The Yoga of Divine Glories

Krishna says, "Listen once more, O mighty-armed Arjuna, to My supreme word. I am telling you this deepest teaching because you are dear to Me, and because I want what is good for you." The greatest secret is not given to just anyone: it is shared, like a present, with a friend who is ready and who is loved.

Krishna says, "Neither the gods nor the great sages know My origin, because I am the very beginning of them all." Even the wisest beings in the universe cannot point to where the source of everything came from — because the source has no beginning. It is what everything else begins from.

Krishna says, "Whoever knows Me as the unborn, the beginningless, the great Lord of all the worlds, is not confused, and among all people, he is set free from every wrong and sorrow." When you understand that there is one deathless source behind everything that changes, the heavy weight of fear and mistakes falls away.

Krishna says, "Intelligence, wisdom, clear thinking, patience, truthfulness, self-control, and calm — and even happiness and sorrow, being born and passing away, fear and fearlessness — all of these come from Me." Every feeling and every quality you have, big or small, rises from the one source.

Krishna says, "Non-violence, evenness of mind, contentment, self-discipline, generosity, fame and disgrace — all these different states of living beings arise from Me alone." Whatever good qualities shine in a person, the spark behind them comes from the one source.

Krishna says, "The seven great sages, the four ancient ones, and the Manus were all born from My mind, sharing My nature, and from them came all the creatures of this world." At the very dawn of creation, the first wise beings sprang from the Creator's thought, and every family in the world flows down from them like branches from one root.

Krishna says, "Whoever truly understands this glory and power of Mine becomes joined to Me by an unshakeable yoga — of this there is no doubt." When you really see that all the greatness in the world points back to one source, you feel close to that source, and nothing can knock that closeness loose.

Krishna says: "I am the source of everything. From Me the whole universe flows out, like water from one great spring." When wise people truly understand this — that one source is behind every star, every river, every living thing — their hearts fill with love, and they worship that source with all their feeling.

Krishna describes his loving friends: their minds rest on him, their whole lives are turned toward him, and they help wake each other up to the truth. They keep telling stories about him, again and again, and they never grow bored. They feel glad and full and happy, just from speaking of the one they love.

Krishna makes a promise: to those who are always with him and worship him with love, he himself gives the yoga of understanding, a clear inner wisdom, and by that gift they find their way to him. You don't have to earn it all on your own. When you love with a full heart, the understanding is given to you, like a light handed to you in the dark.

Out of pure kindness, Krishna says, he lives inside the hearts of those who love him, and there he destroys the darkness that ignorance makes, using the bright, shining lamp of knowledge. One small flame can clear away a whole room of dark. That is what knowing the source does inside you.

Arjuna can hold it in no longer. He cries out to Krishna: "You are the Supreme Brahman — the highest reality! You are the supreme home and the supreme purifier. You are the eternal divine Person, the very first God, unborn, and present everywhere at once." All the awe in his heart pours out in praise.

Arjuna keeps praising: "All the great sages say this about You! The divine sage Narada says it, and Asita, and Devala, and the mighty Vyasa. And now You Yourself are telling me the very same thing." It is as if everything the wise ones had taught him is coming true before his own eyes.

Arjuna says with all his heart: "Everything You tell me, O Keshava, I hold to be completely true." Then he adds something amazing: "Not even the gods, not even the demons, can fully understand how You appear and where You come from." The mightiest beings in all the worlds cannot fathom Krishna — and yet Arjuna simply trusts him.

"You alone know Yourself, by Yourself," Arjuna says. No one else can see all the way to the bottom of who Krishna is — only Krishna can. Then Arjuna calls him by his great names: Supreme Person, source of every being, Lord of all beings, God of gods, ruler of the whole world. Only the infinite can measure the infinite.

Arjuna begs Krishna to tell him all of his divine glories — every single one, leaving nothing out. These glories, called vibhutis, are the ways Krishna shines through the world. With them he fills and holds up all the worlds. Arjuna wants to hear about them the way a child wants to hear every part of a wonderful story.

