Concepts and Issues

Observing  that Arjuna was endowed with faith , free from fault finding nature and  qualified to receive the sacred divine knowledge Sri Krishna  says that He will disclose the Royal  Knowledge and Royal Secret which will make him realize The Lord in him by  direct experience. This knowledge is imperishable, knowing which one will  become free from the evil of worldly existence. The Lord says that due to lack  of faith in this knowledge, in its manifest and unmanifest aspects, people fail  to realize Him and suffer in consequence.

Sri  Krishna says that all beings are pervaded by Him and dwell in His unmanifest  form like the wind moving everywhere but always resting in space. Although The  Lord is the creator, destroyer and sustainer of the world, He stands as a  witness indifferent and unattached to these processes.

The  ignorant identify Him with nature or regard Him as a mortal during His  incarnations for protecting Dharma. They do not see God in the Universe and  have no knowledge of the Self which dwells within the body. They do not see the  Unity in the Diversity. They fail to see the ocean beneath the waves. They run  after the transient objects and miss the eternal. They have no discrimination  or right understanding.

The  knowers of the Truth see the Reality in externality also. They feel a oneness  with all. They chant God's name always. They worship Him with wisdom sacrifice.  They see the formless one as distinct and manifold.

He  explains to Arjuna His identity with the Universe. The Lord’s enumeration of  His different manifestations has been tabulated below for easy reference.

If  one understands correctly the following verses dealing with the Divine Mystery  in this section of the Gita one can be aware of the concepts of Creation and  Brahman.

All  things in this universe are pervaded by Me in My unmanifest aspect; all beings  exist in Me but I do not exist in them. 9.4

And  yet the beings do not exist in Me; behold, that is My Divine mystery. My Spirit  which is the support of all beings and the source of all things does not dwell  in them. 9.5

O Son  of Kunti, all beings, go back to My nature at the end of a time-cycle (Kalpa);  I send them forth again at the beginning of the next cycle. 9.7

Controlling  My own nature, I again and again send forth all this multitude of beings,  helpless under the sway of maya. 9.8

Live as the Gita Teaches You to Live

In  this Chapter Sri Krishna advises Arjuna to do every thing as an offering to The  Lord.  All actions thus become a symbol  of devotion and help remembering God.

Submission  to the Divine is the essence of spiritual sadhana. The following verses  tell us how to go about in that path.

But  the Mahatmas (great souls) O Partha, possessing the Divine nature worship Me  with undisturbed minds knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings. 9.13

Always  glorifying Me, striving with firm resolve, bowing down to Me in devotion,  always steadfast, they worship Me. 9.14

Points to Ponder
  1.  What are the knowledge and secret revealed by The Lord in this Chapter? Why they are called Royal?
  2.  What is the truth behind the world we perceive?
  3.  Enumerate the different kinds of worship.
  4.  What should be the ingredients for an offering to The Lord?
  5.  Does the Lord show any partiality in bestowing His grace on the devotees?
  6.  Short notes on:

• Divine Mystery
• Creation
• Brahman
• Attributes of the Lord
• Submission to the Lord

Next time we will proceed from the Verse 9.20

Harih Om