Sacred Concord

Mbh 12.48.3a

Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

"'Bhishma said, "O Krishna, O foremost of Beings, be thou pleased with these words which I utter, in brief and in detail, from desire of hymning thy praises. Thou art pure and purity's self. Thou transcendest all. Thou art what people say to be THAT. Thou art the Supreme Lord. With my whole heart I seek thy refuge, O universal Soul and Lord of all creatures![137] Thou art without beginning and without end. Thou art the highest of the high and Brahma. Neither the gods nor the Rishis know thee. The divine Creator, called Narayana or Hari, alone knows thee. Through Narayana, the Rishis, the Siddhas, the great Nagas, the gods, and the celestial Rishis know a little of thee. Thou art the highest of the high and knowest no deterioration. The gods, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Yakshas, the Pannagas, do not know who thou art and whence art thou. All the worlds and all created things live in thee, and enter thee (when the dissolution comes). Like gems strung together in a thread, all things that have attributes reside in thee, the Supreme Lord.[138] Having the universe for thy work and the universe for thy limbs, this universe consisting of mind and matter resides in thy eternal and all-pervading soul like a number of flowers strung together in a strong thread. Thou art called Hari, of a thousand heads, a thousand feet, a thousand eyes, a thousand arms, a thousand crowns, and a thousand faces of great splendour. Thou art called Narayana, divinity, and the refuge of the universe. Thou art the subtlest of the subtle, grossest of the gross, the heaviest of the heavy and the highest of the high. In the Vaks, the Anuvaks, the Nishads, and Upanishads, thou art regarded as the Supreme Being of irresistible force. In the Samans also, whose declarations are always true, thou art regarded as Truth's self![139] Thou art of quadruple soul. Thou art displayed in only the understanding (of all creatures). Thou art the Lord of those that are bound to thee in faith.
Mbh 12.48.3a · Mahabharata · SANTI PARVA

Themes in this passage

The DivineThe SoulCreationNatureProtectionDesireFaithLoneliness

The Divine in other traditions

The same theme, as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hellenism address it.

Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.
Deuteronomy 23:5 · Bible · Deuteronomy
Allah, your Lord and Lord of your forefathers?
Quran 37:126 · Quran · The Rangers
Self is the lord of self, who else could be the lord? With self well subdued, a man finds a lord such as few can find.
Dhp 12.160 · Dhammapada · Self
Saturnia lends the lash; the coursers fly; Smooth glides the chariot through the liquid sky. Heaven’s gates spontaneous open to the powers, Heaven’s golden gates, kept by the winged Hours. Commission’d in alternate watch they stand, The sun’s bright portals and the skies command; Close, or unfold, the eternal gates of day Bar heaven with clouds, or roll those clouds away. The sounding hinges ring, the clouds divide. Prone down the steep of heaven their course they guide. But Jove, incensed, from Ida’s top survey’d, And thus enjoin’d the many-colour’d maid.
Iliad 8.29 · Iliad · 8

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