BG 10.17 - 10.40 Opulence of the Absolute

"O Kṛṣṇa, O supreme mystic, how shall I constantly think of You, and how shall I know You? In what various forms are You to be remembered, O Supreme Personality of Godhead?" (Bh.g.10.17).

Kṛṣṇa has innumerable forms. All of them are transcendental, spiritual. People who are on the material platform of consciousness, who do not have spiritual vision, cannot see, think about or meditate on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, in this chapter Kṛṣṇa Himself explains how by concentrating one's mind on physical objects and things, one can still develop the ability to see the Lord, to think about Him and gradually attain samadhi, trance in meditation, i.e. become Krishna-conscious.

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, 'O best of the Kurus (Arjuna), My power is unlimited, and I will tell you about My glorious manifestations, but not all of them, but only the main ones.' (BG 10.19.)

The majesty and magnificence of the Lord are limitless. The feelings of the individual soul and the possibilities of knowing it are limited. It cannot grasp the comprehensive nature of Krishna's actions. But the devotees of the Lord do not even try to understand the infinite. They are completely satisfied with the service to the Lord just by hearing about His marvelous manifestations, His various energies, His pastimes, and His personality as described in the Vedic literature. It is for such that Krishna describes Himself further in the Bhagavad-gita.

"Oh, Gudakesa! I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings." (BG 10.20.)

In this verse, Krishna calls Arjuna "Gudakesa", which means "conquering sleep". Excessive sleep time is a manifestation of tama-guṇa, the mode of darkness and ignorance. One who sleeps more than 6 hours a day is definitely in the darkness of ignorance, wasting his life in vain. It is impossible for him to understand the Lord who is in his own heart as Paramātmā (Supersoul), just as it is impossible to distinguish between his real self, his soul, from the material body.

From Krsna everything begins. In the form of the seeds of living beings, He fertilizes inert matter and thus brings into existence 8,400,000 forms of life. He sustains them and then meets them at the moment of death. In the material world, He manifests Himself in three aspects: as Kāraṇodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the beginning of this universe, the maintainer of the universal manifestations, and the end of all energy.

"Of the Ādityas I am Viṣṇu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marīci, and among the stars I am the moon."

There are twelve Ādityas, of which Kṛṣṇa is the principal. Among all the luminaries shining in the sky, the sun is the chief, and in the Brahma-saṁhitā the sun is accepted as the glowing eye of the Supreme Lord. There are fifty varieties of wind blowing in space, and of these winds the controlling deity, Marīci, represents Kṛṣṇa.

Among the stars, the moon is the most prominent at night, and thus the moon represents Kṛṣṇa. It appears from this verse that the moon is one of the stars; therefore, the stars that twinkle in the sky also reflect the light of the sun. The theory that there are many suns within the universe is not accepted by Vedic literature. The sun is one, and as by the reflection of the sun the moon illuminates, so also do the stars. Since Bhagavad-gītā indicates herein that the moon is one of the stars, the twinkling stars are not suns but are similar to the moon.

"Of the Vedas, I am Sama-veda, of the demigods, I am Indra, the king of heaven, of the senses, I am the mind, and in the living entities I am the life force (consciousness)."

The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore, this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.

"Of all the Rudras I am Lord Śiva, of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera], of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru.".

There are eleven Rudras, of whom Śaṅkara, Lord Śiva, is predominant. He is the incarnation of the Supreme Lord in charge of the mode of ignorance in the universe. The leader of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas is Kuvera, the master treasurer of the demigods, and he is a representation of the Supreme Lord. Meru is a mountain famed for its rich natural resources.

Know, O Arjuna, that among the priests I am the chief, Brihaspati. Of the generals I am Kartikeya, and of the reservoirs I am the ocean"

Indra is the chief demigod of the heavenly planets and is known as the king of the heavens. The planet on which he reigns is called Indraloka. Bṛhaspati is Indra’s priest, and since Indra is the chief of all kings, Bṛhaspati is the chief of all priests. And as Indra is the chief of all kings, similarly Skanda, or Kārttikeya, the son of Pārvatī and Lord Śiva, is the chief of all military commanders. And of all bodies of water, the ocean is the greatest. These representations of Kṛṣṇa only give hints of His greatness. Similarly, Krishna is the source of everything. In Him rest all living beings. All forms of life originate from Him. He is the source of all energies and, despite this, He is inexhaustible. Everything originates and everything returns to Kṛṣṇa, and He is always complete in Himself. Nothing diminishes from Him, and nothing is added to Him. He is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is always satisfied, happy and does not depend on anything.

