रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययो: |
प्रणव: सर्ववेदेषु शब्द: खे पौरुषं नृषु || 8||
raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu śhabdaḥ khe pauruṣhaṁ nṛiṣhu
rasaḥ—taste; aham—I; apsu—in water; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; prabhā—the radiance; asmi—I am; śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ—of the moon and the sun; praṇavaḥ—the sacred syllable Om; sarva—in all; vedeṣhu—Vedas; śhabdaḥ—sound; khe—in ether; pauruṣham—ability; nṛiṣhu—in humans
Translation:
I am the savour of waters, Ο son of Kunti, the radiance of the sun and moon; I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas, the sound in ether, the manliness in man.
Commentary:
In the previous verse, it is declared that the Lord is present in the whole universe, like the string in the garland of gems. To show this truth, the Lord takes certain objects and explains how He is present in them. He is in the form of taste in water, light in the sun and the moon, Pranava (OM) in the Vedas, and virility in men. Thus His presence is to be realised in all things. Taste and water, light and the sun, are inseparable. There is light where there is sun. We cannot conceive the sun without his light. Since it is difficult to conceive the universal presence of the Lord in the beginning, He illustrates the idea with reference to certain objects.
He is the syllable OM in all the Vedas. The essence of the Vedas is to be found in OM. No man can possibly study all the Vedas completely. Human life is too short for that purpose. So, if the syllable OM is understood and contemplated, man obtains the very essence of all the Vedas and fulfills his life. So repeating the syllable OM, contemplating the meaning of that sacred sound, thinking of the Lord as Pranava, man attains the highest.
The Lord is virility in men. Virility, strength, courage, and determination are all divine qualities. Timidity, weakness, and dullness are all unmanly qualities. We see the Lord Himself when we come across bold and courageous men, who readily sacrifice their life for a righteous cause. We see the Lord in the great sages and Rishis, who have overcome insuperable obstacles with courage and determination. The supreme manifestation of the Lord is magnificently described in the Ninth Discourse. The seeker should cultivate courage, enthusiasm, strength and resolution in his spiritual life.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
At dusk the evening service began in the different temples. The Master was sitting on the small couch in his room, absorbed in contemplation of the Divine Mother. Several devotees also were there. M. was going to spend the night with the Master.
A little later Sri Ramakrishna began to talk to a devotee privately, on the verandah north of his room. He said: “It is good to meditate in the small hours of the morning and at dawn. One should also meditate daily after dusk.” He instructed the devotee about meditation on the Personal God and on the Impersonal Reality.
After a time he sat on the semicircular porch west of his room. It was about nine o’clock.
MASTER: “Those who come here will certainly have all their doubts removed. What do you say?”
M: “That is true, sir.”
A boat was moving in the Ganges, far away from the bank. The boatman began to sing. The sound of his voice floating over the river reached the Master’s ears, and he went into a spiritual mood. The hair on his body stood on end. He said to M., “Just feel my body.” M. was greatly amazed. He thought: “The Upanishads describe Brahman as permeating the universe and the ether. Has that Brahman, as sound, touched the Master’s body?” (Svetasvatara Upanishad 1.13)
After a time Sri Ramakrishna began to converse again.
MASTER: “Those who come here must have been born with good tendencies. Isn’t that true?”
M: “It is true, sir.”
MASTER: “Adhar must have good tendencies.”
M: “That goes without saying.”
MASTER: “A guileless man easily realises God. There are two paths: the path of righteousness and the path of wickedness. One should follow the path of righteousness.”
M: “That is true, sir. If a thread has a single fibre sticking out, it cannot pass through the eye of a needle.”
MASTER: “If a man finds a hair in the food he is chewing, he spits out the entire morsel.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
MASTER: “It is enough to believe that all is possible in God’s creation. Never allow the thought to cross your mind that your ideas are the only true ones, and that those of others are false. Then God will explain everything.
“What can a man understand of God’s activities? The facets of God’s creation are infinite. I do not try to understand God’s actions at all. I have heard that everything is possible in God’s creation, and I always bear that in mind. Therefore I do not give a thought to the world, but meditate on God alone. Once Hanuman was asked, ‘What day of the lunar month is it?’ Hanuman said: ‘I don’t know anything about the day of the month, the position of the moon and stars, or any such things. I think of Rama alone.’
