July 29, 2022
dyūtaṁ chalayatām asmi tejas tejasvinām ahaṁ
jayo ’smi vyavasāyo ’smi sattvaṁ sattvavatām ahaṁ (X-36)
vṛṣṇīnāṁ vāsudevo ’smi pāṇḍavānāṁ dhanaṁjayaḥ
munīnām apy ahaṁ vyāsaḥ kavīnām uśanā kaviḥ (X-37)
daṇḍo damayatām asmi nītir asmi jigīṣatāṁ
maunaṁ cai ’vā ’smi guhyānāṁ jñānaṁ jñānavatām ahaṁ (X-38)
X/36. I am the gambling of the fraudulent. I am the splendour of the splendid. I
am victory. I am determination. I am the goodness of the good.
X/37. Among the Vṛṣṇī I am Vāsudeva. Among the Pāṇḍavā I am Arjuna. Among the sages I am Vyāsa. Among poets I am Uśanā, the poet.
X/38. Among punishers I am the sceptre. Among those who seek victory I am statesmanship. Also, among secrets I am silence. Knowledge among knowers I am.
Swamiji's Commentary
We have reached the conclusion of this list of special manifestations, given by the Lord for our meditation in order to enable us to perceive their underlying divinity and eventually, by a process of expansion of our inner vision, to perceive all as God. Krishna also identifies himself as God’s manifestation, as well as the disciple Arjuna and the chronicler Vyāsa.
If the goodness of the good is God’s manifestation, even so is the gambling of the cheat! This does not mean that Krishna sanctions gambling or that we should become expert gamblers before we can know God! Far from it. Here is a double-edged sword. Subjectively, these evils are to be ruthlessly and scrupulously avoided, as they lead us away from God. Objectively, when these qualities are found in others, we should refrain from condemning them, but endeavor to ‘see through’ even this veil of evil and enjoy a vision of the glorious God hidden within.
This teaching and this technique, when applied to our daily life, enable us to develop the spirit of understanding. We learn to find God (and not faults) in all. All are evolving. We must not cultivate faults in ourselves, but we must not despair when their presence in us comes to our notice. Furthermore, we must not recognize the presence of faults in others – thinking about others’ faults only imports them into ourselves. It is when we are confronted with our own failures that humility arises, paving the way for devotion and growth in the divine.
The best way to preserve a secret is ‘silence’! What a divinity of practical wisdom Krishna is!!