1. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA Presentation adapted from The Bhagavad Gita
According to Gandhi, Orient Paperbacks,2011 T K G Namboodhiri
2. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 10 VIBHUTI YOGA
3. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI INTRODUCTION Chapter
10, Vibhuti Yoga, describes the Powers or the Lordship & the
Pervasiveness or Immanence of the Self. Krishna indicates Himself
as the most prominent & chief factor in all classes of beings,
& as the Supreme Factor without which specimens of each class
cannot maintain themselves as existent beings. Arjuna asks the Lord
how one can constantly keep in touch with the Eternal, &
requests Him to describe in detail the Lords yoga-power &
immanent glory. In reply, Sri Krishna describes exhaustively the
exact identity of the Self in individual beings & things. T K G
Namboodhiri
4. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.1 to 10.3 Yet
once more, O Mahabahu, hear My supreme word, which I will utter to
thee, gratified one, for thy benefit. Neither the gods nor the
great seers know My origin; for I am, every way, the origin of them
both. He who knows Me, the great Lord of the worlds, as birthless
& without beginning, he among mortals, undeluded, is released
from sins. Those who know Me as the unborn, the Beginning- less
& the Supreme Lord of all creatures, do not sink into the
darkness of ignorance-tells Sri Krishna. The Jnani becomes free
from all sins. T K G Namboodhiri
5. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.4 &10.5
Discernment, knowledge, freedom from delusion, long suffering,
truth, self-restraint, inward calm, pleasure, pain, birth, death,
fear & fearlessness. Non-violence, even-mindedness,
contentment, austerity, beneficence, good & ill fame--- all
these various attributes of creatures proceed verily from Me. All
the qualities mentioned in these verses exist in all creatures
& the Supreme Lord is the cause of each one of them. The
creator of all beings is also the cause of all the good & evil
which we see in these beings. T K G Namboodhiri
6. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.6 &10.7
The seven great seers, the ancient four, & the Manus too were
born of Me & of My mind, & of them were born all the
creatures in the world. He who knows in truth this My immanence
& My yoga becomes gifted with unshakable yoga; of this there is
no doubt. Everything which exists is created by the Lord. He who
believes, not merely with his reason but also with his heart, that
no creature can live or act without His permission, yokes himself
to Him in single-minded devotion. There is no doubt at all that one
who believes in God from the depth of his heart & obeys the
Lord who dwells in him, attains a state of serenity which is never
perturbed. T K G Namboodhiri
7. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.8 to10.11 I
am the source of all, all proceeds from Me; knowing this, the wise
worship ME with hearts full of devotion. With Me in their thoughts
their whole soul devoted to Me, teaching one another, with Me ever
on their lips, they live in contentment & joy. To these, ever
in tune with Me, worshipping Me with affectionate devotion, I give
the power of selfless action, whereby they come to Me. Out of very
compassion for them, I who dwell in their hearts, destroy the
darkness, born of ignorance, with the refulgent Lamp of Knowledge.
He who lovingly cultivates devotion for the Lord & constantly
thinks of Him, gets knowledge without making any special efforts
towards that end. Knowledge comes spontaneously to a Bhakta. He
does not have to wade through big volumes. T K G Namboodhiri
8. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.12 to10.15
Desiring to know more Arjuna spoke thus: Lord! You are the supreme
Brahman, the supreme Abode, the supreme Purifier! Everlasting
Celestial Being, the Primal God, Unborn; All-pervading. Thus have
all the seers- the divine seers Narada, Asita, Devala, Vyasa
declared Thee; and Thou Thyself dost tell me so. All that Thou
tellest me is true, I know, O Kesava, verily, Lord, neither the
gods nor the demons know Thy manifestation. Thyself alone Thou
knowest by Thyself, O Purushothama, O Source & Lord of all
beings, God of gods, O Ruler of the universe! T K G
Namboodhiri
9. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.16 to10.18
Arjuna continued: Indeed Thou ought to tell me of all Thy
manifestations, without a remainder, whereby Thou dost pervade
these worlds O Yogi! Constantly meditating on Thee, how am I to
know Thee? In what various aspects am I to think of Thee, O Lord?
