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A class on Chapter 10, The Divine Manifestions, of the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000. The class spent time on the passages: All right, Arjuna: I will tell you a few of my manifestations, the most glorious ones, for infinite are the forms in which I appear. of letters, the first one, A; am imperishable time; the Creator whose face is everywhere; death that devours all things.
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A class on Chapter 10, The Divine Manifestions, of the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Stephen Mitchell, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000. The class spent time on the passages: All right, Arjuna: I will tell you a few of my manifestations, the most glorious ones, for infinite are the forms in which I appear. of letters, the first one, A; am imperishable time; the Creator whose face is everywhere; death that devours all things.
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The speaker begins by guiding everyone through a morning exercise to ground themselves. They emphasize the importance of offering everything as an offering to God, which brings joy and ecstasy. They also suggest that trigger words may indicate resistance or unwillingness to let go. They discuss the scriptures being written for people at different stages of spiritual evolution and the need to respect that. They share their perspective on worship, seeing it as a release rather than groveling. They encourage respecting others on their spiritual path and ourselves as we are. They mention the importance of quiet and meditation to connect with God's thoughts. They add that even criminals can have a purity in their seeking. And now that we're all here and present, let's do our little morning exercise to get ourselves set. Place both feet on the floor, wiggle your toes a little bit, feel Mother Earth, feel your tailbone firm against the bottom of your chair, and notice where your hands are. Turn the palms upward if you wish, palms up in your lap, raise the top of your head, take a deep in-breath, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, A Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, 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Give it as an offering. You're doing it because we want to, and it's done in that thought, then it is effortless, it's just what we do. And if you pledge it to God, then offer it to God. There you are. Easy. Not only is it effortless, but it creates joy and there's an ecstasy. I mean, it's like, that's what we want, you know. And that's, for me, that's what I'm finding. What I'm hearing is that sometimes certain words trigger us. They're trigger words. And they bring up something in us that I'm comfortable with. And I'm guessing that underneath that is some resistance to something. Some unwillingness to let go of something. That's my guess. So, perhaps rather than resist a particular trigger word, which triggers you, perhaps one could seek inner guidance and inner release and a letting go of resistance. Also, we have to recognize that the scriptures are written for people in various states of their spiritual evolution. I said it's something like a thermostat. You know, the thermostat goes off and the light comes on. The thermostat puts more and more light. So, the scriptures are written for people at different places in their spiritual evolution. And we can respect that. Respect that. So, something isn't for us, if we're not ready to take it in. Or it seems like, well, this was written for other people who cross-state themselves and do things which I don't agree with, or find primitive or different. I think it's a bit groveling. Sometimes worship can be the head down. Yes. And that, well, maybe some people get something out of that kind of worship, but I don't see it as that. Yes. So, when we see people with their head down and so on worshiping, do we see that as groveling? That probably says more about ourselves than the people who are doing it. I myself, in my yoga practice, have a pose that I particularly like. It's called Child's Pose. And Child's Pose is like a prostration of oneself, and a release, a giving up. And it feels so joyful. I love that pose. But are you worshipping at that time? Worshipping sounds like I'm doing something. And I'm not. I'm not doing anything. Rather, I'm letting life do me. I'm just there, enjoying the experience of it. So, when I see particularly people in the Muslim tradition gathering together and prostrating themselves, do I see people groveling in front of God? That's not my God. He has a different name than our God, Allah. Do I see that? Or do I see people whom I can respect? Or having a tradition that allows them to give up their ego self in the moment of prayer? And in prostration? Because that's what I feel when I prostrate