Bg 10.40
nānto ’sti mama divyānāṁ vibhūtīnāṁ paran-tapa
eṣa tūddeśataḥ prokto vibhūter vistaro mayā
Bg 10.41
yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ śrīmad ūrjitam eva vā
tat tad evāvagaccha tvaṁ mama tejo-’ṁśa-sambhavam
Bg 10.42
atha vā bahunaitena kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat
Om tat sat iti śrīmadbhagavadgītāsu upaniśadsu
brahmavidyāyām yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasamvāde
vibhūti yogo nāma daśamodhyāyaha
Translation
40. There is no end to My Divine Glories, O Parantapa; but, this is but a brief statement by Me of the particulars of My Divine Glories.
41. Whatever it is that is glorious, prosperous or powerful in any being, know that to be a manifestation of a part of My splendour.
42. But, of what avail to thee is the knowledge of all these details, O Arjuna? I exist, supporting this whole world by one part of Myself.
Thus, in the UPANISHADS of the glorious Bhagawad-Geeta, in the Science of the Eternal, in the scripture of YOGA , in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, the tenth discourse ends entitled:
THE YOGA OF DIVINE GLORIES
Commentary
THERE IS NO END TO MY GLORIES --- These enumerations of the transcendental glories of the Eternal were actually started in this chapter, in a cry of intelligent despair at the magnitude of the task and at the frailty of language to express them all. And yet, out of sheer love for the disciple, the Eternal Master in Krishna took the job in hand and tried to make the best of a bad job. No pot-maker can ever indicate to an enquirer, the "mud essence" distinctly in each of the existing pots and congratulate himself in the end that he has exhausted all the pots that were, are, and shall ever be. It will be foolish vanity to hope to succeed in such a hopeless endeavour. And, in fact, it is not necessary also. If, in ten or twenty specimens, the Knower-of-the-Essence indicates to the seeker, the "Essential Stuff" in each distinctly, as separate from their names and forms and other attributes, it should be possible for the seeker to recognise for himself the Essence when he meets the next specimen.
In this chapter, the Lord has given to Arjuna and over his shoulders to the entire generations of Geeta-students who may listen to Him in the world, the above FIFTY-FOUR instances, wherein the play of the Infinite, as recognised through the apparent veils of matter, has been shown. By now, any student who has meditated sufficiently upon those instances, must have educated his mind fully to discover for himself the One Infinite behind the finite multiplicity.
In utter despair at not being able to exhaust the infinite varieties of the pluralistic phenomenal world, Krishna declares that "there is no end to the 'rays' of My glory when I, being resplendent in My Absolute Perfection, shine out in my self-effulgence."
If this knowledge was already with the Lord, why did He, as a spiritual teacher, bluff His disciples all along in a futile attempt to reveal Himself through the finite forms? Why this deception by the Divine? Why disappoint the students after straining them so long? Is this the general trait of all the religious teachers, prophets, seers and masters?
The answer to such accusations against the technique of religion is that --- "there is no other way"! A medical college student is asked to do a series of operations, upon a dead body, that has become cold last week-end!! This is no bluff; but, it is true, for all the careful and efficient surgery, the "patient" dead as he is, will not start his life again. Such training on the dumb objects is necessary to give the student the required experience before he can start his independent activities in the profession. Similarly, here too, the Lord provides Arjuna with some specific examples in order to teach him the ART OF SEEING THE UNSEEN THROUGH THE SEEN.
This intention in his heart is clear in his own confession in the second line: "BUT, BY BRIEF EXAMPLES ONLY HAVE I DECLARED MY DIVINE GLORY." The Lord has not exhausted Himself; but He chooses a few effective examples to educate the mind of His listeners. Those who have ardently meditated upon these examples, will learn to recognise the Infinite in all its unending resplendence enthroned in the bosom of every finite form.
