Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10: Verse 15 - Verse 24)

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Hello, and welcome to The Bearded Mystic Podcast.And I'm your host, Rahul N.Singh.Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode.If you are really interested in supporting The Bearded Mystic Podcast, and you've found great benefit in listening or watching these episodes, then please do support this podcast on Patreon where you can get ad free and bonus episodes along with other benefits depending on the tier that you select.Your support means everything,and it really does help the podcast keep running efficiently and smoothly, and also widens the audience that this message can reach to.If you would like to know more about it, the details are in the show notes and video description below.

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00 AM Eastern Standard Time there is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and Q&A.If you're interested in meditating with us as a community, then you can find out the details in the show notes and video description below.Please do like, comment, and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube and if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast streaming app, then please do give this podcast a five star rating.It helps the podcast get up in the charts and allows the algorithm to bring this podcast to new listeners and also do review the podcast if you can and make sure you do follow or subscribe to keep getting future episodes.Today we will be continuing on with my Thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita, and we will be specifically looking at chapter 10, verses 15 to 24.Let's get started with verse 15.O greatest Atma, only You truly know Yourself with Your own Atma, for You are Purusha Uttama—the greatest person who exists beyond the influence of the gunas.Bhuta Bhavana—the source of well-being for all living beings.Bhutesha—the ultimate ruler above all living beings.Devadeva—the Supreme Deva to whom all other devas must answer, Jagatpati—the master, controller, and source of all the universes.So let's break this verse up a little.So he begins with, O greatest Atma, only You truly know Yourself with Your own Atma, for You are and so obviously then he will describe Sri Krishna, but it's one line to remember.So let me reword this to how we refer to this in the podcast.It's O the greatest Formless Awareness only you know your yourself with your own awareness for only you are.If we can understand that this is what Arjuna is referring to that you are the greatest Atma.You are the greatest living being.And remember, Arjuna has surrendered to Sri Krishna.He has become the student,the disciple of Sri Krishna.So that's why he says, oh,greatest Atman and in the sense of existence, it is the greatest in terms of the shared being.And only you truly know yourself.Only you can know your true self.Only you know by your own mind,and it's a hint towards us.Once we understand our own Self,then we will say the same thing,that only I know myself with my own Atman, with my own mind.And in a way, it's also showing the greatness of Sri Krishna.That with the mind of Sri Krishna, he can contemplate and truly know himself.But we must remember that this is available to us when we go higher in our spiritual journey.It's only through this awareness that we recognize that this ever present awareness always remains.It's always there.Now, what qualities does it have?What makes it so special?So first he says, Purusha Uttama—the greatest person who exists beyond the influence of the gunas and Bhuta Bhavana—the source of well-being for all living beings.So this Formless Awareness,once we recognize it in another,like our Guru or Sri Krishna or we recognize it , within our own self, then we see that it is the greatest being as Formless Awareness that exists.And remember another thing that it's Purusha Uttama meaning is the greatest person now,why is it the greatest person?Because it's beyond the influence of the gunas.Sattvic, rajasic, tamasic.It does not belong to that.There is no notion of purity in it.There's no notion of laziness or ignorance or any notion of activity or lack of control or hyperactivity.There's no notion of this.There's no sense of holier than thou.It is the greatest person that exists.In fact, it's the only thing that exists, so that's why it is the Purusha Uttam.then Bhuta Bhavana,the source of wellbeing for all living beings.This Formless Awareness remains as a source of wellbeing.From it, we get our teachings,our spiritual disciplines, and that's why it's the highest.That's why it's a source of everything.When we want to go to that peace within, we have to go to that awareness itself.We have to go to either our Guru or Sri Krishna also.So it's a source of wellbeing for all living beings.Once we are aware of this Formless Awareness or the Shared