Gita for Youth - Yoga of Manifestation of Power (Vibhuti Yoga)

Chapter 10: The Yoga of special Power and its Manifestation

Lord Krishna said, “Once again, Oh mighty warrior, hear My great teachings, that I, tell you, my affectionate one, for your benefit. Neither the gods, nor the great sages know my origin. I am ancient to all gods and sages. That non deluded one who knows Me, the eternal and unborn, as the Lord of the worlds, overcomes all earthly tribulations.”

The Supreme Being is not born, nor has it any death. It is the eternal spirit and the Universal soul which also resides in the human heart as the human Self or atman. Therefore neither gods, nor sages, who are created beings, can gauge its origin or dissolution. Those who are able to know the Lord as the eternal and non-decaying Self, have the supreme knowledge and therefore are liberated.

Sri Krishna continued, “Good qualities like Intelligence, knowledge, non delusion, compassion, truth, continence, tranquility, pairs of opposites like happiness and misery, existence and non existence, fear and courage, essential characteristics like non violence, equanimity, contentment, ascetic practices, charity, fame and disrepute, are all different attributes of living beings, which originate from Me.”

These attributes are different qualities that appear in varying degrees in human beings. These qualities decide how much advanced a person is in terms of enlightenment. Fear is tamasic (attribute of darkness) i.e. a basic instinct, while the courage is a sattvic (attribute of knowledge) quality.  Happiness and misery are qualities of rajas or passion. All others in varying degree belong to one of the three qualities or gunas of nature. All these gunas arise from the Supreme Being, but the Supreme Being itself is untainted by them.

“The seven ancient great Rishis or Saptarshis, the four Manus or originators of the species of different kinds belonging to all abodes, heavenly or earthly, they were all born out of My mind.”

He further went to explain that verily anybody, who understands these great powers and assets of the Lord, firmly establishes himself in communion with the God i.e. all his doubts disappear. The Lord is the origin of everything, from Him everything comes out. Knowing this the wise men possessed of devotion worship Him. To these, ever united in love with the Lord and ever worshipping Him, the Supreme Lord provides wisdom through which He is attainable. Unto them, out of compassion He bestows His supreme grace of dispelling of the darkness (in their own hearts) born out of ignorance and they get illuminated (and liberated) by this light of knowledge.

A devotee and a seeker of divine wisdom, who constantly meditates upon the Lord, who has no other (worldly) thoughts and aspirations, earn the supreme knowledge through devotion. Thus bhaktiyoga and jnanayoga have the same end results, that of knowledge which enlightens and illuminates the self. A devotee thus knows the Self to be the Supreme Lord who dwells in the hearts of all beings. The divine knowledge destroys all miseries and desires born out of ignorance and establishes the seeker on a plane of eternal joy and bliss. Thus the devotee is liberated in his very life through the grace bestowed upon him.

Arjuna said, “You are the great Supreme Lord, the great refuge, untainted and pure, beyond the material universe. You are the soul who is eternal and divine. You are the most ancient of all gods. You are unborn. This is how the great sages like Asita, Devala, Vyasa refer to You. You Yourself are now telling me this. I consider all these, whatever You have told me, to be true. Verily, oh Lord, nobody can know your divinity, be it gods or the demons. You, the nourisher of all beings, the Supreme Lord of all beings, God of all gods, the owner of the Universe, only Yourself know Yourself.

You should tell me all about Your divine powers and manifestations, with which the whole Universe is shrouded by You. How am I to know You by constantly thinking of You? What are the chief characteristics that I would be associating with You while meditating upon You? Please tell me again and again about Your manifestations and powers, because I do not get satisfied even after listening to Your nectar like words time and again.”

Arjuna, like an ardent devotee and disciple, is not satisfied with the knowledge he has received so far. More he hears, more he pines to hear, such is the magic of the divine. He wants to know about all powers and manifestations of the Lord, which would enable him to think constantly about Him.