Chapter 10-VIBHUTI YOGA of Bhagavad Gita is being interpreted here by Mahatma Gandhi. Here, Sri Krishna describes himself as the Unborn, the Beginning-less & the Supreme Lord of all creatures. He says that all the qualities like knowledge, freedom from delusion, truth, self-restraint, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, courage, contentment austerity, non-violence etc. emanate from Him. Upon request from Arjuna He gives a long list of examples of His manifestations, which shows that God is omnipotent,& His creation contains both good & evil

1. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA
Presentation adapted from
The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient
Paperbacks,2011
T K G Namboodhiri

2. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 10
VIBHUTI YOGA

3. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga, describes the Powers or
the Lordship & the Pervasiveness or Immanence
of the Self. Krishna indicates Himself as the most
prominent & chief factor in all classes of beings,
& as the Supreme Factor without which
specimens of each class cannot maintain
themselves as existent beings.
Arjuna asks the Lord how one can constantly
keep in touch with the Eternal, & requests Him to
describe in detail the Lord’s yoga-power &
immanent glory. In reply, Sri Krishna describes
exhaustively the exact identity of the Self in
individual beings & things.
T K G Namboodhiri

4. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.1 to 10.3
Yet once more, O Mahabahu, hear My supreme
word, which I will utter to thee, gratified one, for thy
benefit.
Neither the gods nor the great seers know My
origin; for I am, every way, the origin of them both.
He who knows Me, the great Lord of the worlds, as
birthless & without beginning, he among mortals,
undeluded, is released from sins.
Those who know Me as the unborn, the Beginning-
less & the Supreme Lord of all creatures, do not
sink into the darkness of ignorance-tells Sri
Krishna. The Jnani becomes free from all sins.
T K G Namboodhiri

5. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.4 &10.5
Discernment, knowledge, freedom from delusion,
long suffering, truth, self-restraint, inward calm,
pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear & fearlessness.
Non-violence, even-mindedness, contentment,
austerity, beneficence, good & ill fame--- all these
various attributes of creatures proceed verily from
Me.
All the qualities mentioned in these verses exist in
all creatures & the Supreme Lord is the cause of
each one of them. The creator of all beings is also
the cause of all the good & evil which we see in
these beings.
T K G Namboodhiri

6. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.6 &10.7
The seven great seers, the ancient four, & the
Manus too were born of Me & of My mind, & of them
were born all the creatures in the world.
He who knows in truth this My immanence & My
yoga becomes gifted with unshakable yoga; of this
there is no doubt.
Everything which exists is created by the Lord. He
who believes, not merely with his reason but also
with his heart, that no creature can live or act
without His permission, yokes himself to Him in
single-minded devotion. There is no doubt at all that
one who believes in God from the depth of his heart
& obeys the Lord who dwells in him, attains a state
of serenity which is never perturbed.
T K G Namboodhiri

7. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.8 to10.11
I am the source of all, all proceeds from Me; knowing this,
the wise worship ME with hearts full of devotion.
With Me in their thoughts their whole soul devoted to Me,
teaching one another, with Me ever on their lips, they live in
contentment & joy.
To these, ever in tune with Me, worshipping Me with
affectionate devotion, I give the power of selfless action,
whereby they come to Me.
Out of very compassion for them, I who dwell in their hearts,
destroy the darkness, born of ignorance, with the refulgent
Lamp of Knowledge.
He who lovingly cultivates devotion for the Lord &
constantly thinks of Him, gets knowledge without making
any special efforts towards that end. Knowledge comes
spontaneously to a Bhakta. He does not have to wade
through big volumes.
T K G Namboodhiri

8. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.12 to10.15
Desiring to know more Arjuna spoke thus:
Lord! You are the supreme Brahman, the supreme
Abode, the supreme Purifier! Everlasting Celestial
Being, the Primal God, Unborn; All-pervading.
Thus have all the seers- the divine seers Narada,
Asita, Devala, Vyasa– declared Thee; and Thou
Thyself dost tell me so.
All that Thou tellest me is true, I know, O Kesava,
verily, Lord, neither the gods nor the demons know
Thy manifestation.
Thyself alone Thou knowest by Thyself, O
Purushothama, O Source & Lord of all beings, God
of gods, O Ruler of the universe!
T K G Namboodhiri

9. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.16 to10.18
Arjuna continued:
Indeed Thou ought to tell me of all Thy manifestations,
without a remainder, whereby Thou dost pervade these
worlds
O Yogi! Constantly meditating on Thee, how am I to know
Thee? In what various aspects am I to think of Thee, O
Lord?
Recount to me yet again, in full detail, Thy unique power
& Thy immanence, O Janardana! For my ears cannot be
sated with listening to Thy life-giving words.
Arjuna, who loves repeating Krishna’s name in devotion,
requests Him again & again to describe His powers till
the latter can say no more.
T K G Namboodhiri

10. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.19 to10.22
In response, Sri Krishna reveals more about His divine
transcendental opulence, in the next 24 Verses of this
chapter:
Yes, I will unfold to thee, O Kurushreshta, My divine
manifestation- the chiefest only; for there is no limit to
their extent.
I am the Atman, O Gudakesha, seated in the heart of
every being; I am the beginning, the middle & the end of
all beings.
Of the Adityas I am Vishnu; of the luminaries the radiant
Sun; of Maruts I am Marichi; of constellations, the moon.
Of the Vedas I am Sama Veda; of the gods, Indra; of the
senses I am the mind; of beings I am the consciousness.
T K G Namboodhiri

11. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.23 to10.26
The Lord continued:
Of Rudras I am shankara; of Yakshas & Rakshasas
Kubera; of Vasus I am the Fire; of mountains Meru.
Of priests, O Partha, know Me to be chief
Brihaspati; of army captains I am Kartikeya; & of
waters, the ocean.
Of the great seers I am Bhrigu; of words I am the
one syllable AUM; of sacrifices I am the Japa
sacrifice; of things immovable, the Himalayas.
Of all trees I am Ashvastha; of the divine seers,
Narada; of the heavenly choir I am Chitraratha; of
the perfected I am Kapila the ascetic.
T K G Namboodhiri

12. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.27 to10.30
The Lord continued:
Of horses, know Me to be Uchchaihshravas born
with Amrita; of mighty elephants I am Airavata; of
men, the monarch.
Of weapons I am Vajra; of cows, Kamadhenu; I am
Kandarpa, the god of generation; of serpants I am
Vasuki.
Of cobras I am Ananta; of water-dwellers I am
Varuna; of the manes I am Aryman; & of chastisers,
Yama.
Of demons I am Prahlada; of reckoners, the Time; of
beasts I am the lion; & of birds, Garuda.
T K G Namboodhiri

13. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.31 to10.34
Sri Krishna continued:
Of cleansing agents I am the wind; of wielders of
weapons, Rama; of fishes I am the crocodile; of rivers,
the Ganges.
Of creations I am the beginning, end & middle, O Arjuna;
of sciences, the science of spiritual knowledge; of
debaters, the right argument.
Of letters the letter A; of compounds I am the dvanda; I
am the imperishable Time; I am the creator to be seen
everywhere.
All-seizing Death am I, as also the source of things to be;
in feminine virtues I am Kirti (glory), Shri(beauty), Vak
(speech), Smriti (memory), Medha (intelligence), Dhriti
(constancy) & Kshama (forgiveness).
T K G Namboodhiri

14. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.35 &10.36
The Lord continued:
Of Saman hymns I am Brihat Saman; of metres,
Gayatri; of months I am Margashirsha; of seasons,
the spring.
Of deceivers I am the dice-play; of the splendid, the
splendour; I am the victory, I am resolution, I am the
goodness of the good.
The author’s intention in enumerating these various
entities is only to assert that God is omnipotent.
God’s creation contains both good & evil. Sri
Krishna here gives us the freedom to choose
between the two. He gives us the freedom to shake
off our bonds. Lord assures us that we can be what
we wish to be.
T K G Namboodhiri

15. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.37 to 10.40
The Lord continued to give more illustrations:
Of Vrishnis I am Vaasudeva; of Pandavas
Dhananjaya; of ascetics I am Vyasa; and of seers,
Ushanas.
I am the rod of those that punish; the strategy of
those seeking victory; of secret things I am silence,
& the knowledge of those that know.
Whatever is the seed of every being, O Arjuna, that
am I; there is nothing, whether moving or fixed, that
can be without Me
There is no end to My divine manifestations; what
extent of them I have told thee now is only by way
of illustration.
T K G Namboodhiri

16. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 10.41 & 10.42
Whatever is glorious, beautiful & mighty, know then
that all such has issued from a fragment of my
splendour.
But why needst thou to learn this at great length, O
Arjuna? With but a part of Myself I stand upholding
this universe.
With these Verses, the Lord concludes this Chapter of
His Divine Glories.
If we have an idea of the infinite powers of the Lord, we
shall become humble. We will not feel proud of the
powers we possess; even being proud is His privilege. We
should learn to be the humblest of the humble. We should
submit to violence if anyone attacks us, without offering
violence in return. If we resist with violence, God will
humble our pride.
T K G Namboodhiri