myself. So, these words are meant for people in different places on our spiritual path, and meant for people in different places in our understanding of others and how they are on their spiritual path. And if we can learn to respect everyone, wherever they are on their spiritual path, that opens the door for us to more deeply respect ourselves, which is the true issue. And we respect ourselves exactly as we are, exactly as God has delivered us at this moment in the world. Om Shanti. Thank you, God. I just wanted to, like, for me it's like, I'm thinking that God is higher than I am. It's just that He's higher, but if I spend time in quiet, in meditation, whatever, it's like, then I get God's thoughts. It's like, I have to get in tune to what God is, but He doesn't have to do anything, He's already there. He's already at that point, but I have to, for me, I have to get there. Because in my natural state, I'm thinking about all kinds of stuff, and I'm not with the truth always. And I just wanted to add about what you said about the criminal, what you just read. I've worked with a lot of criminals, and I've worked with a lot of people that have been in solitary confinement for 10 years, and I think what it said was really beautiful, because many times there is such a purity in their seeking, and one best-selling author, Michael Singer, was asked to go meditate with this prisoner, and he said he ended up going regularly for 30 years, and leaving a huge group, because it was the most powerful experience he's ever had in his life, and that it was so much more powerful than meditating on his own, that he just couldn't believe the experience was so amazing. So, I thought that was really neat. Thank you for sharing that. The scripture was, Even the heartless criminal, if he loves me with all his heart, and perhaps a prostration is a part of healing that love, experiencing the love in one's body, the heartless criminal will certainly grow into sainthood as he moved toward me on this path. Thank you all for sharing. That was beautiful. Shall we move on to Chapter 10? All right. So, here we go. Yes, Chapter 10, The Divine Manifestations. When I was reviewing the scriptures for this class, it reminded me of a New Day song that Unity sings. And the song is, Everything is holy now. Everything, everything, everything is holy now. This chapter reminded me of that. And when I hear that song, I think of a few things. I think of, well, trees, and people, and flowers. But I don't go too far in my thinking. It's just everything. And what I like about Chapter 10 is, The Divine Manifestations, it goes into lots of things. Lots of things that are holy. Not only things that are holy, but things which the Lord God Krishna says, I am. So, it's not just that the trees are holy, but Lord Krishna is going to tell us, I am the tree. I am the flower. So, it goes deep. It has a long list. We're not going to do the whole list, but we'll do a few. I am. You see how deeper that is, that when I say everything is holy, it's like, I'm here, and you're there. I'm me, and you're holy. Separation. Separation. So, scripture takes us deeper. I am you. I am you all. I am the tree. I am. Just a little notch up the thermostat on our spiritual path. The Blessed Lord said, so here we go, starting everything up. The Blessed Lord said, Neither the myriad gods nor any of the sages know my origin. I am the source from which gods and sages emerge. Isn't that interesting? So, here's Krishna saying, I am the source from which everything emerged, including all the gods and the sages. We have to remember, by the way, that none of this is meant to be taken totally literally. If we let our intellectual minds argue with things, we're going to miss the point. Some critics have read things like this and come up with a whole list of contradictions, proving why it's not so. It's not real. It's not true, because it's contradictory. The scriptures are poetry. The name Bhagavad Gita is the song of the Lord. The song. We don't analyze songs, do we? No, we just listen to them and enjoy them. And are sometimes moved by them and sometimes not. And sometimes we hear them multiple times and then we are moved by them and don't know why. We weren't moved before, but now we are. The Lord said, Neither the myriad gods nor any of the sages know my origin. I am the source from which gods and sages emerge. Whoever knows me, and how do we know the Lord? Well, we do it through our worship. Through our minds and through our hearts. Whoever knows me as the unborn, the beginningless, the great Lord of all worlds, he alone sees truly and is freed from all harm. The scriptures often say, if you follow this understanding of the way things are, you will relieve yourself from suffering. Here it says, be free from harm. Free from harm. I'm going to skip, if anyone is reading their book right now, to page 122. If