Vibhuti Yoga was the title of the Tenth Chapter of Gita. A brahman called Dhirabuddhi visioned of atma tatwa and Bhagawan Shankara had immense affection for the brahman. Once when Bhagawan sat on the mount of Kailasha, a hamsa (swan) fell at his feet with a thud and bemoaned that while flying above a pond in Saurashtra it crossed a lotus shrub and its natural colour of crystal white got fully black since the lotus shrub released sixty bees which blackened the swan. The lotus shrub in its third previous birth was a brahman house-wife called Sarojavadana who was no doubt a pativrata but was immersed in play with a mynah bird in a cage when her husband called her and the brahman cursed her to become a mynah. The mynah was brought up by a muni kanya and the muni was in the constant recital of the Vibhuti Yoga or the Tenth Chapter of Gita. The bird learnt the adhyaya fully and in its next birth became an apsara. The apsara was bathing in a sarovara when Sage Durvasa, out of fury, cursed her to become a lotus shrub and the swan crossed that very shrub that released the sixty black bees which changed the colour of the swan! Such was the power of the Vibhuti Yoga in which Lord Krishna told Arjuna that all kinds of vibhutis or manifestations were his own like radiance, powers, virtues, meditation, prosperity and victory. The vibhutis in this context included the swan crossing the lotus shrub was out of ignorance; Sarojavana’s attachment to the mynah was out of attraction; her husband’s curse was due to anger; the accursed mynah’s learning of the Tenth Chapter was due to concentration and memory power; her becoming an apsara was an upgradation of life; Muni Durvasa’s curse was an expression of anger to create a lotus shrub; Dhirabuddhi’s vision of atma tatwa and Bhagawan Shiva’s affection was due to the devotee’s extreme devotion!

The Eleventh Chapter of Gita is entitled Vishva Darshana Yoga and one illustration of the effectiveness of the yoga related to the episode of a param bhakta named Sunandana muni residing in Meghankara Nagar on the banks of the River Pranita. The muni undertook a travel to visit the tirthas and on his way, he stopped at in a village where the village head warned him that a rakshasa moved about in the village and might catch hold of a stranger. As per an agreement with the rakshasa, none of the villagers will be killed for his food but he might eat up a stranger if required. Next morning it was learnt that by mistake the son of the village head was killed! The muni asked the village head as to how the rakshasa arrived in the first instance! The background was that there was a brahman farmer in the village who did not heed the loud cryings of a stranger when he was chased by a huge vulture and fell in a ditch; the brahman farmer could have easily saved the stranger by lending a helping hand by lifting the stranger but the brahman did not bother; a tapasvi detested the casualness of the brahman to let the stranger die and thus cursed the brahman to become a rakshasa. On hearing the background of the rakshasa, Sunandana muni recited in full the Eleventh Chapter of Gita and liberated not only the rakshasa but also lifted the village head’s son who was killed by the rakshasa to Vishnu Loka by a vimana. The Chapter quoted Shri Krishna’s instruction to Arjuna saying: ‘I am enabling you Arjuna! To view the vision of my Supreme Form who has no beginning nor end; whose might is unlimited; who has countless hands; who possesses Surya and Chandra as his eyes; who has a fiery and radiant face like Agni and who has a powerful and red-hot scorching Form!’