IN SHORT, THE LORD SUMMARISES ALL THAT HE HAS SAID SO FAR:
The above examples have made a frail attempt to indicate the glories of the Lord, but in no sense can those descriptions be considered as having defined the Truth. However, we have been given an idea that the Divine, the Imperishable, can be detected in the realm of the undivine and the perishable, if we look for it with discriminative judgement. From the above examples it becomes clear that the Lord is present in all names and forms, revealing Himself as the glorious, or the great, or the mighty aspect in all things and beings.
Here, Krishna directly summarises what exactly constitutes the Divine Presence in the world of plurality, and provides Arjuna with an acid test in knowing it. Whatever is great, or glorious, or mighty is nothing but the expression of a ray of the Lord's own Infinite Splendour. This is no doubt, a wonderful summary of the above mentioned FIFTY-FOUR assorted items. Each one of these examples is a clear-cut instance, indicating the Lord, either as the Great one in the whole species, or as the noblest and the most glorious thing, or happening, or as the most mighty among all that is powerful.
This indication was given expressly to facilitate Arjuna's recognition of the IMMANENT glory of the Lord in the things of the world. It can be equally useful for us, students of the Geeta, in seeking and perceiving the play of the Infinite among the finite and the changing phenomena of names and forms.
IN THE END, PANTINGLY CONCLUDING THE ENUMERATIONS, THE LORD SAYS:
In an inspired surge of friendliness and love, though Krishna, in all haste, promised that He would explain "His expression in the individual" (Yoga) apart from the description of "His glory as the Cosmic man" (Vibhuti), He Himself realised, whilst trying to indicate Himself object by object, the impossibility of exhausting the treatment. Infinite are the total number of things and beings in the Universe, and it is never possible to exhaust all of them one by one. With a cry of despair, and yet in an attitude of extreme love for his disciple, Lord Krishna brilliantly summarises this chapter in this closing stanza.
WHAT WILL IT AVAIL THEE TO KNOW ALL THESE DIVERSITIES --- In fact it is useless to explain the presence of the Infinite in every finite form. It is impossible for a pot-maker to show the mud in all the existing pots in the world; nor can any one indicate the ocean-aspect in every wave in the sea. All that we can do is explain to the student the art of recognising the mud aspect in a few pots so that the student can independently come to recognise mud in all existing pots. It is never possible for a mathematics teacher to exhaust all the examples, but the student is taught the art of solving problems through a limited number of typical examples, and thereafter, the student, all by himself, gains the capacity to solve any similar problem independently.
I, WITH ONE PART OF MYSELF, SUPPORT THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE --- In philosophical usage, the term Jagat means "all the fields of experiences which man has, as a physical body, as a psychological being and as an intellectual entity." This would mean that the Jagat is the sum-total of the world perceived by my senses, plus the world of my emotions and sentiments, plus the world of my ideas and ideologies. The entire field that is comprehended by the sense organs, the mind and the intellect, is to be understood in its totality as Jagat. In short, this term conveniently embraces, in its meaning and import, the entire "realm of objects."
The declaration here in the last line, therefore means that the total world-of-objects is supported, tended and nourished by a quarter of --- meaning, a portion of --- the Subject, the Self. Krishna, as the Self, naturally declares here that the whole Jagat is supported by a portion of His glory. The statement has yet another philosophical implication, inasmuch as it declares that there are in the Truth vast portions which are uncontaminated by the disturbances which we call Jagat. No doubt, in the homogeneous Truth, there cannot be distinctly separate portions of different features; however, this is a kindly method of indicating a transcendental idea with the terrestrial words of finite language.
We have already explained the Term 'Vibhuti' during our discussions in this chapter. This becomes a Yoga inasmuch as students, earnestly following the path, would try to attune their mental perception and intellectual comprehensions so as to recognise the greatness, or the glory, or the might in the things and situations, and recognise them as a pencil of the Divine ray in themselves emerging from the glorious effulgence of the Self, to peep through the manifold finite embodiments.
