Bg 10.16
vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ
yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṁs tvaṁ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi
Bg 10.17
kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogiṁs tvāṁ sadā paricintayan
keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu cintyo ’si bhagavan mayā
Bg 10.18
vistareṇātmano yogaṁ vibhūtiṁ ca janārdana
bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me ’mṛtam
Translation
16. You should indeed, without reserve, tell me of Your Divine glories by which You exist pervading all these worlds.
17. How shall I, ever-meditating, know You, O YOGIN? In what aspects or things, O Blessed Lord, are You to be thought of by me?
18. Tell me again, in detail, O Janardana, of your YOGA -power and Immanent glory; for I do not feel satisfied by hearing your (life-giving and so) nectar-like speech.
Commentary
The Prince is convinced that the Lord is the Essence without which the multiple world cannot exist. At the same time, when he looks out into the world through his familiar instruments of the intellect, mind and body, he recognises nothing but ideas, feelings and objects; and they are anything but divine.
When a building is illuminated on a ceremonial occasion, we see many points of light emanating from the innumerable coloured bulbs of varying intensity, but, when we are told that all of them are sustained and fed by the same electricity, it would be quite natural for the ignorant to demand that he be shown the electricity in each of its manifestations! As the Cosmic-man (Ishwara), the Lord is both Transcendental (Vibhuti), and Immanent (Yoga), in all names and forms that constitute Samsara. This can be felt by a heart of faith but cannot be comprehended by the intellect, even if it be sharp. Naturally, Arjuna asked Krishna for an exhaustive discourse upon "YOUR COSMIC-GLORY, VIBHUTI, BY WHICH, FILLING ALL THESE WORLDS, YOU EXIST." Arjuna, being a man-of-action and supremely practical-minded, wanted to gather sufficient data for his intellect to ponder over, classify and understand It.
IS IT MERELY INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY IN ARJUNA THAT MADE HIM ASK THIS QUESTION?... LISTEN:
HOW AM I TO MEDITATE UPON THEE, SO THAT I MAY COME TO KNOW THEE? --- The goal of a seeker is to KNOW the Truth in his own personal experience, while he is in an intimate identification with It. The Geeta was advocating, so far, not a life of retirement, for purposes of quiet meditation, in solitary caves, on the banks of some river, all alone! Krishna's call to man was a call to duty, the call of work, the call of living the God-experience in and through life. Geeta, the scripture, we should not forget, was declared in the Mahabharata battle-field at a moment when the world of that time was facing the greatest known historical crisis, both secular and sacred.
Arjuna has been completely converted into accepting the Geeta Religion of Right Action. This is indicated especially when Arjuna addresses Krishna in this stanza as "O Yogin" --- the greatest Karma Yogin that ever freely lived in the thickest of life, yet, never let himself down from the Consciousness of the Divine Essence.
Moreover, he makes it very clear why he has requested Krishna to explain "without reserve," His Cosmic-Stature. Arjuna asks: "IN WHAT FORMS ARE YOU TO BE THOUGHT OF BY ME?" Even while living life and meeting its problems, if one were to remember constantly the Divine Presence everywhere, one must know exactly where to see It, among the individual objects of the world, among the combinations of things and in the community of beings.
STATING AGAIN PRECISELY WHAT HE WANTS KRISHNA TO EXPLAIN, ARJUNA MAKES IT CLEAR THAT EVEN IF THE ANSWERS BE RATHER LENGTHY, HE WILL NOT FEEL TIRED OF LISTENING TO THEM AND UNDERSTANDING THEM ALL:
A student of philosophy --- and for that matter, a true student of any knowledge --- should have, first of all, an insatiable thirst to understand, to know, and to appreciate. Without this appetite, no knowledge can be digested by the student with profit. This is especially so in the SUBJECTIVE SCIENCE of self-development. For, here, as nowhere else, the knowledge gained is not only to be digested and assimilated, but lived intensively. Therefore, anxiety to listen (Jijnasa) has been recognised as one of the noblest qualities, unavoidable for a fit student in Vedanta, if he is TO BE ASSURED OF ANY PROGRESS on the Path-of-Knowledge.
Arjuna, the Pandava Prince, had this noble trait to a large extent, for he confesses, "I AM NEVER SATISFIED WITH LISTENING TO THE NECTARINE WORDS OF YOUR DISCOURSES." No doubt, it is true, Satsanga has a chastening effect upon all intelligent and interested listeners. This intoxication, vicariously experienced by the students when a true teacher discourses upon the Truth, is only a temporary exhilaration, a passing mood of false peace, which cannot stand in good stead when the student is left all alone by himself.
And yet, however volatile it may be, it can enchant the new initiates, and some, like Arjuna, may become addicted to it. This state of fascination for hearing more and more spiritual discourses is amply indicated here. Though this is not the end, this is a good beginning, no doubt, and those who feel a fulfilment in the study of philosophy are certainly much more noble than the thousands who cannot even stand a philosophical discourse, discussing the Nature of the Divine!!
