The Greatness of God

यो  भूतं  च  भव्यं  च  सर्वं  यश्चाधितिष्ठति ।

स्वर्यस्य  च  केवलम्  तस्मै  ज्येष्ठाय  ब्रह्मणे  नमः ॥ अथर्व० १०।८।१ ॥

The One who rules over the past, the present and the future, as well as everything else, the One who exists forever in a state of bliss, who is single, to that biggest and superlative Brahma, I offer my salutations. 

Nothing moves in this world without God’s permission. Time itself is under His control.

He has only one state – that of bliss. 

He is single because He is without an equal and without an assistant.

He is larger than the Universe. 

In all great qualities, nobody even comes close to Him, let alone equal Him. He is the only One who deserves our heartfelt devotion and prayers.

यस्य  भूमिः  प्रमान्तरिक्षमुतोदरम्  ।

दिवं  यश्चक्रे  मूर्धानं  तस्मै  ज्येष्ठाय  ब्रह्मणे  नमः ॥ अथर्व० १०।७।३२ ॥

The One who obtains knowledge of reality through non-luminous bodies like the Earth, whose stomach is Space, who made luminous bodies his head, salutations to that biggest and superlative Brahma. 

This is a picture by which we can view the Universe as God (instead of the silly statues of mud, metal and stone!). Also, it throws light on the construction of our own body – the Earth, with all its trappings, gives us a laboratory by means of which we can generate knowledge about the Universe; our belly requires space in which the food can be accommodated and digested; the sense-organs that illuminate our understanding are all located in the head.

यस्य  सूर्यश्चक्षुश्चन्द्रमाश्च  पुनर्णवः ।

अग्निं  यश्चक्र  आस्यं  तस्मै  ज्येष्ठाय  ब्रह्मणे  नमः ॥ अथर्व० १०।७।३३ ॥

The One whose eyes, as it were, are the Sun, and the Moon that becomes new again and again (through its waxing and waning cycle), and who has made Agni His mouth, salutations to that biggest and superlative Brahma. 

Continuing with the picture of the Universe as God from the previous verse, this verse says that wherever there is light, there God is observing (of course, in darkness, too!). Also, He is the ultimate Giver of the light of knowledge. Thus, we can visualize the Sun and the Moon as His eyes. Also, in terms of the body, the verse tells us that the eyes work based on light. That is why animals found in the dark are very often blind. Similarly, the metaphor of the mouth as Agni implies that the fire that reduces all molecules into smaller ones is like the mouth that chews food into smaller particles. Thus, the verse gives us a metaphor to visualize God, as well makes us understand our biology and chemistry. 

यस्य  वातः  प्राणापानौ  चक्षुरङ्गिरसोऽभवन् ।

दिशो  यश्चक्रे  प्रज्ञानीस्तस्मै  ज्येष्ठाय  ब्रह्मणे  नमः ॥ अथर्व० १०।७।३४ ॥

The One whose inhalation and exhalation is the wind; whose eyes, as it were, are rays of light; and whose nervous system are the directions; salutations to that biggest and superlative Brahma! 

Continuing with the picture of the Universe as God from the earlier two verses, this verse is the last in the series. It tells us to visualize the wind as His breath. As in the earlier verse, light is linked to eyes, the most important organ for sensing the environment, i.e., for knowledge. The correlation of direction to the nervous system, or sensory apparatus, is most interesting. Just as space can be seen as innervated with directions, so also the body is innervated with the nervous system, which senses each part of the body. Similarly, God senses every point in space – He knows and sees all! 

Visualizing God as given in the four verses above, we will get a picture of His immensity and His ubiquitousness. Also, we will start feeling His presence in Nature – all around us and at all times.