Being of Sri Krishna,then we automatically start feeling peaceful and content.Then we do not want anything more in life.We are happy with what we have and we are always in spiritual practice.The more spiritual practice we're in, the more peace we are in, and that's why we are at the peak of wellbeing when we rise above this body and mind.Then he says, Bhutesha the ultimate ruler above all living beings.In essence, it rules over everything.Yes.Sri Krishna or Isvara,It rules over everything.Without Consciousness even,how can objects even appear?Think about it.The source of everything,remember is this Isvara,this Sri Krishna.Without this Consciousness, how can these objects even be here?Without this Consciousness,there is no objects for us to be aware of.As a source of all existence,this Formless is the Ultimate Ruler above all living beings.So once we understand that this Nirgunaa Brahman is what really is the true ruler, because it's righteous, it cares about everybody, it does things that cause the least amount of harm.That's why it's the ultimate ruler, that it's just, it does not allow poverty to continue.It does not allow the rich to exploit.That's why it's the Ultimate ruler.It's based on spiritual principles that it rules everything.That's why it's the ultimate ruler.If you think about it, we may have rulers in this world.They may be sovereignty in this world.They may be kings, they may be presidents, but they all operate from a certain angle.Either they care about their own power or they are not willing to address real issues, or you may have rulers that do care about real issues and look to eliminate all sorts of injustices that are there in society.The true way to see a spiritual person is that they must be the ultimate ruler, meaning they are always fair, they're always kind, and they understand humanity so well because they live, they rule according to spiritual principles, so there's no conflict or any duality or any sort of difference of,well, I'm a spiritual being and I can do whatever I want.No, it operates within kindness, within compassion.It cares about other people.And you know, for example, you can have anyone in a position but the only way you really respect that person is if their character reflects it.Same thing in spirituality.If somebody is not living according to the spiritual principles whose characteristics aren't spiritual, it doesn't matter.If they give lofty speeches,it they are a scholar,it doesn't really matter.Only then it matters when we really have that spiritual energy, whenever someone comes across us, they feel that peace and contentment.So as a source of all existence, this Formless is the ultimate ruler.Yeah.And it is with the will of this Formless, with the will of Isvara that we can even move a little.Without this ultimate ruler, we cannot function in this world.This world will be inhabitable.Due to this Formless, we are able to do so much.And then once we understand that this ruler also is within us, this sovereignty is within us and is our very true nature, then all delusions dissolve away.And that's where we recognize that the ultimate ruler is that antaryami, that inner dweller,and that's how we truly see it.Then Arjuna continues that your Devadeva the supreme Deva to whom all other Devas must answer and Jagatpati the master controller and source of all the universes.So it is the supreme Deva,the MahaDeva of all Devis and Devtas, because ultimately they all emanate from that one, that Brahman, that ultimate reality.So that's why it's the Supreme Deva.Without the Supreme Deva are, there is no many.There is no many Devis and Devtas.So the true worship of Devis and Devtas is present when we truly understand that it is this one that we are worshiping,and they all operate under the jurisdiction of Brahman.They do not go against Brahman.They do not go against the Will of Brahman or the flow of Brahman.Everything happens according to this Supreme Deva.If there is something that they fear, then it is this Formless Awareness because this Brahman is what really is the only reality.All the things that we see are merely transient and temporary.And even the Devas know this,and even the Devas know they have to answer to this One.If this One is, not out of a dualistic sense, but the Devas have to answer because that's, they're inner calling that they are this Brahman too, and that's why it's there.It is the master of all the universes.It is the one that gives us the knowledge, that shows that it is the ultimate master.So one thing is we know that it rules over everything.So it's the master, it's our Guru, it's our teacher.At the same time, it's the controller of the universes.So with Its one motion,universes function and all happens as it wills to the laws of nature.So that's how It controls existence.And if we understand that it's both Nirguna and Saguna,we see a complete picture.When we see that it's unmanifest and manifest, we see how