Chapter 7 Gnana-Vignana Yoga Verse 14

Chapter 7 Gnana-Vignana Yoga Verse 14

Shloka
Bahoonaam janmanaamante jnaanavaanmaam prapadyate;
Vaasudevah sarvamiti sa mahaatmaa sudurlabhah.
Translation
At the end of many births the wise man comes to Me, realising that all this is Vaasudevah;
such a great soul or Mahatma is very hard to find.
Interpretation
After talking about the four kinds of men who worship Him, Lord Krishna talks about the virtues of a wise man. He says that after completing many births the wise man realises who God is. To describe the God, Lord Krishna uses the word “Vaasudevah”. Vaasudevah here means a person who has the entire World united under Him. So a person who understand the concept of Vaasudevah comes to Him, as a great soul or a mahatma. Such a soul is difficult to find because after so many births and lots of meditation a person acquires that state.
Extending Interpretation to Mankind’s Life!
Here we need to understand the concept of Vaasudevah and Mahatma. Vaasudevah here means the World. We are referring to a World which is of many beings that includes Humans and other species that belong to planet and animal kingdom. Human form as we know is the superior of all the other forms and Vaasudevah is the ruler of all these beings including the humans. Wise men believe that God is the master of everything and just not the giver. He takes a lot of births to realise this fact as every birth takes him to a higher level of spirituality and removes the animal instincts in him.
The second word Mahatma is in a way linked to the first word of vaasudevah. Mahatma translates to great soul. Who is a great soul? A soul that understands what is right, what is just and what is honest is a honest soul. A mahatma believes in never hurting another soul as hurting a soul will only bring down his own spirituality. A Mahatma is a healer, who teaches another soul the concept of kindness, sacrifice and morality. Very few people qualify to be called as mahatmas because, the most difficult thing to do is to “sacrifice”. Such people are closest to God and are on the path of salvation.

Published by Sriram

A Teacher trying to Learn new things and explore the world each day! Believe in Happiness by the virtue of sacrifice and forgiveness.

Leave a Reply