Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 7 (BG 10.7) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

# BG 10.7 Whosoever knows in truth this manifestation of My divine power and this yoga—the eternal union of the individual soul with the Supreme—attains unwavering steadfastness in the knowledge of Brahman. The two words employed in this verse—*vibhuti* and *yoga*—are commonly explained as the expansion of all beings and the divine potency or sovereignty. Though these meanings are not incorrect, they do not fully capture the subtle and beautiful harmony between the principle described in the preceding verse and this verse. The manifestation of the Supreme through the Seven Sages, by which the cosmos expresses itself, is the *vibhuti*—the divine glory of the Absolute. The world of individual experience created through the four mental sons is the divine *yoga*—the eternal union of the Self with creation. The foundation of the individual's world is the Self alone, which is the Supreme Brahman, the basis of all existence. Therefore, it is said here: the person who directly perceives both *vibhuti* and *yoga* as the divine manifestation of the Supreme attains the immediate, unmediated experience of infinite Brahman. Through this understanding, the appropriateness of the Seven Sages and the four youths being born from the mind of Brahma—as stated in the previous verse—becomes clear. When the Supreme withdraws its identification with both individual and universal consciousness, it rests in its own supreme glory. Through identification with the universal principle, it becomes Ishvara, the Lord; through relation with the individual, it assumes the nature of the individual soul. To understand this teaching of Vedanta and to live in that very experience is *avikampa yoga*—the unshakeable union. Through this yoga alone does one attain firm and permanent steadfastness in the realization of the Self. The word *yoga* had acquired such meanings in society that fear arose in people's minds concerning it. In the Bhagavad Gita, the great sage Vyasa, through the lotus lips of Lord Sri Krishna Himself, clarifies the meaning of this familiar word *yoga* in a new context, such that the apprehension surrounding it is entirely dispelled, and it is revealed to be beneficial for all. *Avikampa yoga* is as extraordinary as the various definitions of the word *yoga* given in different verses throughout the earlier chapters of the Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is that unique scripture of dharma through which the creative revolution of Hindu renaissance finds its voice—a place no other text can occupy. In the following verse, Lord Sri Krishna reveals the definite means by which one attains firm and permanent steadfastness in the unbroken experience of one's true nature—