THE HOLY GITA--CHAPTER 10, VERSE 08, VIBHUTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 10

VIBHUTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS:

VERSE NUMBER 08

Text in Transliteration:

aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate

iti matvaa bhajante maam budhaa bhaavasamanvitaah

Sanskrit words and phrases and their meaning:

aham = I; sarvasya = of all; prabhavah = the source; mattah = from me; sarvam = everything; pravartate = evolves; iti =thus; matvaa = understanding; bhajante = worship; maam = me; budhaah = the wise; bhaavasamanvitaah = endowed with meditation.

Text in English:

I am the origin of all; from Me all things evolve. The wise know this and adore Me with all their heart.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

The farmer who wants to bring up robust plants gives all his attention to the soil, it being the basis of good cultivation. The wise in this wise give their mind to God knowing that He is the source of everything and the thought of Him alone enriches and ennobles the mind. Their attention does not on any account deviate from God. As the plant gets itself rooted in the earth, the yogi gets himself attached to the Almighty. And that is the unfaltering yoga.

Is there then no provision for the varying temperaments to be drawn Godward? The answer is given in the next verse.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

bhaava: the right state of mind. R.

The teacher speaks now as the Lord, as Isvara. God is the material and efficient cause of the world. The aspirant is not deluded by the passing forms but knowing that the Supreme is the source of all the forms, he worships the Supreme.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:

Waves originate in water, depend on water and dissolve in water. The only support for the waves is water. Even so the only support for the whole world is the Lord. Realising this, feeling the omnipresence of the Lord, the wise worship Him with devotion and affection in all places. The Supreme is the same in all countries and at all times. He is the material and the efficient cause.

As Mulaprakriti or Avyaktam the Lord is the source of all forms. The Lord is the Primum mobile. He gazes at His Sakti (creative power) and the whole world evolves and the forms move. The worldly man who has neither sharp nor subtle intellect beholds the changing forms only through the fleshy eyes. He has no idea of the Indwelling Presence, the substratum, the all-pervading intelligence or the blissful consciousness. He is allured by the passing forms. He fixes his hopes and joy on these transitory forms. He lives and exerts for them. He rejoices when he gets a wife and children. If these forms pass away he is drowned in sorrow. But the wise ones constantly dwell in the Supreme, the source and the life of all, and enjoy the eternal bliss of the immortal inner Self, their own non-dual Atman, albeit all these forms around them change and pass away. They are steadfast in Yoga. They are endowed with unshakable Yoga. They worship the Supreme in contemplation and enjoy the indescribable bliss of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Para Brahman, known as Vasudeva, is the source of the whole world. From Him alone evolves the whole world with all its changes, viz., existence (Sthiti), destruction (Nasa), action (Kriya), fruit (Phala) and enjoyment (Bhoga). Understanding thus, the wise adore the Supreme Being and engage themselves in profound meditation on the Absolute. (Cf. IX. 10)