For Eternal Beginners
अर्जुन उवाच -
परम् ब्रह्म परम् धाम पवित्रम् परमम् भवान् ।
पुरुषम् शाश्वतम् दिव्यम् आदिदेवम् अजम् विभुम् ॥ १२ ॥
आहुः त्वाम् ऋषयः सर्वे देवर्षिः नारदस्तथा ।
असितो देवलो व्यासः स्वयम् चैव ब्रवीषि मे ॥ १३ ॥
arjuna uvAca -
param brahma param dhAma pavitram paramam bhavAn |
puruSam zAzvatam divyam Adidevam ajam vibhum || 12 ||
AhuH tvAm RSayaH sarve devarSiH nAradastathA |
asito devalo vyAsaH svayam caiva bravISi me || 13 ||
अर्जुन उवाच [arjuna uvAca] Arjuna said-
सर्वे ऋषयः [sarve RSayaH] All great thinkers who are devoted to You तथा देवर्षिः नारदः [tathA devarSiH nAradaH] along with the divine sage Narada, असितः [asitaH] the dark, unbound देवलः [devalaH] pious व्यासः [vyAsaH] Vedavyasa आहुः त्वाम् [AhuH tvAm] say that You are परम् ब्रह्म [param brahma] the supreme might, परम् धाम [param dhAma] the ultimate abode, भवान् परमम् पवित्रम् [bhavAn paramam pavitram] You are the supreme purity, पुरुषम् [puruSam] the greatest personality, शाश्वतम् [zAzvatam] ever-lasting, दिव्यम् [divyam] unaffected by the material world, आदिदेवम् [Adidevam] the root of all powers, अजम् [ajam] the One who is not created विभुम् [vibhum] and the One with irresistible will. स्वयम् ब्रवीषि मे [svayam bravISi me] You tell this to me चैव [caiva] directly as well.
The Lord’s qualities cannot be understood. So how do we think of Him?
Arjuna says to Krishna - ‘The scriptures speak about the supreme might, the ultimate abode and the supreme purity. You are that’.
Here are the scriptures that speak about these qualities:
तैत्तरिय उपनिशद् [taittariya upanizad] , 3-1-1
speaks about the Lord in the neuter gender- ‘From which all these beings originate, by which all beings take birth and live, in which they reside at the end - know It as the Mighty One, which is to be worshipped’.
तैत्तरिय उपनिशद् [taittariya upanizad] , 2-1-1
says what happens to the worshipper- ‘The person who worships this Mighty One will attain that very Might’
मुण्दोक्य उपनिशद् [muNdokya upanizad] , 3-2-6
says it as well- ‘The one who worships and sees the Lord will attain equality to the Lord’.
Arjuna continues - The One who is called the ‘ultimate abode’ is You alone. Here, the word ‘abode’ indicates the state of enlightenment. The ultimate form of enlightenment is described in the following scriptures -
छान्दोग्य उपनिशत् [chAndogya upanizat] , 3-13-7
describes the state-of-being enlightened with the Lord’s awareness- ‘It is the enlightenment that shines many times brighter than this daylight’.
छान्दोग्य उपनिशत् [chAndogya upanizat] , 8-12-2
describes the person who is enlightened- ‘Having attained the ultimate enlightenment, he comes forth in his own form’.
ब्र्’हदारान्यक उपनिशत् [bRhadAraNyaka upanizat] , 4-4-16 describes how he is viewed- The powerful consider Him as the brightness in everything that’s bright.
Likewise, the Lord is the supreme purity - One who purifies all. To a person who remembers Him, the Lord grants freedom from disgrace and related mistakes. As said in the scriptures -
छन्दोग्य उपनिशत् [chandogya upanizat] , 4-14-3
speaks about such a person’s mistakes- ‘Mistakes do not stick to a person who worships this way, just as water does not stick to a lotus leaf’.
छन्दोग्य उपनिशत् [chandogya upanizat] , 5-24-3
speaks about vice in such a person- ‘Just as cotton gets burnt into ashes when it falls into fire, all vice in this person gets burnt away’.
महानारायण [mahAnArAyaNa] , 21-3
talks about the supreme nature of the Lord- ‘Narayana is the supreme might. Narayana is the supreme element. Narayana is the supreme enlightenment. Narayana is the supreme Self’.
Arjuna continues- Great thinkers know the true nature of everything perceptible and non-perceptible. O Lord, they say You alone are the everlasting divine person, the origin of all powers , You are without an origin. You are the One who is all-pervading. The sage Narada and the unbound pious Vedavyasa too say the same. From the scriptures -
हरिवम्श, विश्णु पर्व [harivamza, vizNu parva] , 123-62
describe Lord Krishna- ‘This Narayana has the sea of milk as his mansion, has Lakshmi by his side. He has left his serpent that serves as his resting place and has come down to Mathura city’.
भारत।अरण्य। [bhArata.araNya.] , 86-28,25 says- ‘The city of Dwaraka is indeed fortunate, because Lord Krishna is present there. He is the Lord who can be seen, He is beginning-less, He is indeed the eternal and supreme law’.
भारत।वन। [bhArata.vana.] , 76-24,28 describes those who know Krishna- ‘Learned people who know the Vedas, those who are aware of the knowledge of the Self say that the great Lord Krishna is the eternal and supreme law. Govinda is the purest of the pure, the highest among all virtues and the most favorable among everything that’s auspicious. The Lord is the entire universe and all the
powers
in it. He is ancient, older than everything else. The Lord Hari, who cannot be grasped by thought, is now present here as Krishna.
In [bhArata.vana.], 90-28,32, Krishna Himself tells Arjuna- ‘Wherever the ancient and supreme being, Lord Narayana is present, that’s where the entire world is. It is home, with all the wholesome rivers. Such a place is virtuous. It is a place of focused thought. That is itself the ultimate entity, which extends through-out the universe. It is a place of powerful scholars, people with great achievements and those who have focused their thoughts… Lord Krishna, present as the origin of all power and as the great performer, is the most favorable of all places. Have no doubt in this matter’.
भारत।सभ। [bhArata.sabha.] , 38-33 echoes- ‘Lord Krishna himself is the creation and destruction of all the worlds. Along with everything with consciousness and without, this entire universe exists only for His purpose’.