Recount to me yet again, in full detail, Thy unique power & Thy
immanence, O Janardana! For my ears cannot be sated with listening
to Thy life-giving words. Arjuna, who loves repeating Krishnas name
in devotion, requests Him again & again to describe His powers
till the latter can say no more. T K G Namboodhiri
10. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.19 to10.22
In response, Sri Krishna reveals more about His divine
transcendental opulence, in the next 24 Verses of this chapter:
Yes, I will unfold to thee, O Kurushreshta, My divine
manifestation- the chiefest only; for there is no limit to their
extent. I am the Atman, O Gudakesha, seated in the heart of every
being; I am the beginning, the middle & the end of all beings.
Of the Adityas I am Vishnu; of the luminaries the radiant Sun; of
Maruts I am Marichi; of constellations, the moon. Of the Vedas I am
Sama Veda; of the gods, Indra; of the senses I am the mind; of
beings I am the consciousness. T K G Namboodhiri
11. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.23 to10.26
The Lord continued: Of Rudras I am shankara; of Yakshas &
Rakshasas Kubera; of Vasus I am the Fire; of mountains Meru. Of
priests, O Partha, know Me to be chief Brihaspati; of army captains
I am Kartikeya; & of waters, the ocean. Of the great seers I am
Bhrigu; of words I am the one syllable AUM; of sacrifices I am the
Japa sacrifice; of things immovable, the Himalayas. Of all trees I
am Ashvastha; of the divine seers, Narada; of the heavenly choir I
am Chitraratha; of the perfected I am Kapila the ascetic. T K G
Namboodhiri
12. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.27 to10.30
The Lord continued: Of horses, know Me to be Uchchaihshravas born
with Amrita; of mighty elephants I am Airavata; of men, the
monarch. Of weapons I am Vajra; of cows, Kamadhenu; I am Kandarpa,
the god of generation; of serpants I am Vasuki. Of cobras I am
Ananta; of water-dwellers I am Varuna; of the manes I am Aryman;
& of chastisers, Yama. Of demons I am Prahlada; of reckoners,
the Time; of beasts I am the lion; & of birds, Garuda. T K G
Namboodhiri
13. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.31 to10.34
Sri Krishna continued: Of cleansing agents I am the wind; of
wielders of weapons, Rama; of fishes I am the crocodile; of rivers,
the Ganges. Of creations I am the beginning, end & middle, O
Arjuna; of sciences, the science of spiritual knowledge; of
debaters, the right argument. Of letters the letter A; of compounds
I am the dvanda; I am the imperishable Time; I am the creator to be
seen everywhere. All-seizing Death am I, as also the source of
things to be; in feminine virtues I am Kirti (glory), Shri(beauty),
Vak (speech), Smriti (memory), Medha (intelligence), Dhriti
(constancy) & Kshama (forgiveness). T K G Namboodhiri
14. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.35
&10.36 The Lord continued: Of Saman hymns I am Brihat Saman; of
metres, Gayatri; of months I am Margashirsha; of seasons, the
spring. Of deceivers I am the dice-play; of the splendid, the
splendour; I am the victory, I am resolution, I am the goodness of
the good. The authors intention in enumerating these various
entities is only to assert that God is omnipotent. Gods creation
contains both good & evil. Sri Krishna here gives us the
freedom to choose between the two. He gives us the freedom to shake
off our bonds. Lord assures us that we can be what we wish to be. T
K G Namboodhiri
15. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.37 to 10.40
The Lord continued to give more illustrations: Of Vrishnis I am
Vaasudeva; of Pandavas Dhananjaya; of ascetics I am Vyasa; and of
seers, Ushanas. I am the rod of those that punish; the strategy of
those seeking victory; of secret things I am silence, & the
knowledge of those that know. Whatever is the seed of every being,
O Arjuna, that am I; there is nothing, whether moving or fixed,
that can be without Me There is no end to My divine manifestations;
what extent of them I have told thee now is only by way of
illustration. T K G Namboodhiri
16. THE BHAGAVD GITA ACCORDING TO GANDHI Verses 10.41 &
10.42 Whatever is glorious, beautiful & mighty, know then that
all such has issued from a fragment of my splendour. But why needst
thou to learn this at great length, O Arjuna? With but a part of
Myself I stand upholding this universe. With these Verses, the Lord
concludes this Chapter of His Divine Glories. If we have an idea of
the infinite powers of the Lord, we shall become humble. We will
not feel proud of the powers we possess; even being proud is His
privilege. We should learn to be the humblest of the humble. We
should submit to violence if anyone attacks us, without offering
violence in return. If we resist with violence, God will humble our
pride. T K G Namboodhiri