it works through nature.And when we observe nature,we start seeing and perceiving this higher truth that all this multiplicity we see is actually united by this One.And that's why it's the source of all the universes.All the universes emanate from this One.Again, what we need to understand is that it's manifested.Remember, it's not created but manifested by this One.So it's a source of all universes.Without this no universe has a beginning, no universe has an end, but it's because of This (Brahman) a universe has a beginning and has an end and has a structure.Verse 16.Now, please describe without any reservations how the countless divine wonders of existence emanate from your own Atman, pervading and abiding within every one of the countless lokas.Let's look at the whole verse here.Arjuna is brilliant in terms of how he's expressed, what he's discovered and knows,and we can know now from this,that he's a, an even deeper seeker than we originally saw.So before, when we saw Arjuna,he was full of fear, full of doubt, full of confusion and now we see someone who is gathering the strength to ask for spirituality.This is what makes him so different.Now he says, please describe without any reservation and this is how we need to be with our gurus as well.Are we like that with our mentors, with our role models, with our gurus,our spiritual teachers.Do we ever say, describe this truth without reservation?We're always hesitant because we are more concerned about our material life than spiritual life.Here Arjuna says to Sri Krishna, please describe without any reservations,don't have any limitations on what you can tell me.That is the way!He wants to see the complete picture.And then he says how the countless divine wonders of existence emanate.He wants to see the fullness of this infinite form of Sri Krishna, this infinite form of this existence.And he says, it's emanating from your own Atman meaning from your own being, this true reality, this ultimate reality.That's where it's arising from.Then he says pervading and abiding within everyone of the countless lokas.So not only is it in the different realms in existence, but it's within every particle of existence.It's pervading everything and it's abiding.It's living within everything too.Functioning as everything too.That's the way to see this.Ultimately, from what we see here is that Arjuna is saying everything is divine.So let me see this divinity in everything.It's a tough thing to actually ask for and even accept,but the beauty here is that Arjuna is ready to accept.Then in verse 17.How should I see and know You, O greatest yogi,constantly meditating upon You in a myriad of ways.O Sri Bhagavan, in what forms,aspects, and states of being,should I contemplate the countless wonders of Your being.So the very first part of this verse is, how should I see you and know You, O greatest yogi, constantly meditating upon you in a myriad of ways.First of all, this is an important question to ask how we must see our Guru?How can we know our Guru?How can we know our teacher?How can we know this ultimate reality?How can we see this ultimate reality?How can we see and know Brahman?Yeah, this is what this verse is talking about and he is saying, O greatest yogi,because there's no greater yogi than Sri Krishna.Sri Krishna is yoga itself.It's the union itself.It's the Formless itself.It's what we may call God itself.That's why it's the greatest yogi and because it's the greatest yogi, it will have so many ways in which we can meditate upon it.So he's saying, well, how can I meditate upon You?What will be pleasing for You?There's myriad of ways,there's infinite ways on how I can meditate upon You.So how can I create this constant connection to You?So this is what Arjuna really wants from him.Now, yes, Arjuna is getting ready for battle, but at the same time, he's saying,how can I remain in the awareness of this wisdom that you've given to me?How can I?How can I remain as connected as much as possible?Then in the next verse, he says, O Sri Bhagavan in what forms, aspects, and states of being, should I contemplate the countless wonders of Your being?O Sri Bhagavan in what forms, tell me, which forms can I meditate upon You?Which Deva should I meditate upon?How can I see You?What will be that image that is great for You?What aspects of You,what attributes of You should I look at?Which attributes should I contemplate upon?And what state of being should one concentrate on?Is it the state of Sattva?Is it the state of Rajas?Is it the state of Tamas?How do I see You?How should I contemplate upon You?You have countless of wonders.Well, how am I meant to see these countless of wonders.Yeah.And they're all in Your being.You are all this that I find to be wondrous.That is what Arjuna is saying,and that's why we can see from here Arjuna wants to know how he can bring a synthesis between Saguna and Nirguna.That's ultimately what he's asking for here.Then