None can fathom the greatness of the Supreme Brahman, say the Vedas, and yet they try to speak of His glories. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth chapters of the Gita, the Lord has indicated briefly about His greatness to Arjuna. In the tenth chapter, He describes in greater detail many aspects of His innumerable glories which can never be exhausted. It is this knowledge of His greatness that can open the eye of jnana and this goes hand in hand with devotion to lead to salvation, pointed out Srimati Rukmini Ramamurthy in a discourse. Once one is aware of His greatness, the import of the Lord’s words in the famous verse at the end of the ninth chapter, ‘Manmanabhava Mathbhakto’ about how by fixing one’s mind in Him, and remaining devoted to Him, and training oneself to seek Him as the only goal, one can surely reach Him, automatically becomes a practical reality to the ardent devotee.
Arjuna has already had a taste of the Lord’s greatness. Naturally, he is filled with wonder and amazement and is so overwhelmed that he begins to praise Krishna as the Supreme Brahman, the Highest Abode and the Absolute Essence of Purity, Everlasting Divine One, the First among Gods. Moreover, he is also familiar with the devotional experience of sages and rishis such as Narada and other celestial beings. He knows that none can reveal more of His glories better than Krishna and so requests Him to explain the secret embedded in creation. The Lord provides a sample list from which one gets an idea of how to meditate on Him. He is the source of all creation, pervades each and every aspect of it and sustains it most admirably. The experience of this truth is the essence of Brahma Jnana, the ability to perceive the entire universe in all its detail as His manifestation.
