Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10: Verse 25 - Verse 33)

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Hello, and welcome to The Bearded Mystic Podcast, and I'm your host, Rahul N Singh.Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode today.If you are really interested in supporting The Bearded Mystic Podcast, and you've found great benefit in listening or watching these episodes, then please do support this podcast on Patreon where you can get ad free and bonus episodes along with other benefits depending on the tier that you select.Your support means everything,and it really does help the podcast keep running efficiently and smoothly, and also widens the audience that this message can reach to.If you would like to know more about it, the details are in the show notes and video description below.

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00 AM Eastern Standard Time there is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and Q&A.If you're interested in meditating with us as a community, then you can find out the details in the show notes and video description below.Please do like, comment, and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube and if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast streaming app, then please do give this podcast a five star rating.It helps the podcast get up in the charts and allows the algorithm to bring this podcast to new listeners and also do review the podcast if you can and make sure you do follow or subscribe to keep getting future episodes.We'll be continuing on with my thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita and we continue on with looking at chapter10, verses 25 to verse 33.Let's get started with verse 25.Of great rishis, I am Brighu.Of all words, I am the single-syllabled sound vibration of aum Of all yajnas, I am japa, the chanting of mantras on a mala.Of immovable things, I am the Himalaya mountains.So let's break this verse up a little.So of great rishis, I am Brighu.Of all words, I am the single-syllabled sound vibration of aum.so first of all, he ,says, of all the great rishis that they know he's Brighu, who is one of the seven great sages, the saptarishis, and one of the many Prajapatis created by Brahma.So the first compiler of the predictive astrology that we know and who's the author of the Brighu Samhita,that astrological classic is attributed to Brighu.Of all words, I am the single-syllabled sound vibration of Aum.Of every word that's there in existence, the most important single syllable sound is Aum.There is no greater sound than Aum.And if we go deeper into meditation, we see that the sound of Aum is automatically present in the universe.It doesn't have to be brought about by anything and that's why whenever we see a mantra spoken,it first begins with Aum.It's a very sacred sound and one that you could say vibrates throughout the whole of existence.So that's one way we can connect to this existence to Nirguna Brahman is through the sound vibration of Aum.Then he says, of all yajnas,I am japa, the chanting of mantras on a mala.Of immovable things, I am the Himalaya mountains.Of all yagnas, so any rituals that people do,agnihotra ritual, anything,any rituals that people have done, Japa is the highest.The more you chant mantras,the Guru mantra, any mantra your Guru has given to you, if you do the japa of that, that is the highest.That's more important.If you do that, you've done all yagnas.That's the way to see this.Of immovable things it's the Himalayas.So you could say within the moving elements of everything,it is the stillness within.Although this whole planet is moving, we should be still like the Himalayas.We know the Himalaya Mountains are the highest mountains on this earth, and what Sri Krishna is talking about is that you can be high and mighty by just being still.Yeah, true strength arises from stillness.That's what is saying.Verse 26.Of trees, I am ashvattha,the peepul tree.Among the deva rishis, I am Narada.Among the Gandharvas ‘deva musicians’, I am Chitraratha.Of siddha munis, I am Kapila,the founder of sankhya darshan‘the branch of vedic knowledge that gave us modern science'.The first part of the verse is Of trees, I am ashvattha,the peepul tree and among the deva rishis, I am Narada..So of all the trees that exist, it is the peepul tree which is regarded as sacred.So this is the bodhi tree that we often see Mahatma Buddha meditating upon.And you'll see that it's often referred to as a tree of life.And many people in India,you will notice that they worship this tree.You may see red thread going around it.People see it as higher also because as you look at it from above, it seems like the roots are above you too.Which is really amazing.So there's roots within like down below in the ground, and the branches seem like roots that are flowing to the sky.It's kind of like encompassing all of existence.That's the way to see it,and that's what's referred to of all the trees, the bodhi tree is the highest.And then of all the deva rishis.So the rishis to the devas, he's Narada.Now.Narada is also known as a traveling musician and storyteller and who carries news and enlightening wisdom too.Remember, there's the bhakti sutras that is named after Narada.And also Narada is considered to be both wise and mischievous in some humorous tales, that we know.He's notorious for being meddlesome, so he may interfere in things provoking conflict between both the gods and the demons, the devas and asuras for their sake of wisdom, as well as for his own entertainment.And the way to see this is that Sri Krishna is