yadyadvibhootimatsatvam shreemadoorjitameva vaa |
tattadevaavagaccha tvam mama tejonshasambhavam || 41 ||
 
Whichever entity is endowed with majesty, prosperity and also energy, you should understand that all those as born out of a fraction of my power.
 
yat : whichever
vibhootimat : endowed with majesty
satvam : entity
shreemat : prosperity
oorjitam : energy
eva : also
vaa : and
tat : all those
eva : and
avagaccha : understand
tvam : you
mama : my
tejaha : power
ansha : fraction
sambhavam : born out of
 
Since it is difficult for someone in our time to identify with Puraanic expressions of Ishvara, Shri Krishna gives us a simple suggestion. He says that anything that appeals to our mind and senses, any object or person that is endowed with grandeur, perfection, knowledge and power, anything that inspire awe and wonder is Ishvara’s expression. So we are free to choose anything that meets this criteria.
 
So if we live in India, the Taj Mahal becomes Ishvara’s expression and in USA, the Grand Canyon. If we like western classical music, the Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D Major becomes Ishvara’s vibhooti and if we like Indian classical music, a rendition by Bhimsen Joshi. An engineer can admire marvels such as the tallest building in the world or the space shuttle. And all of us can admire the thousands of nameless people who are working in NGOs to better the world as yet another expression of Ishvara.
 
Now, Shri Krishna makes another important point here. If we add up all the glories in the universe, that glory is but a fraction of Ishvara’s glory. Just like we always think of a country’s government whenever we see a police officer, we should always think of Ishvara whenever we see or think of any of his expressions. Arjuna had asked the question as to how he could know Ishvara. With this shloka, Shri Krishna has provided the answer. We use the visible expression to remind us of the invisible Ishvara.
 
What should we do? Whenever we see something wonderful and glorious, we should remember that the glory is coming from Ishvara, not from that object or person. Next, we should remember that Ishvara is infinitely more powerful and glorious than the object or person. In this manner, we will be able to maintain a constant awareness of Ishvara.