The supreme self is the beginning and the end of everything, explains Sri Krishna in the Vibhooti Yoga. “I am death that takes away everything in the end and the cause for birth in the future too. Of all the feminine qualities I am fame, wealth, speech, memory, intelligence, fortitude and pardon. Among all the songs, I am the great song and of all the metric compositions, I am the Gayatri mantra. Among all the months, I am the holy month of Margasheersha (mid-November to mid-December) where people fast, pray and do penance and among the seasons, I am spring.”
Sri Krishna identifies himself with the supreme spirit and says, “I am the game of dice, among all the deceitful games, the light in all the lustrous beings, I am the victory of the victorious and the resolve of the mind that makes a resolution. In those that are good, I am the goodness!” So there is not a millimetre in this Universe left, where the supreme divine is not present. If it is present in everything that is the best, it is also there in the worst.
It is a pointer to the subtlest and the best in which the supreme essence pervades, besides in everything else that we can directly know, in this universe. “I am Vasudeva or Krishna, among the Vrishni clan and among the five Pandava brothers, I am Arjuna. Among all the seekers of truth, I am Vyasa who compiled the Vedas and wrote the Mahabharata among other epic creations and Sukracharya, the Guru of the Asuras, among the wise ones. I am the ruling scepter among all forces of control and righteousness.
Among all the secrets, I am silence and the wisdom of the wise creatures.” Why are so many qualities enumerated here? In our day-to-day hurry, we can easily forget to realise the supreme presence and so Krishna gives a check list —“Oh, I see this now, God is present! Oh, I hear this sound, God is present! Oh, I discover this goodness here, God is present!” This chapter raises our awareness in identifying the presence of God in all objects, thoughts, words, sounds, actions and qualities in our day-to-day life. “Wherever there is any creation, I am the seed that created it. There is nothing in this universe, moving or unmoving that exists without me.” So in the days of war, corruption, do-gooders, it is resting to know that the divine is present equally in all!
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