"Among the great sages, I am Bhrigu, of vibrations I am the transcendental syllable OM, of sacrifices I am chanting of holy names (japa), and of the immovable things I am the Himalayas."

Bhṛgu is the greatest of the seven greatest sages of the universe, whom Brahma created from his mind. He represents Krishna. Omkara (OM) is the transcendental vibration, the essence of all Vedic mantras, directly points to the Supreme Personality of Lord Krishna. Of all the sacrifices, chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is the most vivid representation of Krishna. If we take into account that Krishna has personally incarnated in the form of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, then OM is also already present in it. Chanting the holy names of the Lord is available to everyone, it does not have strict rules, so this type of sacrifice is the best of all that is described in the Vedas.

The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world. They represent Krishna. The mountain named Meru was mentioned in a previous verse, but Meru is sometimes movable, whereas the Himālayas are never movable. Thus, the Himālayas are greater than Meru.

"Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Nārada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila."

The banyan tree (ashwatha) is the largest and most beautiful tree. In India, some people worship it. Among the demigods, they worship Nārada, the greatest devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Both the banyan tree and the sage Narada represent Krishna.

Gandharvas are wonderful singers. Of these, best singer is Citraratha. Kapiladeva, the son of Devahūti, is an incarnation of Krishna. He came in Satya yuga to teach people devotional service to the Lord. He is a teacher of the Sāṃkhya philosophy, which is mentioned in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.

"Of horses know Me to be Uccaiḥśravā, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airāvata, and among men I am the monarch."

Once upon a time, demigods and demons began to churn the ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality. From this churning, nectar and poison were produced, and Lord Śiva drank the poison. From the nectar were produced many entities, of which there was a horse named Uccaiḥśravā. Another animal produced from the nectar was an elephant named Airāvata. Because these two animals were produced from nectar, they have special significance, and they are representatives of Kṛṣṇa. The king represents Krishna in human society. Just as Kṛṣṇa maintains order in the universe, so the king is called upon to maintain order in human society. Righteous kings in Vedic times were representatives of God. They were the stronghold of true religion, which is nothing but the law of God. In this age, however, with the corruption of the principles of religion, monarchy decayed and is now finally abolished. It is to be understood that in the past, however, people were more happy under righteous kings.

"Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vāsuki."

Thunderbolt is a weapon representing Krishna. Surabhi are cows that give an unlimited amount of milk. Of course such cows do not exist in this material world, but there is mention of them in Kṛṣṇaloka. They are personally protected by Krishna Himself. The earthly cows are created in the image of the Surabhi (spiritual cow), just as man is created in the image of Krishna. Kandarpa is the god of worldly love. When there is a need to increase the offspring, it arouses a passionate desire in a person. Sexual relations that do not contradict religious scriptures represent Krishna. Kandarpa is the personification of such relationships. This is different from sexual promiscuity for the sake of sensual pleasure.

"Of the many-hooded Nāgas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuṇa. Of departed ancestors I am Aryamā, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death."

Ananta Shesha is an incarnation of Krishna. It serves Lord Vishnu as a bed in the ocean of Garbha. Varuna is the deity of the water element. Both represent Krishna.

Aryama rules the planet of the Pitās, ancestors, He represents Krishna. The planet of Yamaraja is located near the planet Earth. Inveterate sinners are judged by Yamaraja immediately after death. After death those who are very sinful are taken there, and Yama arranges different kinds of punishments for them.

"Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa."

Diti and Aditi are sisters. The sons of Aditi are called Ādityas, and the sons of Diti are called Daityas. All Ādityas are devotees of the Lord, and all Daityas are atheists. Although Prahlāda Mahārāja was born to Diti, he was a great devotee of the Lord from birth. As a five-year-old child, he began to preach devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, explaining its basic principles. He went down in history as the spiritual teacher of bhakti-yoga or Krishna consciousness, being the external manifestation of Krishna.

