The Manifestations of God

1. Said Lord Supreme, " Listen to Me again, O mighty armed, My supreme words, which I am speaking before you for your benefit as you are dearer to Me.

2. "The devas do not know My splendor, nor the great sages. I am the prime cause of all gods and sages in all respects.

3. "He who understands Me as the One without birth, without beginning, as the Lord of all the worlds, he is undeluded among the mortal men and is freed from all sins.

4. "Intelligence, knowledge, non-delusion, compassion, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, pleasure and pain, fear and fearlessness.

5. "Non-cruelty, equanimity, contentment, austerity, donation, fame, disrepute, these feelings of all beings arise from Me only according to their nature.

6. "He who is aware of My glories is undoubtedly united with Me through unwavering Yoga.

7. "I am the originator of all. From Me manifest all this. Knowing thus men of wisdom worship Me with concentrated attention.

8. "With their minds fully established in Me, with their lives devoted to Me, narrating My greatness to one another, they remain happy and delightful.

9. "To those who worship Me always with loving devotion, I give the real wisdom by which they come to Me.

10. "Out of mercy to them I destroy their inner darkness born out of their ignorance with the lamp of wisdom shining in their hearts."

11. Said Arjuna, "You are indeed Supreme Brahman, the Transcendental Abode, Very Sacred Being, Supreme Purusha (Consciousness), Permanent, Divine, Primeval God, Unborn and the Most Glorious.

12. "The great sages, Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasa speak of You in this manner. And You are also speaking to me in the same vein.

13. "I accept this supreme truth about You which You have told me O Kesava. Certainly neither the gods nor the demons can understand , O Supreme Creator, Your (divine) manifestation.

14. "You are in reality the Self with in the Self. (I have come to ) Know you (thus), O the Highest Purusha (Being), the Source of all entities, Lord of beings , God of gods, Bearer of the entire universe.

15. "Please tell me in detail the various manifestations of Your divine Self by which you are established every where in all the glorious manifestations of the worlds.

16. "O Supreme Yogi, please tell me how should I constantly meditate upon you? In what aspects and creations can I recognize you O Lord Supreme?

17. "O Janardhana please tell me once again in detail Your yoga (pure state of existence) and Your various manifested forms, the pleasure of hearing which I cannot find even in tasting the amrit (the divine elixir). "

18. Said Lord Supreme," Certainly I shall now speak before you but the most important divine manifestations of My Self , as there is no limit to My manifold presence, O the best among the Kurus.

19. "Gudakesa, I am the inner self, present in all the elements. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

20. "Among the Adityas (golden beings), I am Vishnu. Among the shining ones I am the dazzling sun. Among the Maruts (gaseous elements) I am Marichi. And among the stars I am the moon.

21. "Of the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda. Among the gods, I am Vasavah. Among the senses I am the mind. And among the manifested forms I am chetana (the active consciousness).

22. "Among the Rudras (sanguine Beings) I am Lord Shiva. Among the Yakhsas (vital spirits) and Rakshasas (the demons) I am Kubera (Lord of wealth). Of the Vasus (the crawling beings) I am Agni (fire) and of all the mountains I am mount Meru.

23. "O Partha, Know me as Brihaspati (Lord of Luminous Mind), the Chief among the priests. Among the military know me as Skanda ( a great division). Among the lakes I am the ocean.

24. "Among the great sages I am sage Bhrigu. Among the utterances of the throat I am the monosyllable AUM. Among the rituals I am the ritual of chanting. Among the pitched things I am the Himalayas.

25. "Among all the trees I am the Asvaththa tree (The sacred tree of life with its roots above and branches below). Among the Devarishis ( celestial sages )I am sage Narada. Of the Gandharvas ( sweet scented creative spirits) I am Chitraradha. And among the Siddhas (men of occult powers) I am sage Kapila.

26. "Among the horses I am Uchachaihsravah ( a celestial horse that emerged during the evolution of immortal life). Among the elephants I am Airavat ( a celestial elephant). Among men I am the King .

27. "Among the weapons, I am the thunderbolt (the weapon the Indra). Among the sacred cows, I am Kamadhenu. Among the tempters, I am Kandaarpa (Cupid). Of the Serpants I am Vasuki.

28. "Among the Nagas, I am Ananta. I am Varuna among the water deities. Of the ancestors, I am Aryama. Of the controllers, I am Yama.

29. "Among the demons I am Prahlada. Among the calculators I am time. Among the animals I am the Lion and among the birds I am Garuda, the son of Vinata.

30. "Among the purifiers I am the wind. Among the bearers of weapons, I am Rama. Among the fish I am the alligator and among the rivers I am the Ganges.

31. "Of the created things I am the beginning, the end and also middle. Of the sciences O Arjuna I am the Spiritual Science. And amidst the debtors I am pure logic.

32. "Among the letters I am the first letter ' A'. Among the samasas ( Sanskrit name for compound words) I am dvanda samas (joined by two independent nouns). I am the unending time and among the creators I am Brahma.

33. "I am the all devouring Death, Creator of the future. Among women I am fame, prosperity and fine speech, memory, intelligence, firmness and patience.

34. "In the Samaveda I am Brihatsama. Of the mantras I am the sacred Gayatri mantra. Of the month I am Margasirsha (between November and December) and of the seasons I am the blooming (spring).

35. "Among the deceivers I am the gambler. I am the radiance of the radiant. I am victory among the victorious, profession among the professionals and the strength of the strong.

36. "Of the Vrishnis I am Vasudeva (Krishna). I am Arjuna among the Pandavas. Among the sages I am Veda Vyasa and among the poets I am poet Usana.

37. "I am the punishing power of the those who are in authority. I am the morality of those who are in search of victory. Among the secrets I am the silence and among the knowledgeable I am the knowledge.

38. "I am also the source seed of all the beings in this universe. There is no creature moving or unmoving that can exist without Me.

39. "There is no end to My divine glories O Arjuna. What I have spoken here is but a brief description of My limitless powers.

40. "What ever manifestation is endowed with truth, beauty and brilliance know that to be born of an aspect of My brilliance.

41. "But what will you do by knowing these various manifestations of Mine O Arjuna In this vast universe is existing but only one aspect of Me.