THE HOLY YOGA, CHAPTER NUMBER 07, JNANA VIJNANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE AND REALIZATION, VERSE NUMBER 08

THE HOLY YOGA

CHAPTER NUMBER 07

JNANA VIJNANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE AND REALIZATION:

VERSE NUMBER 08

Text in Transliteration:

raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya prabhaa ‘smi sasisooryayoh

pranavah sar vavedeshu sabdah khe paurusham nirshu

Text in English:

I am the sapidity in water, O son of Kunti; I, the radiance in moon and sun; I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas; sound in ether and manliness in man.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

The sweetness in eatables indicates the presence of sugar in them. Similarly, the innate nature of Iswara reveals itself in all the modifications He has undergone. It is imperative for the aspirant that he recognizes the presence of Iswara in the varieties of His manifestations. Jnana of this kind is conducive to vijnana. Pure water is tasteless, but the power in it to reveal the tastes of things is really the power of Iswara. But for the indeterminate sapidity in water the determinate difference in taste between a stone and a candy cannot be made out by the tongue. Fire is another element represented by the sun and the moon the light of which when perceived by the eyes bring the knowledge of the colour, form and beauty in them. Ether similarly functions as the vehicle of sound, the modifications of which are the various languages and the synthesis of which is the syllable Om. The truths and the facts in Nature conveyed through languages are the Vedas.

It is not sufficient for man simply to assume the human form and carry on the human existence. He is verily man who exhibits human excellence in all of his doings. Man fulfils himself this way and this fulfilment is for the glory of the Lord. He adores God best who fulfils himself perfectly.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

In Me all beings and the whole world are woven as a cloth in the warp. In Me as sapidity the water is woven; in Me as light, the sun and the moon are woven; in Me as the sacred syllable Om all the Vedas are woven; in Me as virility all men and women are woven.

The manifestations of the Lord are described in the verses 8, 9, 10 and 11. (Cf. XV. 12)

Comments by the blogger:

In verse 7 the Lord declared that there is nothing whatsoever higher than Him. And all this is strung on Him, as clusters of gems on a string. Now in verses 8 to 11 the Lord goes deeply into some of his aspects.