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ
yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṁs tvaṁ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi
Bg 10.17
kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogiṁs tvāṁ sadā paricintayan
keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu cintyo ’si bhagavan mayā
Bg 10.18
vistareṇātmano yogaṁ vibhūtiṁ ca janārdana
bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me ’mṛtam
Translation
16. You should indeed, without reserve, tell me of Your Divine glories by which You exist pervading all these worlds.
17. How shall I, ever-meditating, know You, O YOGIN? In what aspects or things, O Blessed Lord, are You to be thought of by me?
18. Tell me again, in detail, O Janardana, of your YOGA -power and Immanent glory; for I do not feel satisfied by hearing your (life-giving and so) nectar-like speech.
Commentary
The Prince is convinced that the Lord is the Essence without which the multiple world cannot exist. At the same time, when he looks out into the world through his familiar instruments of the intellect, mind and body, he recognises nothing but ideas, feelings and objects; and they are anything but divine.
When a building is illuminated on a ceremonial occasion, we see many points of light emanating from the innumerable coloured bulbs of varying intensity, but, when we are told that all of them are sustained and fed by the same electricity, it would be quite natural for the ignorant to demand that he be shown the electricity in each of its manifestations! As the Cosmic-man (Ishwara), the Lord is both Transcendental (Vibhuti), and Immanent (Yoga), in all names and forms that constitute Samsara. This can be felt by a heart of faith but cannot be comprehended by the intellect, even if it be sharp. Naturally, Arjuna asked Krishna for an exhaustive discourse upon "YOUR COSMIC-GLORY, VIBHUTI, BY WHICH, FILLING ALL THESE WORLDS, YOU EXIST." Arjuna, being a man-of-action and supremely practical-minded, wanted to gather sufficient data for his intellect to ponder over, classify and understand It.
IS IT MERELY INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY IN ARJUNA THAT MADE HIM ASK THIS QUESTION?... LISTEN:
HOW AM I TO MEDITATE UPON THEE, SO THAT I MAY COME TO KNOW THEE? --- The goal of a seeker is to KNOW the Truth in his own personal experience, while he is in an intimate identification with It. The Geeta was advocating, so far, not a life of retirement, for purposes of quiet meditation, in solitary caves, on the banks of some river, all alone! Krishna's call to man was a call to duty, the call of work, the call of living the God-experience in and through life. Geeta, the scripture, we should not forget, was declared in the Mahabharata battle-field at a moment when the world of that time was facing the greatest known historical crisis, both secular and sacred.
Arjuna has been completely converted into accepting the Geeta Religion of Right Action. This is indicated especially when Arjuna addresses Krishna in this stanza as "O Yogin" --- the greatest Karma Yogin that ever freely lived in the thickest of life, yet, never let himself down from the Consciousness of the Divine Essence.
Moreover, he makes it very clear why he has requested Krishna to explain "without reserve," His Cosmic-Stature. Arjuna asks: "IN WHAT FORMS ARE YOU TO BE THOUGHT OF BY ME?" Even while living life and meeting its problems, if one were to remember constantly the Divine Presence everywhere, one must know exactly where to see It, among the individual objects of the world, among the combinations of things and in the community of beings.
STATING AGAIN PRECISELY WHAT HE WANTS KRISHNA TO EXPLAIN, ARJUNA MAKES IT CLEAR THAT EVEN IF THE ANSWERS BE RATHER LENGTHY, HE WILL NOT FEEL TIRED OF LISTENING TO THEM AND UNDERSTANDING THEM ALL:
A student of philosophy --- and for that matter, a true student of any knowledge --- should have, first of all, an insatiable thirst to understand, to know, and to appreciate. Without this appetite, no knowledge can be digested by the student with profit. This is especially so in the SUBJECTIVE SCIENCE of self-development. For, here, as nowhere else, the knowledge gained is not only to be digested and assimilated, but lived intensively. Therefore, anxiety to listen (Jijnasa) has been recognised as one of the noblest qualities, unavoidable for a fit student in Vedanta, if he is TO BE ASSURED OF ANY PROGRESS on the Path-of-Knowledge.
Arjuna, the Pandava Prince, had this noble trait to a large extent, for he confesses, "I AM NEVER SATISFIED WITH LISTENING TO THE NECTARINE WORDS OF YOUR DISCOURSES." No doubt, it is true, Satsanga has a chastening effect upon all intelligent and interested listeners. This intoxication, vicariously experienced by the students when a true teacher discourses upon the Truth, is only a temporary exhilaration, a passing mood of false peace, which cannot stand in good stead when the student is left all alone by himself.
And yet, however volatile it may be, it can enchant the new initiates, and some, like Arjuna, may become addicted to it. This state of fascination for hearing more and more spiritual discourses is amply indicated here. Though this is not the end, this is a good beginning, no doubt, and those who feel a fulfilment in the study of philosophy are certainly much more noble than the thousands who cannot even stand a philosophical discourse, discussing the Nature of the Divine!!
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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