The Path
श्रीमद्भागवतम् ॥८.१.१६॥
श्रस्वयम्भुवमनु उवाच:
तमीहमानं निरहङ्कृतं बुधं
निराशिषं पूर्णमनन्यचोदितम् ।
नॄञ्छिक्षयन्तं निजवर्त्मसंस्थितं
प्रभुं प्रपद्येऽखिलधर्मभावनम् ॥
Happy Yugadi! I was fortunate to study this shloka from Srimad Bhagavatam today. This shloka seems to condense the entire Bhagavadgita! Let me explain.
(For those who want the Iskcon translation, it is here: https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/8/1/16https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/8/1/16)
The shloka is a prayer by the the primordial man, Swayambhuva Manu, to the Lord.
The prayer lists many attributes of God.
1. God is always engaged in action.
From this statement, the question arises, since all those who do work are egocentric, what about God? The answer:
2. God has no ego of doership.
If so, the question would be: is God like an automaton or a robot or a donkey? The answer:
3. No. He is the embodiment of knowledge and wisdom, with the full power of intelligence and volition.
Really!? Then how come He has no ego? The answer:
4. Because He has no desires at all.
Indeed, how come? The answer:
5. Because he is Poorna, self-complete and total.
Wow. Then is God working on someone else's command? The answer :
6. No. He is not acting on anyone else's instigation.
Then the question is, why does God act at all!? The answer:
7. He acts to instruct mankind.
What makes Him competent to teach? The answer:
8. Because God is uniquely established ALWAYS in His true nature, the most authentic "Guru" one can find.
The final question: what is God teaching? The answer:
9. Dharma. He is the source and embodiment of all Dharma which runs through the entire universe.
Our Prayers to the God of Sanatana Dharma to give us wisdom to pursue dharma always!
🙏🙏🙏