every attribute, good or bad?What some people may say is mischievous.Of what is highest,he's also that.Remember, Narada is most noted for doing Japa of Narayana Narayana.So that's why it's linked here.Among the Gandharvas ‘deva musicians’, I am Chitraratha.Here Chitraratha is the lead or the best musician amongst all of them.And remember, music has a certain importance in spirituality whether Indian music or Western Music, I'm not going to differ between the two, but what I'm going to say is that music in general is something that connects us to spirituality.And here Sri Krishna is talking about how he's the best musician of them all and yes the Bhagavad Gita is the song of the Lord.Yeah.This is the greatest song that there is on the planet.And then he says, 'of siddha munis, I am Kapila, the founder of sankhya darshan‘the branch of vedic knowledge that gave us modern science'.Of all those that have mastered and reached enlightenment,it is the founder of the sankhya darshan, which is the most important because this has given birth to the vedic knowledge that has given us modern science.How has it done that through prakriti and purusha, by defining the difference between the two.So matter is that which changes, and purusha is the witness consciousness.Eventually science will catch onto this.Neuroscience is discussing what is the witness, what is aware of these experiences,what is giving us the first person experience and science has only looked into matter.Now it's going beyond that.Now it's saying, well, what is observing this matter?What is the subject of these objects?Yeah.That's why we are thankful to Kapila, because he's given us the Sankhya Darshan.Verse 27.Of horses, I am the seven headed horse of the deva Indra that was born from the churning of the milk ocean of elephants.I am Airavata, the four-headed elephant of Indra, who was also born from the milk ocean.Among humans, I am the ruler.Of horses, he's that seven headed horse of the Deva Indra.Remember Indra is the king of the devas, and he says,also I am the four-headed elephant of Indra too.And he says that they are born from the milk ocean.So everything has emanated from this ocean, itself.What he's saying here is that the seed of everything,everything has arisen from this existence and this existence is seen as a milk ocean.If one had to go back, real back and observe the universe,we will see how all of this looks like a milky ocean.That's what Sri Krishna is talking about here,and everything has churned from this milk ocean.So everything has arisen from this thought of the infinite potential, infinite existence.And then he says, among humans, I am the ruler.Our Guru or Sri Krishna,Isvara that is the ruler.That is what is our true sovereign ruler.That's why he says, among humans, I am the ruler.Then verse 28.Among weapons of war, I am the vajra the ‘thunderbolt wielded by the deva Indra’.Of cows that reside in the transcendent realm of Brahman, I am Kamadhuk, the Surabhi cow who, when milked,gives anything one desires.I am Kandarpa or Kama Deva,that being who excites humans with sensual and sexual desires.Of sarpas ‘serpents’,I am Vasuki, the deva ruler of all such beings.First of all, let's break this verse up again.Among weapons of war, I am the vajra ‘thunderbolt wielded by the deva Indra’.So the vajra is a mighty weapon and it's a legendary and ritual weapon, given that it symbolizes the properties of a diamond,which is indestructibility.Remember, a diamond can only break another diamond.Nothing can actually break diamonds itself, and that's why a thunderbolt is seen as irresistible force,is absolutely powerful.And in previous episodes, we've addressed what the Kamadhuk is, so that cow of all cows that reside in the transcendent realm of Brahman, I'm Kamadhuk.Kamadhuk is that cow that fulfills every desire that one person has.So whatever we desire, this Kamadhuk cow provides those desires, and that's why it's the best of all cows.Cows normally just give milk.This gives everything that you desire.Then the second part of the verse is I am Kandarpa or Kama Deva, that being who excites humans with sensual and sexual desires.Of sarpas ‘serpents’,I am Vasuki, the deva ruler of all such beings.First of all, it's Kama Deva.Now that being, that excites humans with sensual and sexual desires, and this is a life affirmative message.The aspect of love, sensuality,sexuality, all this, these desires are emanating from this one as well.So don't see this as separate.Don't see this as wrong.It cannot be seen as bad because it's only Sri krishna itself.It's only the true Guru itself.It's only existence itself.Therefore, there's no reason for us to even condemn it.This is a life affirmative message.So how we are excited with sensuality and sexuality is through Kama Deva.Who's Kama Deva?Sri Krishna itself and of Sarpas so of the serpents.I am Vasuki, the deva ruler of all such beings.So of all the serpents or desires one could say.Vasuki is the king of all serpents, and , in Hinduism,it is said that all desires rise outta the desire for fulfillment, the desire to feel whole, and vasuki represents that desire to feel complete.That's why it's the ruler of all such beings, because it looks to complete everyone's desires.Then verse 29.Among all the nagas,the celestial serpents,I'm Ananta Shesha, the thousand-headed serpent and the resting-place of Vishnu.Among the yadasas, the beings who live in water,I am the deva Varuna.Among ancestors or original progenitors of human beings, I am Aryaman.Of those devas who exercise control over others, I am Yama, the deva presiding over the process of samsara‘repeated birth and death’.Let's break this verse up.If we watched any of the Mahabharata or any TV shows that represent the Puranas,we have seen, Vishnu is often resting under the thousand headed serpent Anant Shesha.So it's the mightiest of all, because that's where Vishnu resides.It's that resting place.Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the universe on the serpent hoods.And it constantly sings the glories of Vishnu from all of its mouths, and that's why it's the highest.So if you want to say it's the sound of the universe or sound of existence, and it's the thread that holds all of existence together,and Varuna is the deity that is the most supreme of all beings that live in the water,and that's why it's known as varuna and remember that water is essential to life.Water is essential for existence.Then he says, among the ancestors or original progenitors of human beings, I am Aryaman.Of all of our ancestors or the original descendants, or parents of existence, it is Aryaman,whose name signifies life partner, close friend, partner,play fellow, or companion.He can also be depicted as a deity over the customs that rule the various Vedic tribes and people.What we can say that the original ancestor that we have is this existence itself or Sri Krishna.And then he says of those devas who exercise control over others, I am Yama,the deva presiding over the process of samsara.This is a very important verse to understand.One, he says, of those devas who exercise control over others, remember every deva we've just seen now, exercise some level of control.But guess what ends all of their controls.Yama the death and therefore that overlooks the process of samsara, the repeated birth and death cycle.Only when you defeat death do you become Immortal.The real controller of everything is death.And remember, death is the one that recycles everything.Yeah, it recycles existence.Whatever has a life will have to end one day.So death is the most important.Imagine if there was no death, this planet will be overpopulated even more so.So what is true immortality?Formless Awareness,Nirguna Brahman, that's what this verse means.There's no need to feel.I wanna go over this a bit more, that until we get to the highest purpose in life,Yama will continuously go over this process of samsara.It will continuously happen until we get to understand that we are only awareness,which has no name and form.So consider death only happens to name and form.Yeah.Brahman has no form,has no name really.This ultimate reality.Therefore, it cannot die.So the only way to transcend this (samsara), is to go beyond name and form and we also know that everyone fears death.It's the ultimate fear that everyone has.It's the one thing that shows us our emotions and also shows our attachments to things, to people.So death is such that it tries to help us spiritually.If we understand what death is trying to do.If we don't understand death,we see death as an enemy because it's taking people we love.But when we understand what death really is doing, then we understand that death is actually our best friend.The other important aspect to remember is death is all around us.The moment you are born,you are already dying.That's the fact.Kabir Ji says in a poem that, oh, mother, why are you celebrating the birth of your child?Do you not see that he's getting closer to death?This is the true reality.To really understand spirituality means a deep study into death.When we understand what death is, we understand what life is.When we understand what life is,we understand what reality is.Once we understand what reality is, we understand there is only this One Supreme, and the appearance of many just gets destroyed, but that one does not get destroyed.Yama devta can get rid of everything but not this Ultimate Reality.It cannot kill Consciousness.It cannot kill Awareness.That's what we must understand.Verse 30.Among the asuras of ancient history, I'm the devoted Prahlada.Among those who observe and calculate cycles of time,I'm kala 'time itself.' Among all creatures of the animal kingdom, I am the lion.Of feathered beings.I am Garuda 'the son of Vinata and the carrier of Vishnu'.So let's break this verse up again.Among the asuras of ancient history, I am the devoted Prahlada.Among the those who observe and calculate cycles of time,I am kala 'time itself.Prahlada is a wonderful asura.We know this because Hiranyakashipu, his dad was a demon ruler, he believed that he should be worshiped.But Prahlada constantly worshiped Vishnu.Whatever you worship, you end up becoming, and that's what Sri Krishna is saying here.I am the devoted Prahlada.So I am that Prahlada that you all worship,that you all praise.I am that very being itself.So whoever worships me, becomes me.That's the way to see this.And no matter how much Prahlada was tortured, he only remembered Narayan.He only repeated the name of Narayan.He did not care about anything else.That's how we should be devoted.So that's what Sri Krishna is saying here.And then he says, among those who observe and calculate cycles of time,I'm kala 'time itself'.Remember before we looked at the beginning, middle and end.That's kala.Kala is time.Everything is subject to time.Some have long life,some have short life.Time belongs to everything,planets belong to time.Time rules everyone.Yeah, the past, present and future is kala.And you know what's interesting in Hindi is that, you know,for example, the word kal is both means past - yesterday and tomorrow - future.So that's another interesting tidbit of information I wanted to give.So people may study and observe these yugas.All these