Chapter 10 · Shloka 4— The Yoga of Divine Glories

buddhir jñānam asammohaḥ kṣhamā satyaṁ damaḥ śhamaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavo ’bhāvo bhayaṁ chābhayameva cha

buddhiḥ

— intellect

jñānam

— knowledge

asammohaḥ

— clarity of thought

kṣhamā

— forgiveness

satyam

— truthfulness

damaḥ

— control over the senses

śhamaḥ

— control of the mind

sukham

— joy

duḥkham

— sorrow

bhavaḥ

— birth

abhāvaḥ

— death

bhayam

— fear

cha

— and

abhayam

— courage

eva

— certainly

cha

— and

Krishna begins listing the qualities of beings that arise from Him (continuing into 10.5): 'Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from delusion, patience, truth, self-restraint, calmness, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, and fearlessness...' Krishna reveals that all the diverse qualities and states found in beings arise from Him alone. This verse begins the list: 'buddhih' (intelligence, discrimination), 'jnanam' (knowledge), 'asammohah' (freedom from delusion, clarity), 'ksama' (patience, forbearance), 'satyam' (truthfulness), 'damah' (self-restraint, sense-control), 'samah' (calmness, mental tranquility), 'sukham' (pleasure), 'duhkham' (pain), 'bhavah' (birth/becoming), 'abhavah' (death/non-becoming), 'bhayam' (fear), and 'abhayam' (fearlessness). Shankaracharya notes the comprehensiveness, and especially the inclusion of opposites: not just the positive qualities (knowledge, patience, truth, calmness, fearlessness) but also their counterparts (pain, death, fear). All of these — the full range of human experience and disposition, the pleasant and the unpleasant alike — arise from the one Divine source. This is a continuation of the teaching that the Divine is the source of everything (9.16–19), now applied specifically to the inner qualities and states of beings. Every capacity you have — your intelligence, your patience, your truthfulness, your calm — in truth derives from the Divine. And even the difficult states — fear, pain — are not outside the divine order. The practical implication is profound: the very qualities you most want to cultivate — wisdom, patience, truthfulness, fearlessness, inner calm — are not foreign to you or impossibly distant. They arise from the same divine source that is your own deepest nature. To cultivate these virtues is not to manufacture something alien but to allow what is divinely rooted in you to express itself. The good qualities you aspire to are already seeded in the divine ground of your being.

Krishna reveals that all the qualities found in beings — intelligence, knowledge, patience, truthfulness, calm, AND even fear, pain, and difficulty — arise from the one divine source. The practical takeaway is genuinely encouraging: the very virtues you most want to cultivate (wisdom, patience, truthfulness, fearlessness, inner calm) are not foreign to you or impossibly far away. They arise from the same source that is your own deepest nature. This reframes self-improvement beautifully. You're not trying to manufacture something alien and bolt it onto yourself — you're allowing what's already seeded in your deepest being to express itself. The capacity for patience, courage, honesty, and peace is already in you, in potential. Cultivating virtue isn't adding a foreign substance; it's uncovering and watering what's natively rooted there. And note that even the hard states — fear, pain — aren't outside the order; they belong too. This means you don't have to reject parts of your experience as 'not supposed to be here.' It's all part of the whole. Grow the good that's already seeded in you.

Krishna reveals that all the qualities found in beings — intelligence, knowledge, patience, truthfulness, calm, AND even fear, pain, and difficulty — arise from the one divine source. The practical takeaway is genuinely encouraging: the very virtues you most want to build (wisdom, patience, honesty, fearlessness, inner calm) aren't foreign to you or impossibly far away. They arise from the same source that's your own deepest nature. This reframes self-improvement beautifully. You're not trying to manufacture something alien and bolt it onto yourself — you're allowing what's already seeded in your deepest being to express itself. The capacity for patience, courage, honesty, and peace is already IN you, in potential. Cultivating virtue isn't adding a foreign substance; it's uncovering and watering what's natively rooted there. And notice even the hard states — fear, pain — aren't outside the order; they belong too. So you don't have to reject parts of your experience as 'not supposed to be here.' It's all part of the whole. Grow the good that's already seeded in you.

Krishna starts sharing a wonderful list — He says ALL the qualities people have come from Him! Things like being smart, being patient, being truthful, being calm and brave! (And even the hard feelings like fear and sadness come from the bigger picture too.) Here's the encouraging part: the good qualities you want to grow — patience, courage, honesty, kindness, calmness — they're already inside you, like seeds! They come from the same wonderful source that's your own deepest self. So becoming patient or brave isn't adding something strange and far away — it's just helping the good seeds that are ALREADY in you grow and bloom! You already have everything good inside you. Just water those seeds with practice, and watch them grow!