The Bhagavad Gita

The Blessed One said:
Mighty warrior, just hear me once more, in this great teaching which I will give you for your benefit, because you are my friend.

The spirit beings will never know my majesty, the great sages will never know. For I am the source of the everything that makes up the spirit beings and the great sages.

Anyone who knows me as uncreated, without beginning, he knows me as the great divinity. He is without delusion. Among all those destined to die, only he will be freed from wrongdoing.

Enlightenment, awareness, freedom from doubt, forgiveness, truthfulness, disciplined senses, disciplined mind, joy, suffering, birth and death, fear and courage.

Nonviolence, balance, fulfillment, guilt, giving, fame, infamy; all of these different natures of living beings are arranged by me.

The seven great sages, and the four originators of humanity, were all born of me. They were created by my mind, as were all of the people of this existence.

Anyone who knows this reality as miracles of yoga will be able to practice yoga without fail. Of this there is no doubt.

I am the source of all creation. From me come all things. Knowing this, the enlightened become devoted to me with great fervor.

Their minds focused on me, their lives dedicated to me, they share this enlightenment with one another. They will constantly talk about me, finding joy in divine bliss.

They are always practicing service from their devotion. They are filled with the ecstasy of love. I give to them that unity of enlightenment by which they come unto me.

To them I give a particular grace. Any ignorance caused by darkness within their hearts, I can destroy with the bright lamp of awareness.

Arjuna said:
The great Brahma, the great force, the pure greatest being. The first individuality, transcendent, the Lord of the Spirits, uncreated and most miraculous.

The sages all say these things of you. Even the divine sage Narada, and Asita, Devala, and Vyasa all say this. Now you are yourself explaining this to me.

I accept all of these claims which you are making, Krishna. No one can know you in your fullness, Blessed One, not even the divine or demonic spirits.

You know, personally, your soul through your soul, greatest one. Creator of everything, Lord of everything, Spirit of spirits, father of the world.

Tell me in detail of how you have earned this divine and miraculous soul, the miracle by which you can remain within all dimensions at once.

Great Yogi, how shall I know you and think of you always? In which various natures are you to be thought of by me, Blessed One?

Describe again to my satisfaction the miraculous uniting of the soul, destroyer of doubt. Although I have been hearing you, I have not yet attained the nectar.

The Blessed One said:
Yes, I will speak unto you of the divine miracle of the soul. I will explain the main points, best of the Kurus, for there is no limit to how far I could expand on this.

Arjuna, I am the soul. I am within the heart of all living beings. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all life.

Of the Gods I am Vishnu. Of all lights I am the glowing Sun. Of all the winds I am the solar wind. Of all the planetary bodies I am the moon.

Of all the scriptures (Vedas) I am the Samveda (the first). Of all the divine spirits I am the king of heaven. Of all the senses I am the mind. And of all living beings I am the living force of consciousness.

Of all the demigods I am Shiva. And of all the lesser demigods I am the Lord of the Treasures. Of the elementals I am fire, and of all mountains I am Mt. Meru, the holy mountain.

Son of Partha, know me to be the prince of the priests, the hierophant. Of all the commanders I am the General. Of all the sources of water, I am the ocean.

Of all the great sages I am Bhirgu (the son of god). Of all the vibrations I am the voice in the silence. Of all rituals I am chanting. Of all immobile objects I am the Himalayas.

Of all the trees the Banyan, of all the divine sages Narada, of the divine choir Citraratha, of the magicians the wise Kapila.

Among horses know me as Uccaihishrava who was made from the tempestuous ocean. Of the noble elephants Airavata, and among human beings the king of kings.

Of all weapons I am the thunderbolt. Of cows, I am Kamadhuk. Of the causes for begetting children I am true love. Of serpents I am Vasuki.

I am also Ananta of the hydras. Of all mermen I am the demigod Varuna. Of the ancestors I am Aryama. And of all the judges I am Yama, the lord of death (who judges the time of your death).

Of the demons I am Prahlada. Of all the conquering forces I am time. And I am the lion of all the animals, and the divine Garuda, of all the birds.

Of all the purifying forces I am the wind. Of all warriors I am Rama. Of all fish I am the shark. And of all rivers I am the Ganges.

Of all creation I am the beginning, the middle, and the end, Arjuna. Of all forms of knowledge I am the experiential knowledge of the soul. Of all forms of argument I am logic.

Of letters I am the letter A. Of compounds I am the dual compound. I am the eternal aeons, I am the fourfold creator.

I am the death of all that is, and the source of all that will be. Of the virtues of women I am fame, beauty, fine words, memory, intelligence, firmness, and patience.

Of the songs in the Samveda I am the Brihatsama. Of all poems I am the Gayatri. Of the months of the year I am harvest month. Of all the seasons I am spring.

Of all forms of vice I am gambling. I am the splendour of everything splendid. I am victory. I am risk. I am the might of the mighty.

Of the descendents of Vrishni I am Vasudeva. Of the Pandavas I am Arjuna. Of the wise I am Vyasa. Of the philosophers I am the philosopher Usana.

Of all the legal structures I am just punishment. I am the righteousness of those who seek noble goals. Of all the secrets I am silence. I am the awareness of the aware.

Whatever there may be of all living things, I am the seed, Arjuna. Without me, there is nothing that can exist, no living being, animate or inanimate.

Nor is there any limit to my divine miracles, conqueror of enemies. All of these are only some examples I have spoken out of a vast expanse.

Whatever miracles are real, most beautiful and glorious, you must realize that they are only born of a part of my splendour.

What could you possibly gain by understanding these things one at a time, Arjuna? I pervade this entire world, while being within one part.

Chapter 10