in verse 18.O Sri Krishna, please explain the many details of how You bring forth this amazing manifestation through the power of Your own yoga.I never tire of hearing the amrita 'the life restoring nectar of Your immortal words'.Beautiful.So here Arjuna says O Sri Krishna please explain the many details of how You bring forth this amazing manifestation through the power of Your own yoga.Arjuna is fascinated with these ideas of universes, multiverses.So he asks about this manifestation, this existence, this vastness.He says, explain the many details of how you bring about this amazing manifestation,all these things that I can see and perceive here.Taste, smell, touch.Every one of those things,tell me, explain to me these many details of Your amazing manifestation,and it's all through the power of Your own yoga.You recognize that the power of all this, the source of all this existence, of this interconnectedness is Sri Krishna, our Guru or Nirguna Brahman.He wants all the details Arjuna wants to see it for himself.He wants to see how all these separate objects are united with this Formless Awareness.And he wants to know how we can establish ourself in understanding that the true power of all this is from this Nirguna Brahman itself.From this Formless Awareness.Then he says, I never tire of hearing the amrita'life restoring nectar of Your immortal words'.This amrita, this life restoring nectar.How can anyone get tired of this?How can anyone get exhausted by it?It gives more and more energy.The more we think about it, the more we contemplate upon it.So here Arjuna is talking about being in the state of wonder.Wonder brings about energy.Yeah, it brings about vitality.So it's life restoring.It brings life to us.And remember, Arjuna was feeling low before, he was stressed.He was anxious.All life was taken out of him and Arjuna's life has been restored.His vitality has been restored through Sri Krishna's words, through his Gyana.It's helped bring life into him.He's saying here, I cannot be tired of listening to You and Your praises.I cannot be tired of listening to Your glories.I cannot be tired listening to Your immortal words.Your words bring immortality.It brings in everlasting life.Therefore they rejuvenate one.That's why he's saying he never tires and truly spiritual beings can never be tired of spirituality.You can get tired of worldly pursuits.Eventually you'll be tired of them.Your body will fail.Your mind may fail, but in spirituality, this awareness is what remains at all times.When the body is sick,awareness remains.When the mind is sick,the awareness remains.What spiritual beings can do even if their mind fails them,even if their body fails them,they rest in that awareness,and that's why they're always are in immortality.Another thing to note is that Sri Krishna's words are ways to help us get to jivan-mukti.They're the ones that provide us with true understanding of spirituality, and that's what Arjuna is saying here.Then verse 19.

Sri Bhagavan said: 21:34

Listen Arjuna as I reveal to you the atma vibhuti ‘divine process by which all that exists is manifest from My own Atma’.But since there is no limit to My endless expansions,I would only describe those that are most prominent.So the first part of the verse is Sri Bhagavan said: Listen Arjuna, as I reveal to you the atma vibhuti, now the atma vibhuti is a divine process by which all that exists is manifest from My own Atma.So Sri Krishna, first of all,accepts Arjuna's request and says that he will explain how this atma vibhuti, this divine process, that brings about this manifestation by His true reality.He's saying he's going to tell him about this.He's going to discuss it with him.So he says, listen,Arjun, pay attention.He says It's manifest from my own Atman.That's what atma vibhuti means.It's manifest from My own Atman.The source of it is from My own self.Yeah.This true self, this true reality, and essentially,the process of how the Shared Being comes into existence is going to be explained.Now, Sri Krishna says in the next part of the verse,but since there is no limit to my endless expansions,I will only describe those that are most prominent.Since this existence is endless, It is Infinite and it's continuously expanding.It's impossible to mention everything.So Sri Krishna says, I won't say everything, but I would describe those that are most important so you can understand what they are.After all, you know,if Sri Krishna has to explain everything,he'd be there all day.But there's a war that needs to be fought here.So Sri Krishna says, I'll tell you what's most important.The most obvious.That is more than enough.Also Sri Krishna may see Arjuna doing a bit of a delay tactic as well on two fronts that he's actually delaying the fight,so the mind can be cunning.The other one may be that this Formless Awareness is more important than these objects, no matter how amazing and wonderous they are of existence