ahamaatmaa gudaakesha sarvabhootaashayasthitah
ahamaadishcha madhyam cha bhootaanaamanta eve cha // 10.20 //
I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of
all beings; I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all
beings.
The Lord tells Arjuna `I am the Self that exists in the heart
of all beings'. This general statement is the sum and substance of His
entire talk in Gita. He specifically tells that He is the birth, life
and death of all beings. The world is a living whole, a vast inter
connectedness, a cosmic harmony inspired and sustained by the One
Supreme.
If one is unable to meditate on the Lord as the Self, then one
should think of Him in the various beings and things enumerated in the
following verses as a special manifestation of the Godhead, for the
Lord is the essence of all the things
aadityaanaamaham vishnur jyotishaam raviramshumaan
mareechirmarutaamasmi nakshatraanaamaham shashee // 10.21 //
Among the (twelve) Adityas I am the Vishnu ; among
the luminaries, the radiant sun; I am Marichi among the winds; among
the stars I am the moon.
Adityas are Gods representing the twelve months of the year.
Vishnu is considered the most important among them. Maruts are the gods
controlling the winds. The twelve Adityas, luminaries like Agni,
Lightning, the Maruts, the Stars etc. are the ordinary manifestations
of The Lord. Vishnu, Marichi, the sun and the moon are his special
manifestations and hence they have greater splendor in them.
While the Supreme is in all things, He is more prominent in
some than in others. There is an ascending order in the world. God is
more revealed in life than in matter, in consciousness than in life and
in saints and sages than in others. Within the same order, He is most
revealed in the pre-eminent individuals.
In all these verses of this Chapter Sri Krishna supplies the
seekers with various items of thought (names and forms) over which The
Lord can be superimposed for deeper and single-pointed
meditation.
vedaanaam saamavedo'smi devaanaamasmi vaasavah
indriyaanaam manashchaasmi bhootaanaamasmi chetanaa // 10.22 //
Among the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; I am Vaasava
among the Gods; among the senses I am the mind and I am the
intelligence among living beings.
Sama Veda - It is the essence of Rig Veda which is the most
important of all the four Vedas. Sama Veda has the additional
characteristic of musical beauty with tunes, melody and rhythm. Sri
Krishna is the Infinite Essence tuned to music as Rig Veda mantras are
in Sama Veda.
Vaasava - The king of gods, Indra. The Self is as Indra among
the Gods, ruling over the others, controlling, directing and organizing
the lives.
Mind - Indra also means the king of sense organs, the latter
being the Devas. Mind is the controller without which sense organs
cannot have the power of functioning.
Intelligence - Of all the creations in the world intelligence
is the mysterious power which is still beyond comprehension. It is that
which illumines all from the intellect down to the grossest physical
object.
rudraanaam shankarashchaasmi vittesho yaksharakshasaam
vasoonaam paavakashchaasmi meruh shikharinaamaham // 10.23 //
And among the Rudras I am Sankara; among the Yakshas
and Rakshasas Kubera, the Lord of wealth; among the Vasus I am Pavaka,
Agni; and among the mountains I am the Meru.
Rudras - Deities of destruction. Destruction is a necessary
precedent for construction just as the seed must perish to enable the
plant to come out. Sankara is the deity for creative
destruction.
Pavaka - Vasus are the deities presiding over the seasons. The
six external seasons get colored by two internal seasons viz. joy and
sorrow and all of these can be experienced only through Consciousness
within.
Meru - A mythological mountain believed to be the centre of
the Universe from which Ganga (Spiritual Knowledge) flows in all four
directions to bless the humanity.
purodhasaam cha mukhyam maam viddhi paartha brihaspatim
senaaneenaamaham skandah sarasaamasmi saagarah // 10.24 //
And, among the household priests, O Partha, know Me
the chief, Brihaspati; among the generals, I am Skanda; among the
lakes, I am the ocean.
Brihaspati - The spiritual teacher for the celestials. Skanda-
Son of Siva the peacock rider and the wielder of the spear. Ocean - It
is the source of all rivers because from it the evaporation of water
takes place to flood the rivers. Similarly the sentient and insentient
things and beings of the world cannot exist but for the Infinite Ocean
of Truth, The Lord.
maharsheenaam bhriguraham giraamasmyekamaksharam
yajnaanaam japayajno'smi sthaavaraanaam himaalayah // 10.25 //
Among the great sages I am Bhrigu; among words I am
the one syllable"OM"; among sacrifices I am the
sacrifice of silent repetition (Japa Yoga); among immovable things the
Himalayas.
Bhrigu - He is the chief of the seven rishis. One syllable
`OM' - It indicates the Eternal and Infinite. Japa Yoga - It is the
repetition of the mantra or divine name by maintaining the same divine
thoughts. Japa Yagna is regarded as the best of all Yagnas because it
involves the unbroken remembrance of the Self. The Himalayas - It is
great because it is the highest in the world and provides spiritual
advancement to the seekers.