Bhagvad-Gita: Treatise of Self-help by BS Murthy (best summer reads of all time TXT) 📕

the Lord's averment in many a context in this text that the Supreme Spirit lies in all beings, it is specifically stated in s34 of ch.10 that He symbolizes all that is glorious in woman. Given this, and the background of interpolations, s32 surely is a case of trespass.

S33 of this chapter is but a jointing medium of the said obnoxious verse and in itself is patronizing in nature towards the virtuous Brahmans.  

S7, that contravenes s15-s16 of ch.8 and echoes the interpolative s18-s19 of this, is an interpolation. S34, which falls into a separate category, is seemingly an interpolation, for reasons explained in ‘All about Interpolations’.

1  
Thus spoke the Lord:
Unenvied as thou I would tell
The art of leading fruitful life.

2  
Supreme secret that’s sacred     
Profound dharma for mankind  
Fair and simple, practicable.

3  
Fail who follow this dharma 
Pay they price in recurring births.

4  
Whatever is there I pervade
In My ambit lay beings  
Though it’s not the other way round.

5  
Fail if thou to grasp it thus
Feel as though I’m confined in  
What I bring forth ’n sustain. 

6  
Skies in rooted wind as spreads
Dwell in Me though disperse all.

8  
It’s I make the Nature bring
Beings hapless in their scores. 

9  
Since I function not in passion 
Bound Am none by acts all these.

10  
It's the Nature ruled by Me
Takes the world the way it goes.

11 
Though Am Lord of all beings
Give Me human form the naive 
And thus they do belittle Me.

12 
Vile in delusion lead their lives
In vainness they waste their time.

13  
With Me in mind well-meaning
See they beings sourced in Me.  

14  
With right intent ’n focus
Such Me worship with true faith. 

22  
Those as meditate ’n worship
Them I take My wings under. 

26  
Hold I dear a leaf even 
Offered when by pure minded.

27  
Act thou throughout in good faith 
Thus thou make Me feel honored.  

28  
Rid be thou of all that binds                             
Freed be thus thou come to Me.

29 
None I favor; slight I none  
Devout Mine all gain Me true.

30  
Start as wicked My worship 
Take them all as well realized. 

31  
Tend I them then turn even
Devout Mine none go restive. 

Ends thus:
The Secret Sacred,
The Ninth Chapter  
Of Bhagavad-Gita,
Treatise of self-help.

Chapter 10

Discern the Divine

 

This intriguing chapter of 42 slokas, known as vibhooti yoga, Glories of the Supreme, characterizes the Omnipresence of the Supreme Spirit. Well, for general human understanding, Lord Krishna identifies the best in heaven and earth that represent all that is glorious about Him. One might note that His averment that Sãma Veda and tapo yagjna, meditative prayer, symbolize the glory of the Supreme was cited in the introduction to the third chapter. In the context of what Lord Krishna enumerates as symbolic of the ‘Glory of the Supreme Spirit’, it is interesting to note that He’s the sovereign in humans in s27 but not Rama as one would have expected. However, Lord Rama enters the Hall of Fame as the first amongst the archers (s31). Going by the dispassionate outlook towards life that Lord Krishna expostulates, it is but natural that Lord Rama who personifies attachment to the values of his time is not reckoned as the Glory of the Supreme Spirit. It is another matter that in the Hindu religio-cultural ethos, Lord Rama is revered as purushottama, the noblest human.

1  
Thus spoke the Lord:
Ear thy lend My words peerless
Bound they regale as thee gain.

2  
Sourced though gods ’n seers in Me 
Grasp they have none of My source.

3  
Me as Lord of all who sees
Turns his back on wrongdoings. 

4  
Sourced in Me all faculties  
State of mind of beings too.

5  
Varied I made vicissitudes  
As the case with attitudes.

6  
Willed I birth of progenitors all
Seven seers great ’n elders four 
Not to mention sovereign fourteen. 

7  
Grasps as one the power of Mine 
Keeps he would his mind then firm.

8 
Who this gets in My worship 
Tends he then to turn to Me.

9  
Whoso to Me thus taken
Delight he takes in praising Me.

10  
Him I help to realize that
Which is needed to reach Me.

11  
Doubts I dispel his for good
Grant I wisdom to his thought.

12 
Thus spoke Arjuna:
O Lord Thou, Supreme Brahman 
Abode Ultimate, Purifier Primordial 
Indweller Permanent ’n God Primeval.

