THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER 10, VERSE 22, VIBHUTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 10

VIBHUTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS:

VERSE NUMBER 22

Text in Transliteration:

vedaanaam saamavedo ‘smi devaanaam asmi vaasavah

indriyaanaam manas chaa ‘smi bhootaanaam asmi chetanaa

Sanskrit words and phrases and their meaning:

Vedaanaam = among the Vedas; saamavedah: = the Sama Veda; asmi (I) am; devaanaam = among the gods; asmi = (I) am; vaasavah: = Vasava; indriyaanaam = among the senses; manah: = mind; cha = and; asmi = (I) am; bhootaanaam = among living beings; asmi = (I) am; chetanaa = intelligence.

Text in English:

Of the Vedas I am the Saman; I am Vasava among the Devas; of the senses I am the mind and among living beings I am consciousness.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

One of the names attributed to Vishnu is Saamaga, which means the chanter of the Sama Veda. Among the four Vedas, Saman is the one best set to music. It is therefore enchanting even to those who cannot understand it. Thought of God comes to all who chant or hear it. It is verily the glory of God.

Vasava is another name of Indra, the lord of the Devas. By sheer merit the deserving ones rise to this position. And all merits are the glories of God. The functioning of all the five senses becomes purposeless when the mind wanders away from them. The ways of the absent-minded man verify this position very clearly. Mind being the recorder of all the sensations, it is reckoned as an attribute of the Lord.

The difference between the living and the dead is in the presence or otherwise of consciousness. The more evolved the being, the clearer is the consciousness. Ultimately the Pure Consciousness gets equated with God.

As wealth distinguishes the wealthy man, these glories reveal the Lord.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

Saamaveda is mentioned as the chief of the Vedas on account of its musical beauty.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:

Vasava is Indra.

Gods: such as Rudras, Adityas.

Indriyas: The five Jana-Indriyas or organs of knowledge, viz., skin, eye, tongue and nose; and the five Karma Indriyas or organs of action, viz., speech, hands, feet, genitals and anus. The mind is regarded as the eleventh sense. As the senses cannot function without the help of the mind, the mind is regarded as the chief among the senses.

Chetana: Intelligence is that state of intellect which is manifest in the aggregate of the body and the senses.

That which illumines all, from the intellect down to the grossest object, is called Chetana.