you'd like to follow the book. The Lord said, I am the source of all things and all things emerge from me. I am the source of all things, the creator. Knowing this, wise men worship by entering my state of being. How do you enter the state of being of the Lord? Through our spiritual practices. I am the source. Knowing this, wise men and wise women worship me by entering my state of being. Thinking and speaking of me. We can adopt a practice in the East called a mantra. Does everyone know what a mantra is? In the vernacular sense, in the English sense, we use the word mantra in a rather derisive sense. So that's just what they say over and over and over. Well, it is true that it's something that we could say over and over. And the original meaning of a mantra is some holy words that we can say to ourselves or out loud all day long, whenever our minds wander, to bring us back to divine consciousness. In the Eastern tradition, one finds a teacher that one follows called a guru. And the guru gives you your mantra. You don't select it. You don't decide which one to choose because it's not an intellectual thing. Rather, the guru gives you your mantra. Since we may not have gurus that we go to as teachers, we can ask our inner guru, our inner teacher, to give us a mantra, if that's something we wish to have. And be patient and wait until our inner guru gives us that mantra. And then we can use that whenever we notice our mind is wandering and we want to return to the Lord. A mantra. I picked up a mantra years and years ago. It's a wonderful thing. If I'm in the car and my mind wanders, I start repeating the mantra that I chose. By the way, the teachers recommend that you don't share your mantra with others, even though it might be common words. Why? Because what if somebody were to say something about it? It would plant a little scar on your mantra. You don't want to do that. Because your mantra is something sacred and pure. So even if someone could guess it, you just keep it to yourself to keep its sacredness. You can use it, for example, when you're lying in bed and your mind starts talking to you, Oh, that's a mantra, that's a mantra, that's a mantra. You can begin repeating the holy words and take yourself into the inner presence of the Lord. So, that's a way, one way, there's different ways, of speaking and thinking of me. Thinking and speaking of me enlightening one another. Their lives surrendered to my care, they are always serene and joyous. If we surrender ourselves, kind of a tough thing to do, to the Lord's care, we can give up worrying about things. Now, what is a worry? I worry, you know, something I didn't know then. I'm guessing a lot of us worry. What is a worry? A worry is thinking of some outcome, some future outcome. And rather than being willing to give it up to the grace of God, we think, Well, something's in it for me, or what if this happens? No, we're not willing to give it up to grace. We think about it. We think, well, what if this happens? Maybe that happens. And usually, what we worry is, we worry about the same thing over and over again. Once we get a particular one, it changes. We worry, worry. We have the same thoughts again and again. So, if we surrender to my care, then we can surrender our worries. And if you don't quite get what surrendering a worry is like, you can remember last week's teaching and make your worry an offering to God. Dear God, I'm worrying what happens when I go to traffic court tomorrow. I worry they're going to find me or put me in jail or do this or do that. I worry. I make my worry an offering to Thee, O God. I offer my worry to Thee. Thank you, God. Surrendering to my care, they are always serene and joyous. So when we make our worries an offering and surrender ourselves, it just opens the door for joy. The joy that was always there. And the inner serenity that's always there, that we veil with our thoughts, our worries, our anticipations, and so on. To those who are steadfast, so in the area of mantras, that means if you happen to choose one that works for you, you're steadfast with it. You don't give up on it because it doesn't always seem to work. You are steadfast and resolute, resolute to use that spiritual practice as one of many. To those who are steadfast, who love me with true devotion, I give the yoga of understanding, which will bring them to where I am. So understanding isn't an on-off switch, it's just a progression. It's raising the thermostat, a little more light, a little more understanding. And maybe it doesn't bring them exactly to where Krishna is, but maybe it just brings us a little closer. Always a little closer. Always a little closer. You know, we're just this far away from the Lord Krishna. Well, we'll just go half the distance. Thank you, God. Now we'll just go half the distance again. Thank you, God. Now we'll just go half the remaining distance. Any