itself.So there's no need to keep going on about this existence.Let's, let's tell you what's the most important aspects,and then you will see this Formless Awareness, which is the ultimate reality behind all of these objects.So all of these objects are there because of awareness,and this is more important.So that's what he's saying and that's what he says.There's no limit to my endless expansions.What end are you gonna go to?I am all of this is what he's saying.So he's only gonna describe what's most important, most prominent.Verse 20.O Arjuna, I am the atma—the true self residing in the heart of all beings . I am the adi—the beginning.I am the madhya—the middle,and anta bhutana—the end of life of all beings.Let's break this up.O Arjuna, I am the atma—the,the true self residing in the heart of all beings.Now the explanation begins.And these are relatively straightforward.So first of all, Sri Krishna is recognizing that it's the true self.What is the true self?This Nirguna Brahman, this Formless Awareness, and it's residing in the heart of all beings in every single being, it's residing there,deep within it's there.All that people need to do is see it.And if you can recognize it in yourself, you will recognize it in the heart of every single being in this existence.Whether it's an animal, whether it's a mammal, whether it's a particle, whether it's you,yourself as a human being,you'll see everywhere in the heart of every single being, all beings, nothing is exempt here.And no being has a heart without this true self.For some, it's well hidden.For some, it's more obvious and you can see that some people are more spiritually minded, some people aren't.That's the way life is.You can have people born in the same house, have the same upbringing, but one may just be genuinely more spiritual than the other.Nothing wrong or right about either one of those, but ultimately, for some it's obvious, for some it isn't.Then he says, I am the adi—the beginning, madhya—the middle, and anta bhutana—the end of life of all beings.So this Formless Awareness is the beginning of all existence because it is aware of all events.So here he's talking about the beginning, the middle, and the end of life of all beings.He's talking about the whole cycle of life and he's saying,I'm in all this cycle of life.Yeah.This Formless Awareness is a time in between the beginning and the end, known as the middle because one is aware of all the activities that occur in that space and this Formless Awareness is the end of life for all beings.The end moment of everything from insects to humans,to stars to space itself.Because it is aware of the moment nature loses its power to continue life.The one thing we need to understand here is that Sri Krishna is the anta bhutana,the end of life of all beings.That time where, We have to accept that death will occur.And it's not about how many years you live, it's about the quality of life that you live.And that's what Sri Krishna is talking about here really.He doesn't specify that one will live to in certain amount of years.He just says the beginning,the middle, and the end of life of all beings.So we have to understand that eventually our time is going to be up and when it's up, we have to accept it and we have to move forward, and that's unfortunately the way life is.Then Sri Krishna continued.Among Among the Adityas, I am Vishnu.Of lights, I am Ravi,the radiant Sun.Of the Maruts, I am Marici.Among nakshatras ‘the twenty-seven constellations’,I am Shashi, the Moon.So let's look at that verse as a whole.So here he says, Among the Aditya, I am Vishnu.I'm Krishna itself.So Adityas are the beneficent gods who act as protectors of all beings who are provident and guard the world of spirits and protect the world.Of these adityas, it is a sustaining attribute named Vishnu, which is the most supreme.So amongst all those adityas,Vishnu is the highest,Krishna is the highest.Then of all the radiant lights, all the stars.The one thing that we know is that the sun is the most radiant for us on this planet, in this solar system.So of all the stars that we know of, it's the sun that's the most radiant for us.And then of all the storm Vedic gods, they have originated from Rudra, which is Marici,who is considered to be the mind born son of Brahma, or even one of the seven rishis.And then of all the constellations in the solar system, it is the coolness of the moon.It is the radiance of the moon.We may not see the other planets, but we can always see the moon because of where it's located.Then verse 22.Among the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda.Of devas, I am Vasava or Indra..Among the indriyas, I am the manas faculty.I am chetana 'the conscious awareness of the atma in each being'.Let's break this verse up a bit.Among the Vedas,I'm the Sama Veda.Now the Sama Veda is important here because it is from this where we worship and have devotion towards the Vedic gods.And