15. svayam eva 'tmana 'tmanam
vetted tvaii purusottama
bhutabadvana bhutesa
devadeva jagatpate ale
(15) Verily Thou Thyself knowest Thyself by Thyself, 0 Supreme Person; the Source of beings, the Lord of creatures ; the God of gods, the Lord of the world !
16. vaktum arhasy asesena
divya hy eitmavibUitayah
ydbhir vibhiatibhir lokan
imams tvam vyapya tisthasi
(16) Thou shouldst tell me of Thy divine manifestations, without exception, whereby, pervading these worlds, Thou dost abide (in them and beyond). vibhutah manifestations, the divine glories by which the Supreme pervades all the worlds. They are the formative forces or spiritual powers which give to each object its essential nature They are akin to Plato's Divine Ideas, the perfect types and patterns of all things here below. Only the word "idea" is likely to suggest a pale abstraction, a bloodless category. VYbhuti is a living formative principle
17. katham vadyam aham
yogims tvam sada paricintayan
kept-kesu ca bhavesu
cintyo 'si bhagavan maya
(17) How may I know Thee, 0 Yogin, by constant meditation? In what various aspects art Thou, 0 Blessed Lord, to be thought of by me?
Krsna is yogin by virtue of his work as creator. Arjuna wishes to know the aspects of nature where the Lord's presence is more clearly manifest and asks Krsna to tell him in what various aspects he should think of Him to help his meditation.
18. vistarena 'tmano yogam
vibhutim ca janardana
bhuyah kathaya trptir
hi srnvato na 'sti me 'mrtam
(18) Relate to me again in detail, 0 Janardana (Kria), of Thy power and manifestation ; for I am not satiated with hearing Thy nectar-like speech amrtam: nectar-like. His words are life-giving. The Gita does not set up an opposition between Brahman and the world, between the Ineffable Reality and its inadequate expression. It gives a comprehensive spiritual view. It, no doubt, mentions the Indefinable (anirdesyam), the Unmanifest Immutable (avyaktam aksaram), the Unthinkable (acintyarupam), the Absolute beyond all empirical determination. But worship of the Absolute is difficult for embodied beings.[1] It is easier to approach the Supreme through Its relations with the world and this method is more natural. The Supreme is the Personal Lord who controls the many-sided action of nature and dwells in the heart of every creature. Parabrahman is Paramesvara, the God in man and in the universe. But His nature is veiled by the series of becomings. Man has to discover his spiritual unity with God and so with all His creatures.