of you heard of the Greek philosopher Zeno? He said the chicken can't cross the road, even though you've seen it. He says why? Well, here's the road. First the chicken goes halfway across the road, and he's done that. He sees the remaining distance and goes half that remaining distance. Does that. Just a little distance left and goes half that, and so on and so on. He keeps going half the remaining distance. But this goes on and on, he never gets there. Yes he does. So, our spiritual practice is like that. We can go half the distance and half the distance and not worry about it. And then we just notice and we've given up the having and we're there. The yoga of understanding will bring them to where I am. Arjuna then said, You, Lord, are the supreme freedom. You are the supreme abode. The eternal person. The primordial God before existence. All-pervading, birthless. We like to give those superlatives when we think of God or the divine or the Lord. I'm moving now to page 124. Arjuna now goes on, Tell me in detail the divine self-manifestations by which you pervade these worlds and grace them with so much splendor. So this is a rhetorical question he's setting the stage for the Gita to tell us all the divine manifestations. How can I know you, Krishna? Which of your many forms should I visualize, Lord of Yoga, as I focus my thoughts on you? How can I know you? So isn't this the question that the Gita is putting in our minds? How can I know you? How should I visualize you as I focus my thoughts on you? I'm now going to read something from another guru named Ramakrishna, a famous teacher. And here's what he says about this. He says, It is very difficult to understand that God can be a finite human being and at the same time the all-pervading soul of the universe. So he asserts that God can be a finite human being and the all-pervading soul of the universe. And then he says it's difficult to understand that God can be both. He goes on, The absolute and the relative are his, capital H, his two aspects. Two aspects of God. How can we say emphatically with our small intelligence that God cannot assume a human form? So here he puts it to us. Many of us might think, Oh, God is God and humans are humans and never between shall meet. He says, How can we say emphatically with our small intelligence that God cannot assume a human form? Are we willing to give up resistance to the idea that God can be a human form? Give up resistance. Yes, Nancy. Good morning. Good morning. So, the chicken never gets there but is already there. Both? Yes, yes. The chicken can get there in our heads but in our hearts and minds and observations the chicken doesn't. Both. We have two aspects ourselves, don't we? We have an intellectual aspect where we figure things out. I give thanks to God for my mind. I have a beautiful mind. I'm very grateful. And we also have an experiential aspect. And we have both. Yes, Nancy. Before the chicken starts out, the chicken is already there. That's what I meant. Before the chicken starts out, the chicken is already there. Human form and God form. Why not? Why not? Maybe wrong, but anyway. Why not? Why not? So, how can we say emphatically with our small intelligence this or that? For example, God cannot assume a human form. Can we ever understand all these ideas with our little intellect? It concludes, therefore, one should trust in the words of holy men and great souls, those who have realized God. They constantly think of God as a lawyer thinks of his lawsuits. That's from a Christian's recommendation. Now, before we go on to all the manifestations of God, let's do a little exercise to take us deeper into ourselves and have us perhaps experience and not understand so much or think about these issues. So, let's get seated in our chairs. Notice where our hands are. Notice if palms are up or down. With eyes closed, make contact with your inner eye. And let's breathe into that, our inner eye, three times. Addressing the Holy of Holies that dwells within us. Address these words to that Holy of Holy within you. Say to yourself, you are the father of the universe and its mother. You are essence and goal of all knowledge. The refiner. The sacred own. The beginning and the end. My true lover. You are the heat of the sun. You hold back the rain and release it. You are death and the deathless. And all that is or is not. Aum. Allow your eyelids to gently open when they're ready. And allow your understanding to return now to the Holy Scripture. We will now hear in the Scripture the Blessed Lord addressing some of the things we just meditated on. The Blessed Lord said, All right, Arjuna, I will tell you a few of my manifestations. The most glorious ones, or infinite, are the forms in which I appear. These are all the things which are holy now. I am the Self, Arjuna, seated in the heart of all beings. If you have some consciousness of