There are many subduing principles, but time wears down all things in the material universe and so represents Kṛṣṇa. Of the many animals, the lion is the most powerful and ferocious, and of the million varieties of birds, Garuḍa, the bearer of Lord Viṣṇu, is the greatest.

"Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rāma, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges."

Ramachandra, the hero of Ramayana, is the incarnation of God. He is the personification of the power of the Lord. He represents Krishna. The shark is the most predatory fish, dangerous to humans, represents Krishna among fish. The Ganges is the greatest of the rivers, originating from the Causal Ocean. It is the representative of Krishna.

"Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth."

Among the created manifestations, the first is the creation of the total material elements. As explained before, the cosmic manifestation is created and conducted by Mahā-viṣṇu, Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, and then again it is annihilated by Lord Śiva. Brahmā is a secondary creator. All these agents of creation, maintenance and annihilation are incarnations of the material qualities of the Supreme Lord. Therefore He is the beginning, the middle and the end of all creation.

The science of the soul is the most esoteric part of human knowledge as described in the Vedas. The final word of the Vedas is devotional service to the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. In the material world, Kṛṣṇa is present as the Supersoul, from whom knowledge, memory and forgetfulness come. Thus, it is logical to conclude that He represents the pinnacle of this knowledge. "I am the compiler of Vedanta, the teacher of the Vedas, and the ultimate goal of Vedic knowledge." (Bh.g. 15.15). For advanced education there are various kinds of books of knowledge, such as the four Vedas, their six supplements, the Vedānta-sūtra, books of logic, books of religiosity and the Purāṇas. So all together there are fourteen divisions of books of education. Of these, the book which presents adhyātma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge – in particular, the Vedānta-sūtra – represents Kṛṣṇa.

"Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahmā."

A-kāra, the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, is the beginning of the Vedic literature. Without a-kāra, nothing can be sounded; therefore, it is the beginning of sound. In Sanskrit there are also many compound words, of which the dual word, like rāma-kṛṣṇa, is called dvandva. In this compound, the words rāma and kṛṣṇa have the same form, and therefore the compound is called dual.

Among all kinds of killers, time is the ultimate because time kills everything. Time is the representative of Kṛṣṇa because in due course of time there will be a great fire and everything will be annihilated.

Among the living entities who are creators, Brahmā, who has four heads, is the chief. Therefore he is a representative of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa.

"I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience."

As soon as a person is born, he begins to die. Death haunts him at every step. Every second, someone dies. There is nothing more certain than death. Krishna is its personification. He meets a living creature and sees him off at the moment of death. For atheists, He is like a lightning strike, for devotees He is like rose petals.

All seven of these virtues – fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience – belong to the feminine principle. They represent Kṛṣṇa and are manifested in one who becomes Krishna-conscious.

"Of the hymns in the Sāma Veda I am the Bṛhat-sāma, and of poetry I am the Gāyatrī. Of months I am Mārgaśīrṣa [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring."

A little earlier Krishna said that of the Vedas He is Sama-veda. Now He specifies that of the beautiful hymns of the Sama-veda, He is Brhat-sama, which is the most sublime of style and melody. Brhat-sama is performed at midnight.

Amongst the regulated poetry, the Gāyatrī mantra, which is chanted by the duly qualified brāhmaṇas, is the most prominent. The Gāyatrī mantra is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because the Gāyatrī mantra is especially meant for God realization, it represents the Supreme Lord. This mantra is meant for spiritually advanced people, and when one attains success in chanting it, he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord. One must first acquire the qualities of the perfectly situated person, the qualities of goodness according to the laws of material nature, in order to chant the Gāyatrī mantra. The Gāyatrī mantra is very important in Vedic civilization and is considered to be the sound incarnation of Brahman. Brahmā is its initiator, and it is passed down from him in disciplic succession.

November-December in India is considered the best month - this is the time of harvesting grains. Spring is the time of flowering. In spring, it is not so hot and not so cold. Lord Kṛṣṇa's many pastimes take place during this season of the year.

"I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong."