Om Om Om Om Om
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
nānto ’sti mama divyānāṁ vibhūtīnāṁ paran-tapa
eṣa tūddeśataḥ prokto vibhūter vistaro mayā
Bg 10.41
yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ śrīmad ūrjitam eva vā
tat tad evāvagaccha tvaṁ mama tejo-’ṁśa-sambhavam
Bg 10.42
atha vā bahunaitena kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat
Om tat sat iti śrīmadbhagavadgītāsu upaniśadsu
brahmavidyāyām yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasamvāde
vibhūti yogo nāma daśamodhyāyaha
Translation
40. There is no end to My Divine Glories, O Parantapa; but, this is but a brief statement by Me of the particulars of My Divine Glories.
41. Whatever it is that is glorious, prosperous or powerful in any being, know that to be a manifestation of a part of My splendour.
42. But, of what avail to thee is the knowledge of all these details, O Arjuna? I exist, supporting this whole world by one part of Myself.
Thus, in the UPANISHADS of the glorious Bhagawad-Geeta, in the Science of the Eternal, in the scripture of YOGA , in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, the tenth discourse ends entitled:
THE YOGA OF DIVINE GLORIES
Commentary
THERE IS NO END TO MY GLORIES --- These enumerations of the transcendental glories of the Eternal were actually started in this chapter, in a cry of intelligent despair at the magnitude of the task and at the frailty of language to express them all. And yet, out of sheer love for the disciple, the Eternal Master in Krishna took the job in hand and tried to make the best of a bad job. No pot-maker can ever indicate to an enquirer, the "mud essence" distinctly in each of the existing pots and congratulate himself in the end that he has exhausted all the pots that were, are, and shall ever be. It will be foolish vanity to hope to succeed in such a hopeless endeavour. And, in fact, it is not necessary also. If, in ten or twenty specimens, the Knower-of-the-Essence indicates to the seeker, the "Essential Stuff" in each distinctly, as separate from their names and forms and other attributes, it should be possible for the seeker to recognise for himself the Essence when he meets the next specimen.
In this chapter, the Lord has given to Arjuna and over his shoulders to the entire generations of Geeta-students who may listen to Him in the world, the above FIFTY-FOUR instances, wherein the play of the Infinite, as recognised through the apparent veils of matter, has been shown. By now, any student who has meditated sufficiently upon those instances, must have educated his mind fully to discover for himself the One Infinite behind the finite multiplicity.
In utter despair at not being able to exhaust the infinite varieties of the pluralistic phenomenal world, Krishna declares that "there is no end to the 'rays' of My glory when I, being resplendent in My Absolute Perfection, shine out in my self-effulgence."
If this knowledge was already with the Lord, why did He, as a spiritual teacher, bluff His disciples all along in a futile attempt to reveal Himself through the finite forms? Why this deception by the Divine? Why disappoint the students after straining them so long? Is this the general trait of all the religious teachers, prophets, seers and masters?
The answer to such accusations against the technique of religion is that --- "there is no other way"! A medical college student is asked to do a series of operations, upon a dead body, that has become cold last week-end!! This is no bluff; but, it is true, for all the careful and efficient surgery, the "patient" dead as he is, will not start his life again. Such training on the dumb objects is necessary to give the student the required experience before he can start his independent activities in the profession. Similarly, here too, the Lord provides Arjuna with some specific examples in order to teach him the ART OF SEEING THE UNSEEN THROUGH THE SEEN.
This intention in his heart is clear in his own confession in the second line: "BUT, BY BRIEF EXAMPLES ONLY HAVE I DECLARED MY DIVINE GLORY." The Lord has not exhausted Himself; but He chooses a few effective examples to educate the mind of His listeners. Those who have ardently meditated upon these examples, will learn to recognise the Infinite in all its unending resplendence enthroned in the bosom of every finite form.