your capital Self, your Christ consciousness, the Scripture says, I am. The Lord is saying, I am Self, Arjuna, seated in the heart of all beings. I am the beginning and the lifespan of beings and their end as well. Sorry, folks, it's not you who were born and live and die. It's the good Lord who is the beginning, lifespan of your being, and your end as well. He just said that, I am. Beginning, lifespan, and end as well. All the more incentive to focus our thoughts on the Lord through our thinking. Now he goes on with the wonderful detail of rest. He says, Of the sky gods, I am Vishnu. Vishnu, one of the gods in the Hindu pantheon. Of the sky gods, I am Vishnu. Of the heavenly lights, the sun, I am the sun. We know that some peoples have worshipped the sun, which now we see was altogether appropriate and proper. Because the heavenly light, the sun, is God. Among other things, Mariachi, chief to the wind gods. Mariachi, chief to the wind gods. Among stars, I am the moon. Those who worship the moon, understand and worship the moon, we see how entirely correct and appropriate that was and is. Because the moon is God. He says so. Among stars, I am the moon. Of the Vedas, I am the hymns. The hymns we sing. Indra, among the gods. The mind, among the six senses. And we thank God for our minds. We have beautiful minds. Give us lovely thoughts. And now we find out, oh, it wasn't our mind that had the lovely thoughts. It was and is God's mind. God's mind is having the wonderful thoughts. We are just custodians of them. Renters, as Nid would say, of our thoughts. We're observers of them. The thoughts come from God. I am the mind among the six senses. The consciousness of all beings. I am the consciousness. I am the consciousness. What is our consciousness? If you just close your eyes for a minute, let's have an experience of our consciousness. So closing your eyes just for a minute, experience your body. Your body has an energy. Every aspect of your body has an energy which is your consciousness. If you focus on your legs, your calves, your thigh, there's an energy coming from those parts of your body. From your feet. Can you feel the energy from your arms? Can you feel the energy coming from your hands and fingers? Can you experience it? It's like a glow. Can you experience the energy coming from your chest? Breathing into it. The energy in your arms. The energy in your head, like a halo. Can you get in touch with that energy of who you are? Breathing. Experiencing that energy flowing outward from you. Can you feel it? Experience your energy. Maybe you can't experience it. That's fine. But I'm guessing those who are more spiritually evolved can experience your energy. And you can try that for yourself. Focus on someone else in the room right now. Open your eyes and focus on someone, anyone. And see if you can see their energy. Can you see the energy emanating around their head? Like a halo. Can you see it? It's subtle. There's an energy there. It's a divine energy and it's the consciousness of all beings. And the Lord God Krishna says, I am the consciousness of all beings that you have observed. On to page 128. Of creations, the beginning and the end. And the middle as well, Arjuna. Of knowledge, knowledge of the capital S cell. I am knowledge of the capital S cell. Of orators, I am the speech. Of letters, the first one, A. As in our scriptures, I am the alpha and the omega. Of letters, the first one, A. I am imperishable time. I am the time that we say passes. I am the time of right now. Right now. And right now, Krishna says, I am the time. He says, I am the creator whose face is everywhere. Everywhere, not only the face of people, but the face of things. I am the creator whose face is everywhere. I am death that devours all things. I am death that devours all things. I think this was the reaction of Oppenheimer when he witnessed the first atomic bomb explosion. I don't remember exactly what, but I know it came from the Gita. There was this verse, I am death that devours all things. I am the source of all things to come. Oh, God, I don't have to worry anymore. I'm so worried about going to court tomorrow. What's going to happen? What if they do this? I don't have to worry, because God is the source of all things to come. Of feminine powers, I am fame. Wealth. Anybody got any money or things? That's the Lord. I am wealth. I am speech. So I think I'm talking, but the scripture says, no, this is Krishna talking through me. I am just a custodian of my speech and I facilitate it. I am speech and memory. I am memory. I am intelligence. I am loyalty. I am forgiveness. Oh, here's a good one. Of swindles, I am the dice game. Now, who of us, when we heard the song, Everything is Holy Now, thought of swindles and dice games being holy? We probably thought they were bad or we had some dichotomy there, good or bad. Krishna says of swindles, I am