The first verse (10.08) of the Chatur-Shloki Gita (10.08-11) gives the definition and identification of God. In its first quarter, it states that God is the source of everything. Does this support a deistic conception: God as the creator, but not as the controller? No, the next quarter of the verse indicates that he sustains everything, thus reiterating an earlier Gita assertion (09.10): material nature works under divine supervision. While giving this universal characterization of God, the Gita unambiguously identifies him to be Krishna. 

That the source of everything is Krishna has much significance:

First, it reveals that the Gita doesn’t support a polytheistic vision of divinity. Though it does talk about the existence of many gods (07.20), it places them all in an inclusive hierarchy with Krishna at the top: he is the supervisor of material nature, various aspects of which are supervised by various gods. 

Second, this definition harkens back to the Vedanta-Sutra, which defines the Absolute Truth as the source of everything. Interestingly, that Sutra begins with a call for spiritual enquiry, brahma-jijnasa. And then it explains that brahma is the source of everything. By correlating the Sutra’s two verses with this Gita verse, it can be inferred that brahma is non-different from Krishna. 

Of course, brahma is a complex and multi-valent word; it sometimes refers to the individual soul, as in the well-known Upanishadic declaration: aham brahmasmi (I am brahma). Here, brahma is not used in the same sense as in the Vedanta Sutra — self-evidently, we are not the source of everything. Differentiating between this sense of brahma and Krishna and thus rejecting monism, the Gita (10.12) characterizes Krishna as the param brahma ( supreme brahma).

One-sentence summary:

The Chatur-shloki’s first verse’s first half defines God as the source and sustainer of everything and identifies him as Krishna. 

Think it over:

How does the Gita’s chatur-shloki’s first verse reject 

  • Deism
  • Polytheism?
  • Monism? 

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10.08: I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.

 

To know more about this verse, please click on the image