The Twelfth Chapter is considered as a highlight of the Bhagawad Gita since it deals with Bhakti Yoga. A young prince of Kolhapuri in the south-west of Bharata visited the most reputed Maha Lakshmi Temple and prayed to Lakshmi Devi most sincerely. The Devi was pleased to respond to the eulogies and asked the prince of his desire. He narrated that his father King Brihadratha had half completed an Ashwamedha Yagna and died while the sacrificial horse no doubt returned from its vijaya yatra (victory march) but was missing and the yagna remained half-accomplished. He requested Devi Lakshmi to restore the horse and let the soul of his dead father who was still embalmed in oil be given the satisfaction of completing the yagna. Lakshmi Devi directed the prince to approach a siddha samadhi muni at the very entrance of the temple and said that he would do the needful. As directed, the prince made the request to the muni and was astonished to invoke certain Devas who confessed that the horse was hidden by them under the instruction of Indra Deva. He pulled up the Devas concerned and commanded that the horse be brought there at once. Indeed, the horse was brought there intact. The prince was so impressed that he emboldened himself to request the siddha muni hesitantly whether his father whose body was still in oil could be brought back to life so that he could complete the yagna himself! The siddha muni smiled and asked the prince to take him to the yagnashala and having reached there sprinkled mantra jala (sanctified water) on the embalmed king, bringing the king back to life again. The prince was totally taken aback and asked the muni as to how the miracles happened, including the admonition to Devas to bring back the horse and the thrilling revival of his dead father back to life! The Muni replied that the powers that he attained were due to his constant recitation of the Bhakti Yoga Chapter of Bhagavad Gita! The holy book’s Bhakti Yoga Chapter states: ‘A devotee who is free from likings and dislikings as also from happiness or unhappiness and who dedicates all his deeds to me totally with unreserved faith is my favourite!’

‘Kshetra Kshetragna Yoga’ was elucidated in the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagawad Gita: On the banks of the twin rivers, Tunga-Bhadra in the southern part of Bharata, there was a popular kshetra called Haraihara where a vedic brahman named Hari Dikshit lived. His wife Kuvaacha was however a characterless woman. Looking for a companion in bed, one night she treaded into a forest and faced a tiger. The tiger felt that if the woman before him was moral, she would not be killed. However, the animal pounced on Kuvaacha and killed her straightaway. The woman experienced several hells like rourava and was born as a Chandalini. As she grew up, she became a victim of diseases and reached a temple of Jambhaka Devi where a brahman always recited the thirteenth chapter of Gita, the essence of which was to distinguish the kshetra (the human body) and the khetrajna (the Supreme Being). The woman was fed up due to harrowing experiences in the narakas and the incurable diseases in her current life. The meaning of each verse of the thirteenth chapter that the brahman explained to her was like ambrosia to her inner self and a totally transformed Kuvaacha attained salvation. The exhortation to Arjuna by Bhagawan Krishna explained that the body of every human being was like a kshetra and by inference those who realise this basic truth would tend to perform honest efforts and aim at Ishwara prapti. Lord Krishna further asserted: ‘Arjuna! Do realise that I am the Kshetrajna; the real Jnaana is the awareness of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna!’

The Fourteenth Chapter of Gita dealing with ‘Gunatraya Yoga’ highlighted ‘Bhava Bandhana Vimochana’ or relief from the shackles of samsaara or worldly desires. It provides the illustration of the King of Simhala, Vikrama Betala who went on a hunting spree on horses, chasing a few hares with a few dogs showing the way. The hares crossed a breach but the dogs could not; there was a peaceful ashram of Vatsa Muni who alongwith his disciples always recited the Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga of the Gita. One of the disciples of the Muni cleaned his feet with water before entering the prayer hall of the ashram. The sand and water mix turned muddy and the hares fell in the slush. As soon as the hares fell in the slush, they were air-lifted by a vimana bound for Vishnu-loka, thanks to the recitation of the Fourteenth Chapter. Meanwhile the dogs chasing the hares fell in the slush and they too were air-lifted to Gandharva Loka. Then followed King Vikrama at the ashram and the prayer hall and asked the muni as to why the hares and dogs went to the higher lokas. The Muni explained that there was a brahman named Keshava and his wife Vilobhana who were both quite vily; the brahman killed his wife and in the subsequent birth became a dog while the wife turned into a hare. Both these were the beneficiaries of the recitation of the Fourteenth Chapter. Lord Krishna gave the message of the Adhyaaya: ‘Once the three Gunas of Satva-Rajasa-Tamasa, which are responsible for old age and death, are transcended, then human beings break away from the chains of samsara and attain salvation. The person concerned who worships Krishna with unreserved devotion would cross the barriers of the trigunas and would be able to step into the Parama Brahma Sthiti or the Highest Salvation!’