Arjuna asks a very practical question: "How do I keep You in my mind all the time? In which forms should I think of You?" He wants to know where to look so that whatever he sees reminds him of Krishna. It is the question of someone who wants to remember God not just at prayer time, but all day long.

"Tell me again, in full detail, of Your power and glory," Arjuna says. He just cannot get enough. He calls Krishna's words amrita — nectar, the sweet drink that gives life and never grows stale. The more Arjuna listens, the thirstier he becomes, the way the best stories make you say "again, again!"

"Very well," Krishna says, "I will tell you My chief divine glories." But he gives a gentle warning first: there is no end to how far he stretches. He can only name the main ones, because the whole list could go on forever. He is beginning a song that, in truth, could never reach its last line.

Krishna begins the listing with its deepest truth: "I am the Self that sits in the heart of every living being." The same inner spark of life and awareness shines in everyone. Krishna says, "I am the beginning of all beings, their middle, and their end — where they come from, what holds them up, and where they return." This is the heart of the whole chapter.

Now the listing of glories truly begins. Krishna says, "Among the twelve Adityas (the sun-gods), I am Vishnu, the greatest. Among all lights I am the blazing sun, full of rays. Among the Maruts (the storm-winds) I am Marichi, their chief. And among all the stars of the night, I am the moon." Wherever something is the brightest or highest of its kind, that is Krishna shining through.

Krishna says: "Of the four Vedas, I am the Sama-Veda, the one that is sung. Among the gods I am Indra, their king. Among the senses I am the mind that guides them all. And in every living being, I am the consciousness — the spark of awareness that lets you know that you are alive." Wherever something is the brightest or most alive of its kind, that brightness is Him.

Krishna says: "Among the eleven Rudras I am Shankara, Shiva. Among the yakshas and rakshasas I am Kubera, the keeper of all treasure. Among the shining Vasus I am Agni, the fire that purifies everything it touches. And among all the mountain-peaks of the world, I am Meru, the golden mountain at the very centre of creation." Wherever a thing rises highest, that height is Him.

Krishna says: "Among all the priests, know Me as the chief — Brihaspati, the wise teacher and priest of the gods themselves. Among all generals I am Skanda, the brave commander who leads the army of heaven. And among all the waters of the world, every lake and pond and river, I am the ocean, into which they all finally flow."

Krishna says: "Among the great sages I am Bhrigu. Among all words, I am the single sacred syllable Om. Among all the ways of offering to the divine, I am japa, the quiet, steady repeating of a holy name, the simplest offering of all. And among all the still, unmoving things of the earth, I am the Himalaya." The greatest word can be the shortest, and the greatest offering the quietest.

Krishna says: "Among all the trees of the world I am the Ashvattha, the sacred peepul. Among the divine sages I am Narada, who travels everywhere singing of God. Among the heavenly musicians I am Chitraratha. And among the perfected ones, the great souls who have reached the goal, I am the sage Kapila." Wherever something gathers life and people around it, that gathering is Him.

Krishna says: "Among all horses, know Me as Uchchaihshravas, the snow-white horse that rose from the nectar when the gods churned the ocean. Among the great elephants I am Airavata, the white elephant Indra rides. And among all human beings, I am the king, the one who leads and protects his people."

Krishna says: "Among all weapons I am the vajra, the thunderbolt. Among cows I am Kamadhenu, the cow who grants every wish. I am the loving power that brings new life into the world. And among the serpents I am Vasuki, their king." From the mightiest weapon to the most giving cow to the spark of love that begins every life — wherever there is greatness, it is His.

Krishna keeps showing Arjuna where to find him. Among the great serpents he is Ananta, the endless one who never comes to a stop. Among the deities of water he is Varuna, who rules the seas and rivers. Among the ancestors he is Aryaman, the eldest and noblest, and among all who keep order and justice he is Yama, the steady lord of the law. Wherever something holds, guards, or endures, that strength is a spark of him.