“Can one ever understand the work of God? He is so near; still it is not possible for us to know Him. Balarama did not realise that Krishna was God.”
M: “That is true, sir.”
MASTER: “God has covered all with His maya. He doesn’t let us know anything. Maya is ‘woman and gold’. He who puts maya aside to see God, can see Him. Once, when I was explaining God’s actions to someone, God suddenly showed me the lake at Kamarpukur. I saw a man removing the green scum and drinking the water. The water was clear as crystal. God revealed to me that Satchidananda is covered by the scum of maya. He who puts the green scum aside can drink the water.
“Let me tell you a very secret experience. Once I had entered the wood near the pine-grove, and was sitting there, when I had a vision of something like the hidden door of a chamber. I couldn’t see the inside of the chamber. I tried to bore a hole in the door with a nail-knife, but did not succeed. As I bored, the earth fell back into the hole and filled it. Then suddenly I made a very big opening.”
Uttering these words, the Master remained silent. After a time he said: “These are very profound words. I feel as if someone were pressing my mouth. … I have seen with my own eyes that God dwells even in the sexual organ. I saw Him once in the sexual intercourse of a dog and a bitch.
“The universe is conscious on account of the Consciousness of God. Sometimes I find that this Consciousness wriggles about, as it were, even in small fish.”
The carriage came to the crossing at Shovabazar in Calcutta. The Master continued, saying, “Sometimes I find that the universe is saturated with the Consciousness of God, as the earth is soaked with water in the rainy season.
“Well, I see so many visions, but I never feel vain about them.”
M. (with a smile): “That you should speak of vanity, sir!”
MASTER: “Upon my word, I don’t feel vanity even in the slightest degree.”
M: “There once lived a man in Greece, Socrates by name. A voice from heaven said that he was wise among men. Socrates was amazed at this revelation. He meditated on it a long time in solitude and then realised its significance. He said to his friends, ‘I alone of all people have understood that I do not know anything.’ But every man believes he is wise. In reality all are ignorant.”
MASTER: “Now and then I think, ‘What is it I know that makes so many people come to me?’ Vaishnavcharan was a great pundit. He used to say to me: ‘I can find in the scriptures all the things you talk about. But do you know why I come to you? I come to hear them from your mouth.’“
M: “All your words tally with the scriptures. Navadvip Goswami also said that the other day at the festival at Panihati. You told us that day that by repeating the word ‘Gita’ a number of times one reverses it and it becomes ‘tagi’, which refers to renunciation. Renunciation is the essence of the Gita. Navadvip Goswami supported your statement from the grammatical standpoint.”
MASTER: “Have you found anyone else resembling me — any pundit or holy man?”
M: “God has created you with His own hands, whereas He has made others by machine. All others He has created according to law.”
MASTER (laughing, to Ramlal and the other devotees): “Listen to what he is saying!”
Sri Ramakrishna laughed for some time, and said at last, “Really and truly I have no pride — no, not even the slightest bit.”
M: “Knowledge does us good in one respect at least; it makes us feel that we do not know anything, that we are nothing.”
MASTER: “Right you are! I am nothing. I am nobody.
“Do you believe in English astronomy?”
M: “It is possible to make new discoveries by applying the laws of Western astronomy. Observing the irregular movement of Uranus, the astronomers looked through their telescopes and discovered Neptune shining in the sky. They can also foretell eclipses.”
MASTER: “Yes, that is so.”
The carriage drove on. They were approaching Adhar’s house. Sri Ramakrishna said to M., “Dwell in the truth and you will certainly realise God.”
M: “You said the other day to Navadvip Goswami: ‘O God, I want Thee. Please do not delude me with Thy world-bewitching maya. I want to realise Thee.'”
MASTER: “Yes, one should be able to say that from one’s innermost soul.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Question: How does the Lord explain His presence in the Universe?
Answer: He is taste in water, light in the sun and moon, OM in the Vedas, sound in Ether, and virility in men.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7 
(30 Verses)
