SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 10 Text 8-9
aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

mac-citta mad-gata-prana
bodhayantah parasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityam
tusyanti ca ramanti ca

aham--I; sarvasya--of all; prabhavah--the source of generation; mattah--from Me; sarvam--everything; pravartate--emanates; iti--thus; matva--knowing; bhajante--become devoted; mam--unto Me; budhah--the learned; bhava-samanvitah--with great attention.
mat-cittah--their minds fully engaged in Me; mat-gata-pranah--their lives devoted to Me; bodhayantah--preaching; parasparam--among themselves; kathayantah--talking; ca--also; mam--about Me; nityam--perpetually; tusyanti--become pleased; ca--also; ramanti--enjoy transcendental bliss; ca--also.

TRANSLATION

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. The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.

JOURNAL:

This morning I listened to the first of three lectures that Satsvarupa das Goswami gave back in 1996, in Dublin, Ireland. He opens by stating that this sloka, along with the next three, are considered the "core verses" of Bhagavad Gita. One of the interesting things is that Srila Prabhupada's lectures on the Gita stop just before these slokas. "Core verses" and no lectures by Swamiji to go with them.

When I look at a section of scripture such as this I first like to see it as a whole:

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. The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. (BG 10.8-11)

In this way, I find it easier to see the "core" message.