the same.

 

Harih Om!

 

Ram Chandran

 

CHAPTER 10 The Glories of Bhagavan

(Swami Dayananda's Introduction)

 

The Bhagavadglta is both Brahmavidya and yoga~Sastra. As Brahmavidya

it can be reduced to one sentence - tat tvam asi. You are that. In

this, what is this "you", what is "that"? To understand any sentence,

you must understand the meaning of each word. The meaning of the word

tat is Isvara, the cause of all. What is this Isvara? Tvam-pada

stands for jiva. What is this jiva? Inquiry into both must be done.

We saw that the first six chapters deal mainly with the meaning of

the word you, tvam. The first chapter depicted Arjuna's sorrow which

is the lot of any jiva. Then, discovering in Krsna a teacher, he

declared himself his student and sought his refuge. Lord Krsna

teaches him what atma is in the second chapter. The next chapter,

karma-yoga is also for the jiva. The fourth chapter, teaches that

atma is akarta which is again teaching the nature of the inner self,

pratyagatma. Then the fifth chapter deals with the jiva's

renunciation and the sixth chapter is committed to contemplation with

reference to pratyagatma, the contemplator.

>From the seventh chapter onwards there is a complete change in the

presentation of the subject matter. Isvara - the truth of Isvara, the

glory of Isvara - is the central topic in these chapters. The tenth

chapter of the Gita, called Vibhuti Yoga, presents the glories of

Isvara, Even though he is all pervasive and is everything, still, the

glory of Bhagavan is visible wherever there is a ray of glory. Any

good place, in ancient times, was dedicated to Bhagavan. A

confluence, the coming together of two rivers, is always a wonderful

sight. There you will find a temple. On a mountain top from which

there is a scenic view, will be a temple. On Ramesvaram, the island,

is a temple. Kanyakumari is an excellent place where you can see the

merging of three bodies of water, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal,

and the Indian Ocean, each with its own color. It is a great sight.

There you find only a temple, no palace or secular monument. In the

seven hills of Tirupati, there is the famous Balaji temple. At the

tip of the southern part of India, Cape Comorin, there is a temple.

In any unusually good spot there is a temple. In the Himalayas, in

Badrinath, there is a temple. The big snowy peak of Kailas is

itself the Lord Siva. Even if you build a temple on a very common

site, with its exquisite sculptures and imposing towers, it becomes a

beautiful place. Thus any place of glory or beauty was always given

to the Lord. Why? Because it is his beauty.

 

Sankara introduces this chapter called Vibhuti-yoga saying in

whichever situation, in whichever object, there is some glory,

Bhagavan is to be contemplated upon and appreciated. The truth of

Bhagavan is not easily understood and therefore must be told again.

Repetition is valid as long as something has to be understood. If it

is to be believed, repetition is meaningless. Thus Sankara validates

the repetition. It is not simple repetition though. There is an

elaboration which also reveals the style of teaching. What you say in

passing in one place, you expand upon in another. Previously the

vibhvtis were pointed out in passing and now they are taken up as the

main topic. This is how the whole teaching is. In order to cover one

topic, you may have to touch on another topic briefly and keep it for

later discussion.

 

Here, this topic of the glory of Bhagavan is discussed. There is

nothing that is not Bhagavan. - that is what is going to be told

here. In whatever situation there is some glory, the glory of

Bhagavan is to be recognized. Something beautiful is not taken merely

as a beautiful thing. The beauty is Bhagavan - he is the source of

all fame and beauty. For a bhakta an intelligent person who discerns

this, Bhagavan alone is famous and Nobody else. Fame, wherever it is,

is bhagavat-vibhuti alone. To make this clear is this chapter which

is rightly called, Vibhuti-yoga.