The ‘Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga’ of the Gita was illustrated by an uncontrollable rogue elephant called Arimardan in the court of King Khangabahu of Saurashtra in Gujarat. Several elephant tamers from the kingdom and many others failed to tame him even by using heavy iron rods, piercing tridents and such other weapons. Streams of blood flowed but each time the tamers tried, Arimardan turned more and more violent. One day a brahman arrived and touched and cajoled the wild animal with affection as the onlookers wondered as to how such a miracle occurred! The brahman confirmed that he was a regular reciter of the Gita. The king then ordered that the elephant be set free and as a result even boys and girls played with it on the streets. Bhagawan Krishna then addressed Arjuna saying: ‘Ignorance, arrogance, pretentiousness, egotism, anger and self-image are all features of asuras while the three enemies of human beings viz. kama (desire), krodha (fury) and lobha (avarice) were destroyers of one’s own soul and entry points of naraka.These are avoided by intelligent persons. The ignorance of the elephant misdirected him and his taming was accomplished by affection, humility and peacefulness.

The Chapter entitled ‘Shraddha Traya Vaibhava Yoga’ which is the penultimate adhyaya of the Gita illustrates the story of King Khangabahu of Simhala Dwipa, his servant and their elephant. Once Dusshahana drove the elephant in a race, made it run too fast by poking it by an ankusha, so out of annoyance the animal dropped Dusshahana dead. The servant in his subsequent birth was born as an elephant in the same royal court. The new elephant (Dussahana) was gifted by the king to a poet who in turn sold it to the King of Malwa for a good price. But on reaching Malwa, the elephant took suddenly ill and lay down without food and water. Many experts treated it but to no avail. Medicines, charities and prayers did not help. Finally, a brahman recited the Seventeenth Chapter and the elephant started recovering and tried to stand up but fell dead. The brahman who recited the chapter explained that the dead elephant in its earlier birth was Dussahana and as a result of the recitation attained moksha. The King of Malwa continued the reading of the Chapter and attained sayujya later. Lord Krishna told Arjuna: The features and ways of life are normally shaped by every human being by his own swabhava or personal traits.

The Final Chapter of Bhagavad Gita named ‘Moksha Sanyasa Yoga’ contained the quintessence of vedas and shastras, signifying the termination of samsara bandha or the shackles of life. It is the destroyer of Arishadvargas or the six enemies of humanity viz. kama-krodha-moha-mada-lobha and matsarya; the final goal of siddha purushas and the high-point of entertainment of maharshis. Sincere recitation of this Grand Finale of the Gita constitutes sure steps forward to moksha or the total break-away from the endless cycles of Life! The episode behind the Final Chapter was that when Indra was enjoying a dance-music ensemble of apsaras, a few Vishnu-dootas rushed in to convey that a new Indra would be soon installed in Swarga Loka. Indra wondered whether the Indra-Elect had performed hundred yagnas successfully or constructed lakhs of water-bodies or planted crores of trees for the joy of the travellers or organised countless anna danas and charities as he did. He reached Bhagawan Vishnu and expressed agitation about the news of the new incumbent and whether his own position was at stake! Vishnu smiled and asked Indra to meet the new-elect at Kalikagram on the banks of the Godavari, he who was a constant reciter of the Final Chapter of Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu further assured Indra that he too could retain his position if he performed likewise too. Indra visited the Indra-Elect in the form of a brahman and realised that each such recital of the Final chapter would be equated to the fruit of performing one yagna. It would qualify all the punya karyas or the benevolent and splendid tasks that Indra did in the past to help him to achieve ‘Indratwa’! The Supreme Message of the Moksha Sanyasa Yoga is thus summed up as: Sarva Karmanyapi sadaa kurvaano madvyapaashrayah, Madprasaadaadavapnoti Shasvatam padamavyayam / (Do accomplish the everlasting and indestructible Parama pada by performing the needful karmas and keeping complete faith in me!