Coming Close – Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad Gita

Chapter ten of the Bhagavad Gita is about how we may approach that which is beyond the range of thought (the absolute, God, Brahman, whatever we choose to call this), and about how the way we relate to that affects our progress on the path of inner discovery.

Thinking of the absolute in tangible forms is the basis of devotion, and this chapter is highly devotional, suggesting a warm connection between the seeker and the sought. At the beginning of the chapter, seeing that the pupil is pleased by what he has heard so far, the teacher, who is at one with the supreme reality, invites the pupil to listen once more to the great teachings, which, he says, he will give again because he has the highest well-being of the pupil at heart.