There are many kinds of cheaters all over the universe. Of all cheating processes, gambling stands supreme and therefore represents Kṛṣṇa. As the Supreme, Kṛṣṇa can be more deceitful than any mere man. If Kṛṣṇa chooses to deceive a person, no one can surpass Him in His deceit. His greatness is not simply one-sided – it is all-sided. Therefore, sincerity and honesty in one's relationship with the Lord are considered the key to success in the spiritual life.

Among the victorious, He is victory. He is the splendor of the splendid. Among the enterprising and industrious, He is the most enterprising, the most industrious. Among adventurers He is the most adventurous, and among the strong He is the strongest. When Kṛṣṇa was present on earth, no one could surpass Him in strength. Even in His childhood He lifted Govardhana Hill. No one can surpass Him in cheating, no one can surpass Him in splendor, no one can surpass Him in victory, no one can surpass Him in enterprise, and no one can surpass Him in strength.

"Of the descendants of Vṛṣṇi I am Vāsudeva, and of the Pāṇḍavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyāsa, and among great thinkers I am Uśanā."

Vasudeva and Krishna are one. Because Kṛṣṇa Himself never leaves Vṛndāvana, He takes the form of Vasudeva when He appears in other places. Vasudeva is the direct expansion of Krishna. Actually, Vasudeva is Balarama. He is the original source of all avatars.

Arjuna represents Krishna as the best of human beings. His other name is Dhananjaya. Vyasa is the literary incarnation of Krishna. He is the representative of Krishna. He wrote down all the Vedas, and in this way, by studying them, ordinary people can become Krishna-conscious.

Wushana, also known as Shukracharya, was a spiritual teacher of demons. He was known for extensive knowledge, was a very intelligent and far-sighted politician. Ushana represents Krishna as a great thinker.

"Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom."

When the atheists are punished, Krishna appears in the form of punishment. Sometimes He is presented as formidable and at the same time merciful. How is that possible? Krishna is the All-Good. He is an instrument of torture for sinners, for there is no other way for them to become God-conscious.

Morality is the most important element for those who strive to win. Krishna is the personification of morality. Any action performed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest form of such morality. "Evil will never prevail against him who does good!"

Silence preserves and contains the most secret knowledge, the mystery of mysteries. Being silent, any person can easily achieve spiritual progress by listening, thinking, and contemplating.

A sage is one who is able to distinguish between spirit and matter, the higher and lower natures of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa Himself is the source of both, and therefore He becomes the supreme goal of knowledge for the sage.

"Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being – moving or non-moving – that can exist without Me."

Everything has a cause, and that cause or seed of manifestation is Kṛṣṇa. Without Kṛṣṇa’s energy, nothing can exist; therefore He is called omnipotent. Without His potency, neither the movable nor the immovable can exist. Whatever existence is not founded on the energy of Kṛṣṇa is called māyā, “that which is not.”

"O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences."

Is it possible to measure something that has no beginning and no end? Being limited by time and space, the soul is unable to know the infinite, of which it is a part. The soul is full of knowledge – hence the eternal search for truth. But the soul is not able to contain all knowledge, just as a glass is not able to contain all the water. The glass is full, but not all the water is in the glass. In the same way we have knowledge, but to say that this is all the knowledge would be a mistake.

Only by transcending the laws of material existence, knowing oneself and restoring one's connection with Kṛṣṇa, will one be able to understand the truth in all its splendor. This can be a source of unlimited pleasure. In a sense, Lord Kṛṣṇa's devotees are satisfied with their devotional service to the limitless Lord, always enjoying Him. Without caring that it is impossible to exhaust the ocean of transcendental bliss. Who would think of measuring it? It is constantly increasing. One drop of the nectar from it is enough to flood the entire universe, the whole world, making everyone happy.

Simply by hearing about the Lord's amazing pastimes and glorifying His holy names, each person can feel the smooth movement of the waves of joy that fill the heart and soul.

Knowledge is the key to enjoying transcendental bliss. Knowledge is the ability to enjoy. Krishna is the source of eternal enjoyment. The one who approached Him immediately left all sorrows, forgot all sorrows, and quenched his eternal thirst to be happy.