Gita 10.37

Vibhuti Yoga

वृष्णीनां वासुदेवोऽस्मि पाण्डवानां धनञ्जयः । मुनीनामप्यहं व्यासः कवीनामुशना कविः ॥३७॥

vṛṣṇīnāṁ vāsudevo 'smi pāṇḍavānāṁ dhanañjayaḥ | munīnām apy ahaṁ vyāsaḥ kavīnām uśanā kaviḥ ||37||

In essence: God reveals Himself as both the speaker (Vasudeva) and the listener (Arjuna) of this teaching - showing that the entire Gita dialogue is the Divine talking to Itself.

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

Sadhak-Guru Dialogue

Sadhak: "Krishna says He is both Krishna and Arjuna? How can He be both sides of the conversation?"

Guru: "When you talk to yourself in your mind - who is speaking and who is listening?"

Sadhak: "I suppose... I am both?"

Guru: "And in that conversation, are there truly two separate beings, or one consciousness playing both roles?"

Sadhak: "One consciousness... appearing as two."

Guru: "The Gita dialogue reveals the cosmic version of this. What appears as Krishna teaching Arjuna is ultimately the Divine Self instructing its own individuated expression. The student's sincere questions and the teacher's illuminating answers are both movements within one Consciousness. This doesn't diminish the dialogue but elevates it - every authentic spiritual exchange participates in this divine self-communication. When you truly learn something spiritual, it's the Self remembering Itself. Guru and shishya are roles in a divine play where the One becomes apparently two for the sake of love and transmission."

Sadhak: "Why would Krishna identify with Shukracharya, who was the guru of demons and opposed the gods?"

Guru: "What makes a poet truly great - their allegiances or their insight?"

Sadhak: "Their insight, I suppose. Great art can come from anyone."

Guru: "Exactly. Ushanas, regardless of whom he served, possessed extraordinary kavitva - poetic vision that penetrates reality's surface. He invented mantras, saw truths invisible to others, wielded word-power masterfully. Divine genius doesn't check political affiliations. This is the Gita's universalism: excellence is vibhūti wherever it appears. A brilliant mind among the asuras is still a divine manifestation. This teaching prevents spiritual tribalism - the assumption that God only works through 'our' side. Krishna claimed to be among the asura-guru's qualities, not his allegiances. Truth is honored even in unexpected vessels."

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🌅 Daily Practice

🌅 Morning

Vasudeva-Dhananjaya unity meditation: As you begin spiritual practice (whether reading, chanting, or meditation), recognize that the teaching force (Vasudeva) and the receiving force (Dhananjaya) are both divine presences within you. The part of you that seeks truth and the truth that reveals itself are both God. Feel the dialogue between aspiration and grace happening within. This transforms practice from 'me doing something' to 'the Divine communing with Itself through me.'

☀️ Daytime

Vyasa recognition: When you encounter any genuine teaching today - a book, a conversation, a podcast, a remembered insight - recognize the Vyasa-function at work: divine wisdom being transmitted through form. Honor the teaching lineage behind every true word. If you have opportunity to teach or share wisdom, recognize: you participate in Vyasa's eternal function. The vibhūti of spiritual transmission is working through you.

🌙 Evening

Kavi appreciation: Before sleep, recall or read something that moved you through language - a verse, a line of poetry, a powerful phrase. Appreciate the kavi-power that can condense infinity into words and transmit consciousness through syllables. If any inspired thought arose during your day, recognize that too as kavi-shakti - the divine poetic function temporarily working through you. Give thanks for the gift of meaningful language that connects minds across time and space.

Common Questions

If Krishna is Arjuna, doesn't that undermine Arjuna's free will? Is the whole dialogue just God's monologue?

The verse doesn't say Arjuna IS Krishna but that among the Pandavas, Krishna's vibhūti manifests most excellently as Arjuna. Arjuna remains an individual soul (jiva) with genuine free will - the Gita's entire premise requires this. But his excellence, his receptivity, his role as ideal student - these are divine manifestations. Think of it as: the play is real, the characters have genuine agency, but the playwright is present within each role. Arjuna's questions are genuinely his, arising from his confusion; yet his capacity to ask profound questions, to be the vehicle for this teaching, is divine grace. Individual freedom and divine pervading presence coexist - that's the mystery both Gita and Vedanta affirm. The dialogue is neither pure divine monologue nor merely human conversation; it's the divine-human collaboration that characterizes all authentic spiritual transmission.

Who was Vyasa historically, and why is he so important?

Vyasa (literally 'compiler' or 'arranger') is credited with compiling the four Vedas from one original, authoring the Mahabharata (the world's longest epic, containing the Gita), composing the eighteen major Puranas, and writing the Brahma Sutras (foundational text for Vedanta). Whether one person or a lineage of teachers, 'Vyasa' represents the divine impulse to organize, preserve, and transmit spiritual knowledge. He's called the 'guru of gurus' because virtually all Hindu philosophical traditions trace their lineage through him. His festival (Guru Purnima) celebrates all teachers. Krishna identifying as Vyasa means the entire enterprise of spiritual education, textual preservation, and wisdom transmission is divine vibhūti. Every time authentic teaching passes from guru to student, Vyasa's function continues.

What is 'kavi' exactly? Is it just poetry in the modern sense?

Kavi in the Vedic and classical sense is far more than modern 'poet.' A kavi was a seer - someone with krānti-darshi (visionary insight) who could perceive truths beyond ordinary awareness and articulate them in powerful language. The kavi's verses weren't mere aesthetic expression but revealed knowledge, often with mantric power. Poets in this sense were considered channels for divine wisdom, their words capable of affecting reality itself. Ushanas was a kavi because his verses had power - the mrita-sanjeevani he knew could actually revive the dead. Modern poetry that genuinely captures truth, shifts consciousness, and reveals deeper reality participates in this kavi function. Krishna being 'Ushanas among kavis' honors inspired, visionary expression as divine manifestation.

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