Verses 10.19–10.25🔗

Of the immovable objects, I am the Himālayas. There is no way to describe the Divine fully because the Divine pervades every bit of this entire Universe. When it exists in every atom, when it is the essence of all that exists, how can we describe or comprehend it in its entirety? So Kṛṣṇa explains the main manifestations that give a glimpse of the unfathomable Divine. Kṛṣṇa refers to Arjuna as Guḍākeśa, meaning one who has conquered sleep! He implies that Arjuna has overcome sleep, signifying darkness or ignorance. Therefore Arjuna is ready to receive what Kṛṣṇa is about to deliver. Throughout the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa refers to Arjuna by different names.

Each one is appropriate within a particular context. Sometimes He calls Arjuna—Kaunteya or Pārtha, meaning that he is the son of Kuntī. Kuntī in Mahābhārat is the epitome of patience and forbearance. No one suffers like she does. When Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna as the son of Kuntī, it is in the context of advising Arjuna to be patient and listen carefully. While addressing Arjuna here as Guḍākeṣa, one who is in the light, having conquered sleep, Kṛṣṇa readies Arjuna for liberation. Kṛṣṇa declares that He is everything that really matters. Kṛṣṇa says that He is the ultimate consciousness in all beings and He is the beginning, middle and end of all beings.

He declares that He pervades the entire space and time and beyond. aham ātmā guḍākeśa sarva-bhūtāśaya sthitaḥ I aham ādiś ca madhyaṁ ca bhūtānām anta eva ca II 10.20 Kṛṣṇa is both the macrocosm and the microcosm: the Brahmāṇḍa, Cosmos and the pindāṇda, individual being. His energy permeates all living and non-living entities and He decides upon their nature. Young Prahlād was subjected to an inquisition by his demonic father Hiraṇyakaśipu. His father asked, ‘You speak about Nārāyaṇa all the time and refuse to give up even when I command you to do so. Where does your Nārāyaṇa live? Where is he now?’ Prahlad replied, ‘He may be in this twig lying on the floor.

He may be in this pillar next to you. He is everywhere.’ Hiraṇyakaśipu kicked the pillar in fury daring Nārāyaṇa to appear. Nārāyaṇa appeared in the form of Naṛsimha, Vibhūti Yogaḥ You Are The Ultimate 775 half-man half-lion! Prahlād trusted fully that Nārāyaṇa was everywhere. He did not have one iota of self-doubt about it. When Prahlād was being challenged by Hiraṇyakaśipu to show Nārāyaṇa anywhere, it is said that Lord Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa) suddenly started preparing to leave Vaikunṭa, His abode, when Lakṣmī, His consort asked, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Viṣṇu smiled and said, ‘I have no idea where this devotee of mine, this young boy Prahlād, is planning to call me from.

Wherever he calls from, I need to appear from there!’ Not only does the Lord reside everywhere, He will also go to any length to ensure that His true devotee’s words don’t go futile! In this Universe, there are twelve planes of existence. These are a combination of the factors of length, breadth, depth, time, space and consciousness. At best we are aware of the first five and only partially that too. It is difficult for those in the human plane to comprehend even time and space fully. We can only exist in one aspect of time and space in relationship with the three dimensions of length, breadth and depth.

Quantum Physics now recognizes that fundamental particles can exist simultaneously in different locations at the same time. Matter can transcend time and space. Matter and energy can exist beyond the bounds of time and space. A Master is one who can transcend time and space and reach consciousness. Kṛṣṇa, the great Master, is in the twelfth plane, that of pure consciousness. He is beyond all dimensions, beyond time, and beyond space. He is the beginning and He has no beginning. He is the end and He has no end. He is the Creator. He is the Created. He is also the Creation. In this huge canvas of the Universe, He is the canvas.

He is the paint. He is also the strokes and He is the painting. There is nothing that He is not. The only way to understand even a part of Him is to become immersed in Him. In the Chandogya Upaniṣad, Āditya is a name of Śrī Viṣṇu in His Vāmana avatār. In the ten incarnations of Śrī Viṣṇu, Vāmana is the fifth incarnation as a small brāhmin boy. When King Bāli of the demon race was performing a series of fire rituals to attain supremacy over the Universe, the demigods requested Viṣṇu to prevent Bali from conquering the Universe. On King Bāli’s last fire ritual, Viṣṇu appeared as a small brāhmin boy.

The king, as per the custom, respectfully welcomed the brāhmin boy and offered to give anything that he wished for. Vāmana asked king Bāli to give him three steps of his land as his property. Once Bāli consented, Vāmana grew from the size of a small boy to a huge figure. He stepped over the entire earth in a single footstep. In the next step, he stepped over the heavenly worlds. Having thus conquered the worlds, Vāmana asked Bāli where he could place his third step. Having nothing else to offer, Bali offered Vāmana his own head. Vāmana placed his foot on Bali’s head. The history symbolizes how arrogance and pride leads to one’s downfall since all possessions are temporary and of no inherent value..

