Gita 10.2

Vibhuti Yoga

न मे विदुः सुरगणाः प्रभवं न महर्षयः | अहमादिर्हि देवानां महर्षीणां च सर्वशः ||२||

na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ prabhavaṁ na maharṣayaḥ | aham ādir hi devānāṁ maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ ||2||

In essence: The finger cannot point to itself - even gods and sages cannot trace the origin of That which originates them.

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

Sadhak-Guru Dialogue

Sadhak: "If even the gods and great sages cannot know Krishna's origin, what hope do I have? I'm far below them in the spiritual hierarchy."

Guru: "Does Krishna say the gods cannot know Him, or that they cannot know His origin?"

Sadhak: "His origin - 'prabhava.' But isn't that the same as knowing Him?"

Guru: "Can a child know and love their mother without understanding the mystery of how consciousness arose in her womb?"

Sadhak: "Of course. The child knows the mother through relationship, not through comprehending her origin."

Guru: "Exactly. The gods know Krishna in relationship - they worship, they serve, they love. What they cannot trace is where He comes from. But do you need to know where love comes from to experience love?"

Sadhak: "No... but this seems to suggest the Divine is forever beyond full understanding. Doesn't that make the spiritual path futile?"

Guru: "Is your goal to comprehend the Infinite with your finite mind, or to be liberated through connection with the Infinite?"

Sadhak: "Liberation... connection. But my mind wants to understand everything."

Guru: "And that very desire - to encompass the uncontainable - is what keeps the mind restless. When you finally accept that some mysteries remain mysteries, not from ignorance but from appropriate humility, what happens to that restlessness?"

Sadhak: "It might... rest. Surrender rather than struggle."

Guru: "This verse is not a barrier but an invitation to rest in wonder rather than exhaust yourself in explanation."

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🌅 Daily Practice

🌅 Morning

Meditation on incomprehensible origin: Sit quietly and consider: 'The source of my consciousness, my capacity to think, to love, to be - that Source has no source. I emerge from something beyond emergence.' Don't try to understand this; let it wash over you. Feel the appropriate humility of the finite touching the Infinite. Rest in not-knowing as a form of knowing. This practice dissolves intellectual arrogance and opens the heart.

☀️ Daytime

Recognizing derived power: Throughout the day, when you encounter impressive people - leaders, experts, geniuses - remind yourself: 'Their brilliance derives from the same Source that empowers the gods. That Source itself remains mysterious.' This prevents both worship of human greatness and dismissal of it. All excellence points to the divine origin while never exhausting it. Notice excellence; trace it to its source; bow to the source.

🌙 Evening

Wonder practice before sleep: Before sleeping, list three things you encountered today that amazed you or exceeded your understanding - a beautiful sunset, a complex problem, a moment of unexpected kindness. For each, ask: 'What is the origin of this?' Then recognize: even the wisest beings in the cosmos face this same question before the ultimate Source. Let yourself sleep with the question unanswered, as an open doorway rather than a closed wall.

Common Questions

If God is unknowable in His origin, how can scriptures claim to teach about God? Isn't that contradictory?

There's a difference between knowing 'about' and knowing 'the source of.' Scriptures reveal God's qualities, names, forms, activities, and relationships - enough for devotion and liberation. What remains beyond grasp is the ultimate 'whence' - the root source of infinite being. It's like knowing everything about light - its properties, behavior, effects - while the nature of its ultimate origin in consciousness remains mysterious. Scripture teaches what can be taught; what cannot be taught is indicated through pointers like this verse, creating space for direct revelation beyond concept.

If Krishna is the origin of gods and sages, what was there before Krishna? What is His origin?

This question applies finite logic to the Infinite. 'Before' implies time, but Krishna indicates He is the source of time itself. There is no 'before Krishna' because temporal sequence emerges from Him. The question 'What is God's origin?' is like asking 'What is north of the North Pole?' The question's assumptions break down at the limit. This isn't evasion - it's recognition that certain questions cannot be answered in their own terms. The Absolute has no origin because 'origin' implies something prior, and nothing is prior to the Absolute. Krishna is 'anādi' (beginningless), as verse 10.3 will explicitly state.

Doesn't this create an hierarchy where humans are even further from truth than gods and sages? Are we doubly disadvantaged?

Paradoxically, no. The Gita consistently shows that devotion transcends hierarchy. In 9.32-33, Krishna declares that even those of 'lower birth' can attain Him through devotion. The gods' inability to know Krishna's origin is about the limits of even evolved intelligence - it's not about spiritual access. A simple devotee may be closer to Krishna through love than a celestial being through knowledge. The path isn't climbing an intellectual ladder to comprehension; it's opening the heart to relationship. Humans, with our capacity for surrender and devotion, have direct access that doesn't depend on cosmic rank.

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