yugas may exist within time, but remember time Is that constant within all yugas?And what's interesting here is anyone that observes all these times, yeah, understands these cycles of time.The important thing to understand is, that if you are able to observe time, that means you're separate to time.So if you're separate to time, that means you do not belong to time or awareness does not belong to time.So this ultimate reality transcends time but everything is subject to time.Without time, this universe cannot function.So time is an important element of existence.Then among all creatures of the animal kingdom, I'm the lion.So we know that in the jungle,the king of the jungle is lion.And if you watch Lion King,you know this to be true.So Sri Krishna saying that basically even of all the jungles, I'm the lion.I am the king of the jungle.And then Garuda is a vehicle that carries Vishnu.We know that it's the, of all feathered beings, it's the carrier of Vishnu,and obviously it's the highest because it's the one that carries the Highest.So remember, it carries Sri Krishna, it carries the Guru.Of all feathered beings,of all birds, all birds may carry other things, but the Garuda carries the true Lord.So whoever carries the true Lord is the highest.That's the way to see it.Verse 31.Among all things that purify, I am Pavana or Vayu‘the deva of the wind’.Of all Warriors bearing weapons.I am Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu.Of all creatures that live in the ocean, I am makara‘the sea-dragon’, or sharks, the greatest guardian creature of the deep oceans.Of all rivers, I am Jahnavi,also known as the Ganga.Among all things that purify, I am Pavana or Vayu‘the deva of the wind’.Amongst all the elements like water, space,air, fire, and earth.Air or vayu is the most important because it purifies everything.So for example, when your room may feel stuffy, what do you do?You open the window,you let air come in.If it's too hot at night,you open the windows.Air purifies everything, air even purifies the ground that we have, if you look at a pavement, is wind that carries dirt across and makes the pavement look clean.Vayu is very important.Then he says, of all warriors bearing weapons, I am Rama,the seventh avatar of Vishnu.So this is nice.He's giving nods to what he is before.Do not see difference between Rama and Krishna.They are one.This is what he's saying here.This is an important thing to note as well.He's the seventh incarnation and he's the warrior par excellence.And remember, he stayed within maryada, meaning he stayed within the customs of society and he defended humanity alone.Remember, that's the most important thing about him.He only fought when humanity was in danger.Otherwise, he never looked to harm another being, and that's why of all warriors bearing weapons, he's Rama.He's able to fight, but fight for justice and righteousness.Then second part of the verse is of all creatures that live in the ocean, I am the shark, the greatest guardian creature of the deep oceans.The shark we know is the mighty creature in the ocean.It's one of the biggest creatures, the fiercest ones that we know.And it's also the vehicle of Devi Ganga too.And of all the rivers, we know that Ganga is the holiest and it originates from Shiv ji himself.So of all rivers, we know ganga is the purest.So again just to note before we go further, Sri Krishna is talking about the different manifestations within existence.He's talking about that he's all part of existence.All of this existence is Him.First of all, that he's the Real, which is changeless, but he's also the changing too.So this is complete understanding.So here Sri Krishna will go into a bit more.Verse 32.O' Arjuna of all manifest things, I am the creator,maintainer, and destroyer.I am at the adhyatma vidya,the science by which one knows oneself as the atma.Of those who discuss and debate the ultimate truths that can be known, I am the logic of the irrefutable conclusion.So first of all, it's important to note of all the manifest things, all manifest things,they appear to be created, they appear to be maintained, and they appear to be destroyed.So of all manifest things me,you, everything, yeah, all our loved ones, all living beings.Yeah.Everything that is moving and unmoving, everything even that looks lifeless,like this mug here.What seems to be still and doesn't have any life even all of that, Sri Krishna is the creative principle, the maintenance of everything and the destructive principle in everything.That's what we need to understand.So it's important to know that it's manifested in every object.It's the creator of all.It's the creative principle of all appearance of objects.It has always been everything.It maintains everything that it has created and then for renewal, it destroys everything.destroys all these objects,and that's what it is.Then he says, I am the adhyatma vidya, the science by which one knows oneself as the atma.What is the highest knowledge to know your true self?This is the ultimate knowledge, and Sri Krishna says, I am that knowledge.Yeah.That's why they say Guru is Gyana.The Satguru, the true master is this Brahm Gyana,this knowledge of Brahman.That's what this means.So the science by which one knows oneself as the atma.That knowledge, which takes you to your true self, that tells you that you are this ultimate reality this Formless Awareness, this Nirguna Brahman,I am that adhyatma vidya,I am that Vedic science.I am that Brahm Gyana, that's what Sri Krishna is saying here.Then the second part, the verse he says: of those who discuss and debate the ultimate truths that can be