Surrendering only to the Divine, to the Ultimate consciousness, leads us to liberation. Kṛṣṇa says that among the Māruts, He is Māricī. The Māruts are the thought-gods associated with power and knowledge. Māricī is the father of sage Kaśyapa who is the father of the Māruts. Many Ṛgveda hymns are dedicated to the Māruts. The Māruts aid the activities of Indra, the representation of the mind. This is a metaphysical representation of the power of thoughts that originate from the mind. A common representation of the Maruts in the Ṛg Veda, is a flock of birds. This symbolizes the power of Vibhūti Yogaḥ You Are The Ultimate 777 thoughts that influence the recipient.

When a person is established in integrity, and radiates positive thoughts, he is receptive to similar thoughts and attracts similar incidents in his life. If we are blissful, people with a similar attitude will be attracted towards us. If we are dull, lethargic and depressed, the same type of people will be attracted towards us. Thoughts and desires are energy. They contribute towards shaping our actions and lives. Everyday we create our bodies, minds, actions and our reality by our thoughts. We are what our thoughts are. Next, Kṛṣṇa says that He is the sun amongst all the shining objects, and among the stars He is the moon. We may say that the moon is not a star.

We would be factually correct. Kṛṣṇa refers to the influence that the moon wields upon earth and humans. It is scientifically established that out of all celestial bodies around planet earth, the two most important influences are the sun and the moon. No one doubts that the sun is a star and that it is the brightest object that can be seen. The moon influences the tides of the ocean as well as the tides of the human minds. Of all planetary, non-planetary and solar bodies that surround us, with the exception of the sun, the moon exerts the greatest influence on us both in a broader planetary sense and in an individual sense.

People have mood variations depending on the phases of the moon. New moon and full moon days dramatically influence our emotional well-being, for good and for bad. Being the physical mass closest to the earth, the gravitational force of the moon affects each of us deeply. This is why the Hindu astrological and astronomical systems consider the moon to be a planet. This belief is not based on whether the moon revolves around the earth as a satellite instead of around the sun as a planet. It is based on the effect that the moon has on human beings and upon planet Earth. In Vedic astrology, the stars, are the different positions in the sky that the moon passes through in a cycle of 27 to 28 days.

These stars are referred to as the wives of the moon. This is why Kṛṣṇa refers to Himself as the moon amongst the stars, that He is the pride of the stars. I Am Viṣṇu. I Am Śankara. I Am OṀ Kṛṣṇa declares that amongst the Vedas, He is the Sāma Veda. The Vedas are the timeless truths expounded by the ṛṣis (sages) as the expressions of truth experienced by them. These are the revelations of the truth experienced through intuition by the seers. There are four Vedas: Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda and Atharva Veda. Each Veda consists of four parts: mantra-saṁhita or hymns, brāhmaṇa or explanations of mantras (or rituals), āranyaka, forest books which give the philosophical meaning of rituals, and the Upaniṣads, essence of the Vedas.

The Sāma Veda is a collection of hymns in praise of agni (fire), Indra (king of the gods) and soma (drink of the gods). While the Ṛg Veda is the oldest Veda, Sāma Veda is the basis for all musical systems of India. The basic notes of all music, not just of Indian music, originated with Sāma Veda. The seven notes, which are the fundamentals of all music all over the world, were derived from Sāma Veda, which even today is sung, and not recited. The Ṛg Veda and other Vedas may be recited only by a few scholars today, but Sāma Veda is heard everywhere. It is the essence of Carnatic and Hindustani music forms, the two major classical music forms of India.

As the essence of music, Sāma Veda is also the essence of dance forms. One does not need to understand music and dance. It is enough to indulge and experience. So it is with Kṛṣṇa. All we need to do is experience Him. Among the gods, Kṛṣṇa says He is Vasava (Indra), the king of gods.The five senses, jñānendriya, namely sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, originate from the mind and are of the mind. Without the mind, the senses cannot function. He says He is the subtlest and most powerful, the mind. In living beings, He is the life force, the consciousness, not merely body and mind. Rudras are the elemental powers worshipped by the Ṛg Veda.

The word Rudra means to cry. Metaphorically the Rudras were worshipped Vibhūti Yogaḥ You Are The Ultimate 779 to obtain some gain. When in deep anguish, if one prays to one of the Rudras in awareness, it was believed to bring results. There are eleven Rudras: Aja, Ekapāda, Ahirbudhnya, Vīrabhadra, Girīśa, Śaṅkara, Aparājita, Hara, Anakaraka, Pināki, Bhaga and Śambhu. Śankara is the doer of good. Śankara is also the precursor to Śiva in the evolution of the Hindu constellation of divinity. Śiva means causeless auspiciousness; auspiciousness born without a reason. Wherever Śiva is, good happens for no reason. Of the Rudras, Kṛṣṇa says He is Śankara, rudrāṇāṁ śankaraś cāsmi (10.20).

