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Below was my prepared talk beside Amma during the Bhagavad Gita jnana yajna conducted at the Amritapuri ashram in Kollam, Kerala.
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I bow down at the lotus feet of our beloved Amma (my guru). I extend my heartfelt pranams to all of Amma’s children gathered here and online.
A few months ago, Amma mentioned on stage that Amma wanted to hear all her ashram children take up atleast one verse from the Srimad Bhagavad Gita and give their interpretation of the same.
As part of this Gita Jnana Yagna, we will now discuss the 26th shloka of the 10th chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita (BG 10.26) . The 10th chapter is The Vibhuti Yoga.
In this chapter Bhagavan Sri Krishna is trying to increase Arjun’s bhakti by describing His infinite glories and opulence. In this chapter, Bhagavan Sri Krishna talks about His glorious manifestations. He mentions that everything in the universe is a manifestation of Krishna Himself and that the glories are limitless. However, even after giving so many examples of his infinite glory, Lord Sri Krishna is not yet satisfied that Arjuna’s worldly intellect has fully grasped this Ultimate Truth. So Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the teacher, continues to tell Arjuna about Bhagavan’s glories, Bhagavan’s reflection in various beings, and Bhagavan’s expression in this infinite universe.
Let us now look at the verse:
aśvatthaḥ sarva-vṛkṣāṇāṁ devarṣīṇāṁ ca Narada,
gandharvāṇāṁ citrarathaḥ siddhānāṁ kapilo muniḥ. (10.26)
Anvaya
aśhvatthaḥ—the peepal tree (sacred fig tree)
sarva-vṛikṣhāṇām—amongst all trees;
deva-ṛiṣhīṇām—amongst celestial sages;
cha—and;
Narada—Narad;
gandharvāṇām—amongst the gandharvas;
chitrarathaḥ—Chitrarath;
siddhānām—of all those who are perfected;
kapilaḥ muniḥ—sage Kapil
Simple meaning of the shloka is:
Among all trees, I am the Ashwattha-tree; among divine rishis, I am Narada; among Gandharvas, I am Chitraratha; among the Perfected ones, I am the sage Kapila.
aśvatthaḥ sarva-vṛkṣāṇāṁ
Among the trees i.e. the vegetable kingdom I am the Ashwatha tree – the Peepal tree.
Why is it so? This is because there are so many references to the Peepal tree in the Vedas.
Ashwatah tree is referred to as the Tree of Life.
The very word, Ashwatah tree, means: the tree under which ashwaha (horses) can comfortably stand. This is because the peepal tree grows to become very tall and huge, and it is also widely spread out giving protection and shade.
Again in Sanskrit:
‘Swa’ means: Tomorrow.
‘Swattham’ means: That which remains the same tomorrow also.
‘Aśvatthaḥ’ means: That which never remains the same tomorrow.
So the ‘Aśvatthaḥ’ tree, because of the name, is made use of by the Vedantic masters to represent the Tree of life i.e. The world of Plurality – that which never remains the same at any time. The tree represents the world of flux/change.
Thus ‘Aśvatthaḥ’ tree has gathered around it such a divine meaning and deep significance. And that is why, Lord Krishna says that: Among the trees, I am the Ashwattah tree.
devarṣīṇāṁ ca Narada
Bhagavan Krishna says that among the DevaRishis – the celestial sages, I am Narada.
Let us see why this is so.
Bhagavan Sri Krishna says that Among the celestial sages, I am Narada; the most popular sage, triloka sanchari – one who has traveled the three worlds. There is no purana in which Narada is not present; and even in the upaniṣads, Narada appears.
In the 7th chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, Narada receives the bhūma vidhya from Sanathakumāra (son of Brahma). In the Chandogya Upaniṣad; ‘Brahman’ is called bhūma; Brahma Vidya is called Bhūma Vidhya and that is received by sage Nārada from Sanatkumāra and therefore Narada is a jñāni (jnani means: the wise one. One who has understood the Truth).
