92 - God as the Supreme Principle Behind Everything | Swami Tattwamayananda

Summary:<br /><br />9th chapter: verses 17, 19, 20, 21, 22. 18th chapter: verse 66<br /><br /> 17th verse: “I am the father of this world, the mother, the upholder, the origin, and the purifier. I am the one thing to be known. I am omkara and I am the vedas.”<br /><br />“I” here refers to the all-pervading divine reality, which acts as the protecting, nourishing, upholding principle. It is this divine reality that is to be realized.<br /><br />Omkara, as a sound-symbol, represents the totality and oneness of existence, and the essence of the Vedas. It represents the unified universe consisting of the three worlds of existence: below the earth, upon the earth, and celestial level. In monotheistic religions, it corresponds to the unity of all divine personifications – Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara. It is the beginning, middle, and end of all human speech. In Patanjali Yoga Sutra, it is described as the name of the Lord.<br /><br />Gayatri mantra has 24 letters and is a very sublime mantra. Om is an integral part of Gayatri mantra. It invokes the effulgent divine reality, that is present everywhere, and it takes one beyond the three levels of existence - towards the transcendental.<br /><br />The 17th verse puts a very high philosophical ideal – oneness and unity of human family – in the language of everyday human relations.<br /><br />19th verse: “As the sun, I am the heat. I withhold and send forth rain. I am immortal and also dead. I am also the being and the non-being.”<br /><br />The 19th verse uses the sublime technique of using language that seems contradictory to point to its transcendental meaning. A poet in Vedantic tradition is one who is able to see far into things and bring out the grandeur of the subject he is writing on.<br /><br />Ramanuja in his commentary on this verse says: “I provide both heat and rain. I am the source of energy that sustains human life. I am the sequence in the seasons. I am the supreme principle behind the harmonious existence of life in this world. I am the immortal principle