GitaChapter 10Verse 18

Gita 10.18

Vibhuti Yoga

विस्तरेणात्मनो योगं विभूतिं च जनार्दन | भूयः कथय तृप्तिर्हि शृण्वतो नास्ति मेऽमृतम् ||१८||

vistareṇātmano yogaṁ vibhūtiṁ ca janārdana | bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me 'mṛtam ||18||

In essence: The devotee's beautiful insatiability: speak again, speak more, for hearing about You is nectar I can never have enough of.

A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply

Sadhak-Guru Dialogue

Sadhak: "I've read spiritual books, heard teachings, but I get bored. The novelty wears off. Why don't I have Arjuna's insatiable thirst?"

Guru: "What were you seeking from those books and teachings?"

Sadhak: "Knowledge, understanding, maybe some peace."

Guru: "And did you find them?"

Sadhak: "Somewhat. But then I moved on to the next book."

Guru: "You were collecting information about God, not falling in love with God. Information saturates; love never does. Arjuna isn't asking for more data - he's asking to hear about his Beloved. When you read about someone you love, do you get bored?"

Sadhak: "No, I want every detail..."

Guru: "There it is. The difference between study and devotion is the difference between reading about a stranger and reading about someone you love. The content might be identical; the experience is completely different. Arjuna loves Krishna. That's why Krishna's words are nectar to him. The question isn't 'How do I become less bored?' but 'How do I fall in love?'"

Sadhak: "How DO I fall in love with God?"

Guru: "The same way you fall in love with anyone: spend time with them. Listen to their words not as information but as self-revelation. Share your heart with them. Notice their gifts. Let them matter to you. Love isn't manufactured; it grows through relationship. Keep showing up."

Did this resonate with you? Share it with someone who needs to hear this.

🌅 Daily Practice

🌅 Morning

Cultivate sacred hunger: Instead of approaching spiritual practice as duty ('I should meditate'), approach it as lover ('I want to hear more'). Before your morning practice, set the intention: 'Let me not seek to complete this task but to taste the nectar.' If practices feel stale, ask: 'Am I collecting information or drinking nectar?' The same text can be either, depending on your orientation.

☀️ Daytime

Notice insatiability in life: When do you experience insatiable desire in ordinary life? Perhaps in creativity, in nature, in love, in music. Notice these moments and recognize them as pointers to the insatiability Arjuna describes. What if your longing for beauty is actually longing for divine beauty? What if your thirst for love is actually thirst for divine love? Let ordinary insatiabilities become doorways to sacred insatiability.

🌙 Evening

More, more, more prayer: Before sleep, consciously cultivate hunger for the Divine. Instead of 'I've done my practice; I'm done for today,' try: 'I haven't heard enough. I want more. Tell me again of Your glories.' Let this hunger be your last feeling before sleep. Dream, perhaps, of nectar. Wake tomorrow still hungry. This is the devotional mood - never finished, always wanting more.

Common Questions

Why would Arjuna ask to hear again what was already taught? Doesn't that suggest he didn't understand?
There's a difference between understanding and savoring. You might fully understand a piece of music after one listen, but you want to hear it again because understanding isn't the point - the experience is. Arjuna understood Krishna's previous teachings, but understanding about nectar is not the same as drinking nectar. He wants to drink more. Also, each repetition reveals new depths. Great teachings aren't exhausted in one hearing; they unfold new meanings each time. Arjuna's request shows maturity, not deficiency.
What's the difference between 'yoga' and 'vibhūti' that Arjuna asks for both?
Vibhūti refers to divine manifestations - the forms in which God appears in creation (the best of everything). Yoga in this context means divine power or the mysterious way God connects with and operates through creation. If vibhūti is WHAT God manifests as, yoga is HOW God manifests. Arjuna wants both: show me Your appearances (vibhūti) and explain Your power that creates and sustains them (yoga). Together, these give a complete picture of God's relationship with the world.
The verse says 'no satisfaction' - isn't the spiritual goal supposed to be contentment and peace?
There are two kinds of discontent: the discontent of lack (painful) and the discontent of love (blissful). The first is 'I don't have what I need' - this is suffering. The second is 'I can't get enough of what I love' - this is the highest happiness. The spiritual goal of contentment means freedom from painful lack, not the extinction of loving desire. A devotee is perfectly content - needing nothing, wanting nothing from the world - yet insatiable for the Divine. This is not contradiction but the highest fulfillment: wanting more not from desperation but from overflowing appreciation.