Yakṣas are celestial beings considered to be the creators of wealth. The king of the Yakṣas is Kubera, the god of wealth. Rākṣasas too are celestial beings of a negative nature of hoarding power and wealth. Yakṣas and Rākṣasas are keepers of wealth. They do not enjoy wealth. Of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, Kṛṣṇa says He is the god of wealth, the king Kubera. The Vasus are the attendants of Viṣṇu. They represent various aspects of Nature. The Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad mentions eight Vasus: agni (fire), pṛthvī (earth), vāyu (wind), antarikṣa (space), āditya (light), dyaus (sky), candramas (moon) and nakṣatrāṇi (stars). Kṛṣṇa says among the Vasus, He is the formless fire.

Meru is the golden peak, the metaphoric abode of gods, and its foothills are the Himalayas. It also represents the human spine. Amongst the peaks, Kṛṣṇa says He is the majestic Meru. Bṛhaspati is the priest of the gods. He dispels darkness and ignorance and destroys the enemies of the gods. Among the warriors, Kṛṣṇa says He is Skanda, the supreme General of the forces of gods. Skanda is the son of Śiva and Pārvati, who destroyed Tārakāsura, the demon who, along with his hordes of demons, tormented the devas. This is a metaphysical representation of the Divine as the Supreme General of the being, vanquishing the senses, desires and ego.

Of the water bodies, Kṛṣṇa says He is the mighty ocean, infinite in expanseandessentialtoalllifeforms.Infact,itistheoriginofalllifeforms. Of the great sages, Kṛṣṇa says He is Bhṛgu, one of the Saptaṛṣis (seven sages who form the cosmic energy). Bhṛgu is believed to have been created by Brahma to aid him in the creation of the Universe. Of the vibrations, Kṛṣṇa says He is the transcendental OṀ—girāṁ asmy ekam akṣaram (10.25). OṀ is the primal sound from which the Universe manifested itself. It is the praṇava, the mystic symbol. The symbol of OṀ— contains three curves, a semicircle and a dot. Out of the three curves, the upper curve symbolizes the waking state, the lower curve denotes deep sleep and the right curve denotes the dream state.

It thus represents the three states of individual consciousness. The dot represents the fourth state of consciousness, turīya, complete awareness. The semicircle represents māyā, illusion, and separates the dot from the three curves. But the open semicircle represents the Absolute which is unaffected by māyā. Of the different types of sacrifices, Kṛṣṇa says He is the japa or chanting of holy names—yajñānāṁ japa-yajño ‘smi (10.25). Of the immovable objects in the world, He says He is the mighty and majestic Himalayas. The Himalayas, literally meaning ‘the abode of snow’, is home to hundreds of peaks, including the highest peak in the world. Some great rivers originate in it and flow through it, including Gangā, Yamunā, Brahmaputra and Indus.

The Himalayas have a great unique spiritual significance as well. Kailasa, abode of Śiva, is the earthly representation of the metaphorical Meru. The Himalayan mountains are the spiritual incubator of the world. The Himalayas are truly a powerful energy field. For thousands of years, millions of Sādhus (sages) have lived there and left their bodies from there. When Enlightened Masters leave their bodies, the result of their penance, the energy of their spiritual penance, is not carried by the spirit. They leave behind this energy in their bodies. Imagine how much energy is in the Himalayas, where so many Enlightened beings have left their bodies! We should Vibhūti Yogaḥ You Are The Ultimate 781 be thankful to the Himalayas since their positive energy balances the collective negativity in the world.

The Himalayan Mountains are home to me. I never believed, when I left home to travel to the Himalayas, that I would return to South India. It was in the Himalayas that I met Mahāvatār Bābā, the great Master who has been living in these mountains for thousands of years. You may believe it or not believe it, but that is the Truth. On the way to Kedarnath, Mahāvatār Bābā called me by the name I am now called. He walked into me after calling me ‘Paramahamsa Nithyananda’. I thought he was asking me to look for a master named Nithyananda! So I went searching for this master. More than a year later, at Calcutta, on the banks of the river Hooghly, a tributary of the river Gangā, an old Sannyāsi insisted on giving me Sannyāsa before he died.

I was not keen to take Sannyāsa. I was looking for Enlightenment. But he insisted. So I agreed. To my utter surprise he gave me the name— Paramahamsa Nithyananda. I asked this Sannyāsi, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I do not know. This is what I was asked to do.’ He did not explain who asked him to give me the name and initiation. So, I tell my disciples that Mahāvatār Bābā is our Kulaguru, Master of our lineage, and Kedar is our kṣetra, our spiritual location. When Kṛṣṇa says, ‘I am the Himalayan Mountain out of all unmoving things, sthāvarāṇāṁ himālayaḥ (10.25).’ I can feel the energy of Kṛṣṇa in these mountains. Everyone who has been with me on these trips have felt it at some point. They are blessed. They have been in Kṛṣṇa consciousness! I Am Banyan Tree, I Am Time