Not only was Narada a great jñāni, but he also distributed this jnana/wisdom to all the people; Here is also useful to understand the etymology of the name Narada — “NAram jnAnam dadAti iti nAradah”
So Narada is the one who enlightens all the people with wisdom – and that great Nārada I am, says Bhagavan Krishna.
Narada is a character which we find in the Vedas and in the puranas. Narada is a personality and not just a person. Narada’s job is to come into the world and gather more and more people’s minds and turn them towards the Lord. Narada is not sitting idle. He is always spreading the highest wisdom to the people. Bhagavan Krishna himself is a person of such dynamic activity. Narada too, even after having realized his true Self, is devoted to spreading the Lord’s message throughout his life. Therefore, Sri Krishna has got a greater admiration for Narada.
Later on in the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna says that hose who are realized and sing the glories of Me and spread this message in the world, such people are dearer to Me. And that is why, Lord Sri Krishna says that: Among all the DevaRishis, I am Narada.
gandharvāṇāṁ citrarathaḥ
Gandharvās are the citizens of the celestial world called gandharva lōkā, which is known for all forms of art. So dance, music, painting, sculpture, all of them are well-known there. And among those gandharvās/artists, I am the king of gandharvas known as Chitraratha. Citrarathaḥ is the best singer and also is the king of gandharvas. And that is why, Lord Sri Krishna says that: Among all the Gandharvas, I am Chitrarata.
siddhānāṁ kapilo muniḥ
siddhās meaning: people who have got extraordinary powers; miraculous powers.
Sage Kapila is one who had both jñānam (wisdom) and siddhi (extra-ordinary power). In fact, as per the Bhagavatha Purana; sage Kapila is supposed to be one of the avatars of Bhagavān. Kapilāvathara is very well known in Bhāgavatham. And sage Kapila teaches vedanta to his mother Devahuti. Kapila Dēvahūti samvāda is a very well-known portion. Vēdānta is beautifully taught by Kapila to his mother.
Of course, there is another sage Kapila, who is not an avathāra of Bhagavān, who is a great philosopher, who has propounded Sankya philosophy. That saṇkya philosopher Kapila is not talked about here; here we are talking about the Vēdānta teacher from the the Bhāgavatha Purana i.e. Kapila avathāram; and not only was this sage Kapila a great Vēdānta teacher; he was a siddha puruṣa also – a man of Siddhi or extraordinary power.
And that is why, Lord Sri Krishna says that: Among all the Siddhas, I am Kapila.
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After listening to the various vibhutis or glories of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, one of the biggest lessons we learn is humility. We become humble; because we will never claim any credit for anything we do; The greatest example of humility i can think of is our beloved Amma – Amma always says all credit goes to my children.
I am reminded of the inauguration of the Amrita Hospital in Faridabad. For those of you who might not know, the Amrita Hospital in Faridabad is the largest private multi-specialist hospital in India. Even after launching such a massive hospital, Amma on many occasions and public talks has said, It is only due to Amma’s children’s hard work that this big hospital project was even possible. Our Amma has always spontaneously given all the credit to Her children for any good work that the ashram does. Now, if it were any commoner like me or you, we would’ve been quick to take credit for this work and most probably try to negotiate a promotion or a salary raise at our companies. However, if you look at Amma, She gives All credit to Her children.
Here Amma teaches us a very big lesson – which is to stay humble and always grounded. It is easy for pride to rise within us when we think like – i am the best project manager in my company, i am the best singer, i am the best cook, i am the best driver and so on. However, when we remember Bhagavan Krishna’s glories or the millions of lives our beloved Amma has influenced, touched and transformed, we become humble. We then bow down in reverence and see that this glory too is nothing but Her divine play.
Let us all pray that with Amma’s grace, we, the children of Amma, are all able to continue to transform ourselves and witness Amma’s glories unfold in front of us and within us.
Let us also pray to Amma that we may realize the ultimate truth and our true Self through Amma’s guidance.
I offer these words at the lotus feet of our beloved Amma.
Om Amriteshwaryai Namah.
|| oṁ lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhinō bhavantu ||
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~Gokul
[Below is the reference link to the The Bhagavad Gita Jnana Yajna event]
