(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)
Despite The Fact That The Divine Is Undivided, He Appears To Be Divided Among Living Beings; All Beings’ Sustainer, Annihilator, And Creator He Is
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् |
भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च || 13.17||
avibhaktaṁ cha bhūteṣhu vibhaktam iva cha sthitam
bhūta-bhartṛi cha taj jñeyaṁ grasiṣhṇu prabhaviṣhṇu cha|| 17||
Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 13- Ver. 17:
That is the light that shines brighter than all the other lights, and it has been described as being beyond darkness. It is knowledge, the purpose of knowledge, and that which is to be known. It has a particular place in everyone’s heart.
Explanation
God’s personality is made up of many different energy. All manifest and intangible objects are nothing more than extensions of His energy. The Supreme Lord Shree Krishna Himself is responsible for all aspects of creation, including time, karma, the natures of individual living creatures, and the material components of creation. There is nothing else in the universe save Him.
God may appear to be divided among His creation’s objects, but because He is all that exists, He is also undivided. God creates the world, maintains it, and then absorbs it back into Himself, As a result, He might be considered as the Creator, Maintainer, and Destroyer of all things.
Verse & what we can learn
The “sat” or existence part of the eternal essence was underlined in previous verses. The “chit,” or awareness, part is discussed further here. As we saw previously, awareness or sentience is what allows an entity to be aware of its surroundings as well as of itself. The eternal essence, according to Shri Krishna, is the “light among all the lights.” In the Vedas, the word “light” alludes to awareness and understanding. Which means that, in the end, it is the everlasting essence that gives all beings the power of awareness, the power to know. We wouldn’t have awareness or sentience without the eternal essence.
The term “light” denotes knowledge, while “darkness” denotes ignorance. Shri Krishna emphasizes the uniqueness of the eternal essence’s awareness component by asserting that the eternal essence is beyond ignorance. The everlasting essence, is present in both those who are unaware of it and those select individuals who have realized it. Shri Krishna refers to the eternal essence as being “beyond darkness” because of its unique power to illuminate ignorance.
How can we realize that eternal essence using our antahakarana, our intellect, mind, and senses? Shri Krishna explains the procedure in three steps. To gradually lessen the weight we give to upaadhis or conditionings, we apply “jnyaanam,” the methods of knowledge listed in the twenty characteristics mentioned previously in the chapter, such as humility.
The everlasting essence comes into our awareness as “jneyam,” the object of knowledge, as we systematically study the scriptures under the supervision of a teacher. The everlasting essence becomes “jnyaanagamyam,” the aim of knowledge, when all conceptions of duality are erased and we remain established in the eternal essence, only through persistent contemplation, reflection, and meditation.
Shri Krishna ends this shloka by telling us that all three processes – preparation, study, and reflection – are only possible because of the intellect, which is referred to as the “hridi” or heart of all human beings. Humans are the only ones who can reach the eternal essence.
To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.
There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.
In the next shloka Shri Krishna describes about the source.
Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…