Daily Readings from the Works of Swami Venkatesananda


Song of God (Bhagavad Gita) — Chapter XI: 22

August 12, 2023

™rudrādityā vasavo ye ca sādhyā
  viśve ’śvinau marutaś co ’ṣmapāś ca
™gandharvayakṣāsurasiddhasaṅghā
  vīkṣante tvāṁ vismitāś cai ’va sarve (XI-22)

XI/22, The rudrāādityāvasūsādhyāviśvedevā, the two aśvinmarut, the manes and the hosts of celestial singers, yakṣā, demons and the perfected ones, are all looking at thee, in great astonishment.

Swamiji's Commentary

      The ‘sādhyā’ are a class of deities. However, the term may also imply that it is possible to attain and know them, to propitiate them and to win their grace. The transcendental truth  offers  the  finite  intellect  of  man  an  open  window  in  and  through  these designations. They are not the final goal, even as the window is not the sky, or the door our destination; yet, the wise man realizes that without the window he cannot view the sky, and the door leads him to his destination.

      As has been repeatedly emphasized, these divinities are the macrocosmic correlations of several functions and faculties in the individual. Meditation upon them, therefore, promotes those very functions and faculties in the individual. Take for instance the viśvedevā. As Gurudev points out in his commentary on the Gītā: “They were considered protectors of human beings. They were called guardians of the world. They were givers of plenty to the human beings.” They are: kratu (sacrifice, intelligence, purpose, desire, determination),  dakṣa  (dexterity),  vasu  (wealth,  gold,  water),  satya  (truth),  kāma (desire, lust), dhvanī (sound), kalā (art), rocaka (hunger, tonic), adrava (non-fluid, i.e., solid), purūrava (a mythical link between god and man). Is there any doubt that these promote our prosperity?

The two aśvin are divine physicians. They appear in the sky before the dawn in a golden carriage  drawn  by  horses  and  birds  and  they  bring  treasures  to  men,  averting misfortunes and sickness. The signposts of legend, symbolism and myth point down the road of common sense. Of course you can have these treasures – only if you are awake! Then the whole day (the greatest treasure) is yours; early rising will give you good health and avert sickness, too; and you can meditate and avert your misfortunes.

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