Krishna points to the brightest spark in each kind. He says, "Among the demons I am Prahlada, the one demon-child whose pure love for God outshone his whole fierce family. Among all who count and measure I am Time itself, which counts every day for everyone. Among the wild beasts I am the lion, the king of the forest, and among the birds I am Garuda, the mighty mount of Vishnu." Even in unlikely places, the best of its kind is a glimpse of him.

Krishna keeps naming the greatest of each kind. He says, "Among all things that clean and freshen, I am the wind, which sweeps the whole sky clear. Among warriors who carry weapons, I am Rama, the noblest of heroes. Among the creatures of the water I am the mighty makara, and among all the flowing rivers I am the Ganga, holiest of them all." Wherever something is purest or strongest of its kind, that is his glory.

Krishna says, "I am the whole arc of everything that is made — the beginning, the middle, and the end of all creations. Among the many things people study, I am the highest study of all: the science of the Self, the knowing of who we really are inside. And among people who argue and debate, I am not the shouting or the tricks, but vada, the honest reasoning that leads straight to the truth."

Krishna shows that he hides even inside small everyday things. He says, "Among all the letters I am 'A', the very first sound, the breath every other letter is built upon. Among the ways words join together I am the dvandva, the joining that means 'and.' I am endless Time, which never wears out, and I am the great Sustainer who faces every direction at once, holding up the whole world on every side."

Krishna says, "I am Death, the great taker that carries everything away in the end, but I am also the origin, the coming-to-be of all the things that are still to be born. I am both sides of the turning wheel, the ending and the beginning." And among the gentle, shining qualities he names seven that are treasures: fame, good fortune, beautiful speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness, and patience.

Krishna names the loveliest of each kind. He says, "Among the sacred chants of the Sama Veda I am the Brihat-saman, the greatest hymn. Among all the poetic meters I am the Gayatri, the most honoured measure of all. Among the months I am Margashirsha, the fresh and bountiful month, and among the seasons I am spring, the flower-bearing time when the whole world bursts into blossom."

Krishna says, "Wherever there is a spark of greatness, that spark is Me." He is the splendour that shines in brilliant people, the victory that crowns a hard-won battle, and the steady resolve that refuses to give up. He is even the goodness inside good-hearted people. Anything strong or bright or determined is a little flame borrowed from him.

Krishna keeps naming the finest of each kind. Among his own Yadava clan he is Vasudeva — that is, himself. Among the five Pandava brothers he is Arjuna, called Dhananjaya, the winner of wealth. Among silent sages he is Vyasa, who arranged the Vedas, and among great poets he is Ushanas, the wise Shukra. Even Arjuna, sitting right there, is named as a spark of the divine.

Krishna says, "I am the firm but fair authority of rulers who keep their kingdoms safe, and the clever strategy of those who want to win. Among all secrets, I am silence — for the deepest things are kept by saying nothing at all. And among the wise, I am the very wisdom inside them." Sometimes the greatest power is knowing when not to speak.

Krishna calls Arjuna by name and tells him the heart of it all: "I am the seed of every single being." Just as a tiny seed holds a whole tree inside it, he is the hidden source that everything grows from. And nothing at all — nothing that walks or swims or flies, nothing that stands still like a rock or a mountain — could exist without him.

Krishna calls Arjuna "scorcher of foes" and tells him a wonderful thing: "There is no end to my divine glories." All the marvels he has just listed — the sun, the ocean, the mountain, the holy river — are only a few examples, a tiny taste. If he tried to name them all, the list would never, ever finish.

Krishna gives Arjuna one simple rule to carry away: wherever you see something glorious, beautiful, or mighty, know that it has sprung from just a tiny fragment of his splendour. The brightest star, the bravest heart, the most golden treasure — each one is a single spark thrown off from his endless light.

Krishna ends the long, dazzling list with a question and a wonder. "But what need is there, Arjuna, to know all these details one by one?" Then comes the greatest line of the chapter: "I stand here, holding up this whole entire universe — and I do it with a single fragment of Myself." Everything that exists rests on just one small part of him.