that's where it all begins.Hence Sri Krishna refers to himself as the Sama Veda amongst the four.One thing to note, also, is Sama Veda is linked to bhajans,therefore we know that in bhakti, bhajans are used a lot, kirtan is used a lot.That's why Sama Veda is given the most importance here because it's the way we chant the holy names of the Lord.Then he says, of Devas,I'm Vasava or Indra.Of the Devas, the multiples that there are, he's the king of Deva or Indra Devta, that's who he is.And then among the indriyas,I am the manas faculty.Of all the senses,it is the mind that records them all there.So the way to see this,is that the senses, they record things individually.It's the Manas that intellectualizes them into a common thread.So we see the unity in all the information that the senses are providing.Brahman is the conscious awareness of the true self in each being, it is the witness consciousness that is living within each being.remember, I am the chetana'the conscious awareness of the atma in each being.' That conscious element within us,that awareness that does not change according to what's going on throughout the day,throughout the events of life, it's that Consciousness,it's that Pure Self, that's there within each being.Verse 23.Of the Rudras, I am Shankara.Of the Yakshas and Rakshas,I am Vittesha or Kuvera.Of the Vasus, I am Pavaka.Of mountains, I am Meru.Of the Rudras, I am Shankara.Which is also mostly known as Lord Shiva today.So basically he's saying of the Vedic gods and of the puranic gods, I am Shankara.The Yakshas are described in Hindu literatures as the brothers of demonic beings,which is the Rakshas, and they live bit down below the earth in the subterranean plains.And Lord Kubera was also the cousin or brother of Ravana,and that's why Kubera is seen as a valiant person.Of the Vasus, I am Pavaka..So the Vasus referred to a group of vedic deities associated with fire and light, and Pavaka is the most brightest of them all.And then of mountains, I am Meru.So of all the great mountains, Meru is a mythical mountain that's the most challenging to climb, the most challenging to overcome.And that's why it's Meru,or Meru is also seen as the mountain that's in the center of the universe.So that's another way of seeing it.So verse 24.You should know Arjuna of the purohits ‘ wise performers of sacred rituals’, I am Brihaspati.Of military commanders, I'm Skanda.Of bodies of water.I'm Sagara the ocean.So let's look at the verse as a whole and Arjuna should take note of this,that he should know this.Of all the best performance of the sacred rituals that are there in the Vedas, he's Brihaspati, who is the preceptor of the gods, the master of sacred wisdom, charms, hymns and rites, and the sage counselor of Indra Devta in his war against the asuras.So that's why he's the wise performer of sacred rituals.We approach a brihaspati to know more.And then of military commanders, I'm Skanda.Skanda is the firstborn of Shiva and also the deity of war.So there's no one better of military commanders.So Kartikeya, the firstborn of Lord Shiva.That's who he is.Of military commanders,he's the highest.And again, of the bodies of water, I'm Sagara.I'm the ocean.So of all the bodies of water, it is the mighty ocean.All bodies of water lead to the ocean or originated from the ocean.All rivers lead to the ocean.And remember, even within the ocean it is endless and supreme.And most of all, when it's the ocean, there's waves and there's that multiplicity.There's waves and each wave has its own name and form, but ultimately its all the ocean.It's all water itself, and that's why and so far Sri Krishna has given 19 attributes in how we can remember him and how we can recall him and have that strong sense of devotion.And that is the end of today's episode.If you liked what you heard and liked what you watched,please do share this podcast with your friends and family who may enjoy this content.Do follow me on social media to keep getting updates.Join the Bearded Mystic Podcast WhatsApp community group to continue the podcast discussion,details are in the show notes and video description below.If you would like to support the Bearded Mystic Podcast as we discussed earlier, do check out the podcast Patreon page.Your support means everything, and it helps this podcast keep running.Details are in the show notes and video description below.Please do rate this podcast five stars and do give a review either on your favorite podcast,streaming app or on our website.Details are in the show notes and video description below.Please do like and comment on this video and subscribe to this YouTube channel.Do follow or subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast streaming app.Thank you very much for listening to this episode.Let's end with the Shanti mantra and the Soham mantra.Soham Soham.I am That.I am That.Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum Peace Peace Peace Namast