known, I'm the logic of the irrefutable conclusion.What's the conclusion?We'll get to in a minute!Basically the endpoint of all ultimate truths that can be known, which is the logic of irrefutable conclusion is that everything is awareness.The many is the one.One is the many.That's the ultimate truth that we need to know.All debates and discussions eventually lead to this conclusion, and we've seen this through the Upanishads,through the Bhagavad Gita,that there is only Brahman.That's the ultimate truth.So we can discuss and debate till we get to that.And one thing we must also know that of all that needs to be known, it is the logic of irrefutable conclusion.So the logic within everything Sri Krishna is also that.So the means to understand everything,Sri Krishna is also that.Then the last verse of today.Verse 33.Of aksharas, the letters in the Sanskrit alphabet, I am akara, the letter ‘a’ or a.I am the principal in grammar that joins two words together as a dual compound.I am immeasurable time.I am Vishvata Mukha, that Being who is facing all directions in the universe.Let's look at the first one.Of aksharas, the letters in the Sanskrit alphabet,I am akara, the letter ‘a’.It's the beginning letter.So it's just saying that I'm the first, that's what he's saying.And if it's the first letter,then all the letters that follow afterwards arise from that one letter.So the way to see is it's the first and all.Yeah.And then I'm that principle in grammar that joins two words together as a dual compound.So you can look at words like ice cream or fire fighter, although they're two separate words, they've come together to form one word.So you have ice-cream, so cream that turns into ice, icecream.Firefighter, when there's a fire, there's someone that fights the fire,that's a firefighter.So you can also see that Prakriti and Purusha, when they become a dual compound,they become this Brahman,as well as existence.So let me make this even clear.So you have Sat-Chit-Ananda, this existence, consciousness, bliss.Yeah.Which is Brahman, Purusha.The way to understand this is through sat-chit-ananda,and then name and form.So name and form is part of sat - existence.And Consciousness, which is awareness is Brahman.So to understand everything is Consciousness, is all of existence, all of name and form is Consciousness.Eventually, when name and form disappear,Consciousness remains.That's what Sri Krishna is trying to say that it's the one that joins everything together.It's the one that unites Brahman, Nirguna and Saguna together.And then he says, I am immeasurable time.This time, which is immeasurable.If we try to think of time,if we really try to, we'd be here all day thinking about it.It's everlasting.We cannot measure it at all.We cannot go beyond infinity.Yeah, that's what he's trying to say.You cannot measure time.You cannot understand time.It's beyond any measure.We cannot capture it in any way.As they say, time runs through our fingers like sand.Yeah, it's that thin.It's that particles, which do not stay in one place.That's time.And then it's Vishvata Mukha,that being who's facing all directions in the universe.Every living being is this Vishvata Mukha,wherever we look, is this Formless Awareness, this existence, Sri Krishna.What we can understand is that whichever direction,whichever place you are in the universe, you'll be only facing your true self.That's all.And that's why Sri Krishna in this episode today,in the specific qualities that we've looked at.He's explaining how he's only going through some aspects of that vastness.What we can see and understand is that all that exists is this Nirguna Brahman, is this Formless Awareness.What people see as Maya, we see as Brahman.That's the ultimate understanding.Some people see maya as a bad thing.Hence, they fall under the trap of condemning Maya and they don't see the true reality of it.You can see Nirguna Brahman.But what's great in that,if you cannot live in this world and enjoy the world that is projected from this Brahman itself.If you know that it's projected from Brahman,why are you against it?It makes no sense to be against it.And if everywhere you look is this Nirguna Brahman, why would you be against this Maya?You won't be, you know it's true source of being.You know where it arises from.So therefore, for you,there is no duality.That's true non-duality,when you see the oneness in existence and how it is one with this Nirguna Brahman..So this is the end of today's episode.If you liked what you heard and liked what you watched,please do share this podcast with your friends and family who may enjoy this content.Do follow me on social media to keep getting updates.Join the Bearded Mystic Podcast WhatsApp community group to continue the podcast discussion,details are in the show notes and video description below.If you would like to support the Bearded Mystic Podcast as we discussed earlier, do check out the podcast Patreon page.Your support means everything, and it helps this podcast keep running.Details are in the show notes and video description below.Please do rate this podcast five stars and do give a review either on your favorite podcast,streaming app or on our website.Details are in the show notes and video description below.Please do like and comment on this video and subscribe to this YouTube channel.Do follow or subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast streaming app.Thank you very much for listening to this episode.Let's end with the Shanti mantra and the Soham mantra.Soham Soham.I am That.I am That.Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum Peace Peace Peace Namaste.