13  
That’s how sages down the ages 
Nãrada foremost described Thee, 
Affirmed Asita, Devala ’n Vyãsã 
All of that now Thou confirm.

14  
None can ever be sure of Thee
Hold I true thus what Thou say.

15  
God of gods 
O Lord of all, 
Thou but know
Self Thy true.

16 
Pray Thee confide Thy nature  
With which Thou all worlds transcend.

17  
How to grasp all aspects Thine, 
How to engage Thee in mind?

18  
Make me privy, O, My Lord
Forms ’n attributes of Thyself.

19  
Thus spoke the Lord:
Of all countless Glories Mine 
Suffice thee knew a few of them.

20  
I’m the Self of one and all
I’m the beginning as well end 
Not to speak of in between.

21 
Vishnu Am of all deities  
Sun the luminous of luminous
Mãreechi Am immortal  
As well moon the star of stars. 

22  
I am the Sãma of Vedas  
It’s Me Indrã, god of gods 
Of all organs, mind is Me
And so life in all beings.

23  
Shankar Am the Lord of Lords  
Kuberã, richest of Yakshãs 
Of the Vasus know Am Fire 
And Am Meru, peak foremost.

24  
In those echelons ruled by gods  
It’s Me Bruhaspathi priest of priests, 
Marshal that great Skand on earth
Besides the ocean among the seas.  

25

Bhrugur I am the well-realized 
So Am ‘Om’ that sound supreme, 

Of rituals Am prayer muted  
Himalayas high that kiss the skies.

 

26  
I’m the fig, the tree foremost
And so heavenly sage Nãrad, 
Maestro divine Chitraradh Am
Besides Kapila, the sage attained.

27  
Uchhaisravas, Am horse foremost  
Nectar that was churned in seas
Airãvat white, Indrã’s elephant   
Sovereign whoso crowns mankind.

28  
Vajrãyudh Am weapon mighty 
Kãmadhenu the cow holy 
Cupid who aids to sustain life
Vãsuki the fierce king serpent.

29  
It’s Me Ananth of Nãgãs
Varun I am of aquatics, 
It’s Me Aryamã, mane of manes
Yama the ruler of beings.

30  
Prahlãd Am, the demon godly
Among the reckoners, I’m the Time  
It’s Me lion, of wildlife all  
As well Garud that rules the skies.

31 
I’m the wind that purifies all
Among the archers Rãm I’m 
I'm the shark that mighty fish
And the Ganges, ever in flow.

32 
Hinge I am that holds all worlds
Source is Me of spiritual thought
Of Vedanta, I’m pro contra.

33  
Alpha Am of alphabets all 
Likeness I’m in like compounds 
I’m the time of endlessness  
It’s Me Brahma of four heads.

34 
I’m the death that devours all
As well brings forth that beings
Besides what makes woman’s glory.

35  
Am Sãma the grand octane  
Like none metre Gãyathri,  
Mãrgasir pleasant month I am
As well splendid spring season.

36  
I’m the splendour of splendrous
Besides fraud in dice as well
I'm the goodness in great souls
Effort that takes to succeed well. 

37  
It’s Me Vasudev of Yadavs    
Of the Pandavs thou art Me,
Know Am Vyãsa of sages
Poet Laureate, Sukra great.

38  
Justice I'm in every court
Policy Am of all conquest, 
Secret I’m of every mute
Wisdom Am of what is wise.

39  
I’m the seed of all beings 
From Me apart none exists.  

40  
Endless are My attributes 
This brief is for just thy grasp.

41  
All that’s glorious all therein
Is but spark of My splendour. 

42  
O dear friend need there none to delve in full   
Suffice to say it’s portion Mine that supports all.

Ends thus: 
Discern the Divine,
The Tenth Chapter 
Of Bhagavad-Gita,
Treatise of self-help.

Chapter 11

Nature of Omnipresence

This fascinating chapter of 55 slokas, known as visvaroopa sandarsana yoga, Espial of the Universal Form, is about the character of the Supreme Spirit. Lord Krishna enables Arjuna to espy the All-encompassing Universal Form of the Supreme Spirit by granting him the required ESP. The descriptive nature of the State Supreme falls in the realms of Universal Vision.