the dice game. The splendor of the high and mighty, determination and victory, the courage of brave men and women. And he goes on. Of punishers, I am the scepter. The scepter. The astuteness of great leaders. The silence of secret things. I am the silence of secret things. I am the wisdom of the wise. Now, we all know that we're all wise here. We're just thermostatic wise. Some have a little more, some a little less, but we all have wisdom. It's in our hearts. And by removing the veils, we can get more in touch with our wisdom. I am the divine seed within all beings, Arjuna, of Christ consciousness. I am. Nothing inanimate or animate could exist for a moment without me. Nothing could exist for a moment without me. All the good things, all the bad things. Nothing could exist. All the killings, I am. All the sacrifices, I am. All the sages and holy people, I am. I am death. I am life. These are just a small number of my infinite manifestations. Were I to tell you more, there would be no end of the telling. And it's about 1025, so we only have five more minutes. That's how. And then he closes. He says, Whatever in this world is excellent and glows with intelligence or beauty, whatever is excellence, be sure that it has its source in a fragment of my divine splendor. Whatever in the world is excellent. All right. There's a little exercise. Now take a breath. And say to yourself, Zoomers included, What is something excellent about you? Tell yourself now. What is a mark of your intelligence? Tell yourself one thing that is a mark of your intelligence. Tell yourself, thirdly, lastly, tell yourself something about yourself that is beautiful. Tell yourself one thing about yourself that is beautiful, that Krishna would describe as beauty. Be sure that these things have their source in a fragment of my divine splendor. Your excellence, your intelligence, your beauty, is but a fragment of the Lord's divine splendor. Divine splendor. Now he gives us a closing sloka. But what need is there for all these details? Just know that I am. I am that I am. And that I support the whole universe with a single fragment of myself. Om Shanti. What need is there for all these details? Just know that I am. And that I support the whole universe. Everything is only now a single fragment of myself. Any comments or questions before we close for today? I have a comment. Yes, Rob. So it seems to me that Arjuna is questing to learn the true essence of Krishna. But Krishna tells him, I am all. I am everything. I am being and non-being. I am beyond what you can comprehend. I am n plus one. So whatever I can comprehend, I am beyond that. But it seems to me that Krishna, I mean that Arjuna, and I'm taking a leap of faith here, already knows that essence. It's kind of like what Nancy said. He's already there. But he wants this definition. But he's in a place where he already knows this. He just doesn't, his essence knows it. Because he is in, as we all are, he is in the divine, but he just isn't quite conscious of it. So it's just really interesting to me that he keeps asking, who are you? What are you about? What is your essence? What are your attributes? And so Krishna tells him that, you know, this, I am, you know, I'm the universe and everything in it, and that I'm beyond that. And I think, for me, it seems like Arjuna knows this already. But that's what makes it so beautiful. Because it's a song. It's what makes this so beautiful. Yes, it does make it beautiful. And even though we know things, sometimes it's nice to hear them. That's true. Sometimes it's nice to hear beautiful things, rather than the negative things. So, sometimes we're confused about what we know. We hear positive things, we hear negative things. So perhaps hearing of the positive things is useful. Also, there's a difference between awareness and knowing. You might know something, but it may be veiled. It may not be in your awareness because it's somehow veiled. The veils are usually negativity. Judgments, evaluations, grudges, fears, resentments, which veil the knowing that's inside you. And also, of course, these scriptures are meant to be a teaching for us, so the questions are often withdrawn. And thank you, Rob, for pointing out again. It's a beautiful song. It's a beautiful song. Are we ready to close with taking our three aums together? So we do that. Get our consciousness. Remember Mother Earth. There she is, beneath our feet. Touch Mother Earth with our feet. Wiggle your toes. Feel Mother Earth. Press your heels into Mother Earth. Press your tailbones into your chair. Raise the tipple top of your head. Notice where your hands are. Notice if your hands are closed or open. Notice your hands. And with a deep in-breath. Aum. Aum. Aum. Aum Shanti. Shanti Shanti. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming. And go in peace.
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