IN SHORT, THE LORD SUMMARISES ALL THAT HE HAS SAID SO FAR:
The above examples have made a frail attempt to indicate the glories of the Lord, but in no sense can those descriptions be considered as having defined the Truth. However, we have been given an idea that the Divine, the Imperishable, can be detected in the realm of the undivine and the perishable, if we look for it with discriminative judgement. From the above examples it becomes clear that the Lord is present in all names and forms, revealing Himself as the glorious, or the great, or the mighty aspect in all things and beings.
Here, Krishna directly summarises what exactly constitutes the Divine Presence in the world of plurality, and provides Arjuna with an acid test in knowing it. Whatever is great, or glorious, or mighty is nothing but the expression of a ray of the Lord's own Infinite Splendour. This is no doubt, a wonderful summary of the above mentioned FIFTY-FOUR assorted items. Each one of these examples is a clear-cut instance, indicating the Lord, either as the Great one in the whole species, or as the noblest and the most glorious thing, or happening, or as the most mighty among all that is powerful.
This indication was given expressly to facilitate Arjuna's recognition of the IMMANENT glory of the Lord in the things of the world. It can be equally useful for us, students of the Geeta, in seeking and perceiving the play of the Infinite among the finite and the changing phenomena of names and forms.
IN THE END, PANTINGLY CONCLUDING THE ENUMERATIONS, THE LORD SAYS:
In an inspired surge of friendliness and love, though Krishna, in all haste, promised that He would explain "His expression in the individual" (Yoga) apart from the description of "His glory as the Cosmic man" (Vibhuti), He Himself realised, whilst trying to indicate Himself object by object, the impossibility of exhausting the treatment. Infinite are the total number of things and beings in the Universe, and it is never possible to exhaust all of them one by one. With a cry of despair, and yet in an attitude of extreme love for his disciple, Lord Krishna brilliantly summarises this chapter in this closing stanza.
WHAT WILL IT AVAIL THEE TO KNOW ALL THESE DIVERSITIES --- In fact it is useless to explain the presence of the Infinite in every finite form. It is impossible for a pot-maker to show the mud in all the existing pots in the world; nor can any one indicate the ocean-aspect in every wave in the sea. All that we can do is explain to the student the art of recognising the mud aspect in a few pots so that the student can independently come to recognise mud in all existing pots. It is never possible for a mathematics teacher to exhaust all the examples, but the student is taught the art of solving problems through a limited number of typical examples, and thereafter, the student, all by himself, gains the capacity to solve any similar problem independently.
I, WITH ONE PART OF MYSELF, SUPPORT THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE --- In philosophical usage, the term Jagat means "all the fields of experiences which man has, as a physical body, as a psychological being and as an intellectual entity." This would mean that the Jagat is the sum-total of the world perceived by my senses, plus the world of my emotions and sentiments, plus the world of my ideas and ideologies. The entire field that is comprehended by the sense organs, the mind and the intellect, is to be understood in its totality as Jagat. In short, this term conveniently embraces, in its meaning and import, the entire "realm of objects."
The declaration here in the last line, therefore means that the total world-of-objects is supported, tended and nourished by a quarter of --- meaning, a portion of --- the Subject, the Self. Krishna, as the Self, naturally declares here that the whole Jagat is supported by a portion of His glory. The statement has yet another philosophical implication, inasmuch as it declares that there are in the Truth vast portions which are uncontaminated by the disturbances which we call Jagat. No doubt, in the homogeneous Truth, there cannot be distinctly separate portions of different features; however, this is a kindly method of indicating a transcendental idea with the terrestrial words of finite language.
We have already explained the Term 'Vibhuti' during our discussions in this chapter. This becomes a Yoga inasmuch as students, earnestly following the path, would try to attune their mental perception and intellectual comprehensions so as to recognise the greatness, or the glory, or the might in the things and situations, and recognise them as a pencil of the Divine ray in themselves emerging from the glorious effulgence of the Self, to peep through the manifold finite embodiments.
Om Om Om Om Om
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