Owing to the improbability of their being, s9-s14, make an amusing reading. S3 states that Krishna grants Arjuna the divine sight required to espy His Universal Form. Of course, the ESP that Vyãsa granted Sanjaya (s75 ch.18) might have enabled him to monitor the goings on at Kurukshetra in order to appraise the blind king Dhrutarãshtra about the same.

Thus, only from Arjuna’s averments Sanjaya could have gathered what the former was divining in the Universal Form, which obviously was beyond his own comprehension.  But s10 - s14 have him describe the Universal Form as though he himself was witnessing the same, even before Arjuna utters a word about it. At the same time, the Lord made it clear in s52, ‘Ever craved gods ’n angels too / Just to behold what thee beheld’.

Thus, the Universal Form that was seen by Arjuna surely was beyond the scope of Sanjaya's ESP. Hence, s9-s14 that picture beforehand what Arjuna would witness later, are clear interpolations. Contrast this with the parallel situation in s50-s51, when the Lord reassumes His human form, but handled differently by Sanjaya.

The s29 which seeks to emphasize what was already pictured in s28, albeit with not so appropriate a simile, could be but an interpolation.

1  
Thus spoke Arjuna:
Thy words compelling, Spirit about indwelling  
Uttered in compassion, dispelled my delusion.

2  
Besides I've heard, about Thy glories 
Origins of beings, and how it all ends.  

3    
Thou art verily, what Thee aver 
Wish I espied, form Thy Divine.

4  
If Thou so feel, I’m worthy
Let me espy, Thy True Self.

5  
Thus spoke the Lord:
Divine I let thee, divinity Mine      
Of hues varied colours ’n kinds.

6  
Find Adityãs, twelve therein 
Vãsus eight, and Aswin twins 
Rudrãs eleven ’n Maruts four-nine
Wonders umpteen none else seen.

7  
May thou discern in My frame  
Much more than thy thought would take.

8 
Bestow thee that ESP 
Helps which espy form Supreme 
Beyond the pale of god’s own sight.

15  
Thus spoke Arjuna:
In Thou find I 
Brahma on lotus, 
Gods and sages   
Beings ’n serpents!

16  
With no beginning
End none sighted,
Boundless find I
In Thee universe!

17 
Find I blinding
Light that blazing 
From Thy diadem  
Club and discus!

18  
Thou art Supreme 
Indweller Ancient, 
Eternal Refuge 
Dharma’s Guardian. 

19  
Eyes sun like 
And oven for mouth, 
How Thou radiate
In arms thy manifold!

20  
Fills Thy Frame
The space entire, 
Makes Thy sight  
The worlds tremble.

21  
See in Thee the angelic world
Find them all Thou pray in awe 
Spot I sages in their scores
Hear them extol, Thee in hymns.

22  
Demigods all ’n celestial folk
Stand they stunned ’n look at Thee.

23  
Makes it awful sight Thine terrible 
Bear as Thou those weird organs. 

24  
Perplexed am I by Thy sight  
Seems I’ve lost my sense of self.

25 
Discern I nadir in Thy face 
Pray assume now Form Normal.

26  
See I Bhishmã, Dron ’n Karn 
Kauravs, ours, making way to mouth Thy wide.

27  
Nauseates sight of teeth Thine terrible 
Gnashing heads of theirs in smithereens.

28  
Rivers as run, towards the seas 
So these armies, towards Thy mouths.

30  
Consume worlds as mouths Thy blazing     
Find I blinding rays those scorching.

31  
Who art Thou, this Terrible Thing! 
For what avail, mission this Thine!! 
Gripped now am with urge to know.

32  
Thus spoke the Lord:
I’m the time that infolds all 
It’s all over for most here
Doomed are they, never mind war.

33 
Since I’ve handed them sentence 
Thou art no more than hangman, 
Finish them all ’n flourish in turn  
Brings as reign thee power ’n pelf.

34  
Take up arms ’n lap up crown 
For Drona, Bhishma and Karna,
As well Jayadrath with the rest
Truly are they doomed by Me.

35  
Thus spoke Sanjaya:
Stunned as he by what transpired  
Beseeched Pãrtha, Lord Krishna.

36  
Thus spoke Arjuna:
Sing Thy praises the rejoiced world 
Hither ’n thither run wicked in awe
Bow to Thee those self-realized.   

37  
Can one fail to worship Thee
Creator’s Creator, ’n Universal!

38  
Thee the Primal, All-Dweller 
Thou All-Knower, One to know.

39  
God of gods, O, our Father
Thee