भोक्तारं यज्ञतपसां सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् |
सुहृदं सर्वभूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिमृच्छति || 29||
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśhvaram
suhṛidaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śhāntim ṛichchhati
bhoktāram—the enjoyer; yajña—sacrifices; tapasām—austerities; sarva-loka—of all worlds; mahā-īśhvaram—the Supreme Lord; su-hṛidam—the selfless friend; sarva—of all; bhūtānām—the living beings; jñātvā—having realized; mām—Me (Lord Krishna); śhāntim—peace; ṛichchhati—attains
Translation:
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the Lord and controller of all the worlds, friend of all beings, man attains peace.
Commentary:
It is stated here that he who knows the Lord (Atma) attains peace. Three attributes of the Lord are mentioned here.
God is described as the enjoyer of the fruits of all sacrifices and austerities performed by men. God is all-pervading and so He is the inner power of all beings. Consequently, he is the enjoyer of the fruits of all the meritorious work done by man.
God is the supreme Lord of all the worlds. There is no power higher or equal to Him.
Friend of all beings: Though He is the Lord and Controller of all the worlds, He is the greatest friend of all beings. A friend is one who does good to another without expecting any return. What does God require of man? Nothing. And yet He is full of love for man and acts like the greatest friend and benefactor. The very fact that He directly teaches the wisdom of the Gita to man-kind is the proof of His compassion for suffering humanity. If one enquires into the nature of man and the universe around him, he would understand the infinite compassion of the Lord and his ceaseless endeavour to do the highest good to all beings.
The seeker who understands God in this way attains peace. Everyone is seeking peace. Here is the easy path of devotion to the Lord, which leads to peace and freedom. One should try to understand the attributes of God to know Him intimately. This confirms and strengthens his devotion. When the Lord says that He is a friend (suhrit) of all beings, it would be sufficient to think of him as the nearest and dearest companion, on whom one can depend for help and guidance in his sadhana.
Man has degraded himself by his lack of faith in the Lord. This is the main cause of unrest in the world. Men run hither and thither begging for small rewards from people holding small material authority. The Lord who is the King of Kings, who is the repository of all power and blessedness, by whose power the Sun shines and the winds blow, is forgotten by ignorant man. Saints and sages have proclaimed in one voice the immediate presence of God everywhere, and yet their words do not carry any weight with him. People have made themselves so low and weak that they put their faith in common mortals who are subject to all personal weaknesses. Let people understand that the Lord is the supreme friend of all. By devotion to Him, man attains peace.
One should note here that the whole Discourse is based on the principles of self-control, enquiry into the Self. Knowledge of Atma is emphasised over and over, and yet in this closing Verse, the Lord strikes the note of devotion (bhakti) and intimacy with God as a friend as the way to peace. By the grace of God alone, it is possible for man to cross the mire of delusion, and establish his oneness with the Supreme Reality (Brahman).
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MUKKUNDUR SWAMI AND THE HUNGRY DEVOTEE
There lived a simple saint in Karnataka a few decades back. He was not well known, but those who knew him considered him a jīvanmukta. His name was Mukkundur Swami. Once, this Swami was roaming about through the forest with one of his devotees. After walking for long, the devotee was famished, and at one point, he could not take a single step forward. He said to the Swami, “Master, I am starving, and there is nothing available here to eat. Please help me.” The delightful saint said, “You are hungry? Why don’t you ask the tree, the earth, or the bird flying in the sky? He, our ‘Mother–Father–Friend’, is hiding in all the forms. They are all He, the Lord! You can get help from anywhere.”
The devotee pleaded, “O Master, how do I ask the tree, the earth, or the sky? I do not know that they are God, but you know it, so please ask them for my sake.” The saint laughed and, looking at the eagle flying in the sky, said, “O Lord, this boy is hungry, give him something.” At that very instant, to the astonishment of the disciple, the bird dropped two big bananas! He ate the fruit, and his hunger was gone. Thus, he found a demonstration that the entire universe is Īśvara. If we have faith, He will appear anywhere. Everywhere, He is there to help us. (Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Elixir of Eternal Wisdom | Vol 1)
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“My Rakhal is Hungry.”
One day Rakhal was very hungry and mentioned it to the Master. There was no food in his room, so the Master went to the Ganges and called loudly: “Hello, Gaurdasi! Please come. My Rakhal is hungry.” After a short while Gauri-ma and Balaram arrived at Dakshineswar by boat with rasagollas (cheese balls soaked in sweet syrup). Immediately the Master called: “Come, Rakhal! They have brought rasagollas. Come and eat. Didn’t you say you were hungry?” Embarrassed, Rakhal blurted out: “Sir, why are you talking about my hunger in front of others?” “What does it matter?” said the Master. “Since you are hungry, you should eat. What is the harm in saying so?” (Source: God Lived with Them by Swami Chetanananda)
CHATTAMBI SWAMIGAL AND THE DOGS
We have seen that the Lord is the greatest friend—suhṛdam sarvabhutānām. When we have companionship with Him, we shall find a friend wherever we go. Saints find friends wherever they go—even in a forest. Chattambi Swamigal was a saint of Kerala. One day, a wealthy zamindar invited the Swami for dinner. Swami said, “I will come with my friends.” The proud zamindar, wanting to show off his wealth, said, “Yes, Swami, please come with your friends.” On the way, Swami invited all the dogs in the street, and about fifty dogs followed the Swami to the Zamindar’s house for the meal! Seeing this, everyone present there was astounded. To their amazement, the dogs followed the yogi’s instructions, sat down in their appointed places, ate their meals quietly in a disciplined manner and then left. This is the magic of communing with the Inner Being. This is the universal language of a jīvanmukta. (Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Elixir of Eternal Wisdom | Vol 1)
Question: What is the way to peace?
Answer: Understanding and worship of the Lord and meditation on Him is the way to peace.
Question: What attributes of the Lord are mentioned here?
Answer: He is the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities; He is the Lord of all the worlds; He is the friend of all beings.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 5 🔻 (29 Verses)
