In the human form, we tend to forget our origin and eternal form. We regard ourselves as the physical body and get attracted to our bodily relations; parents, spouse, children, material wealth, etc. We feel they are the most significant. We also forget that it is God who is the creator and sustainer of the entire universe.
In this verse, Lord Shree Krishna has said that the entire creation; is the manifestation of his energy. Even the Sun gets its radiance from him. According to scientific theories, the energy emitted every second by the sun is equivalent to millions of nuclear power plants put together, and it has been an uninterrupted process for billions of years. Yet this energy has not reduced in any way. The glory and brilliance of the sun are a part of God’s wonderful creation.
Similarly, the night sky is lit up by the moon. Though our mundane intellect might want us to believe and it is also scientifically concluded that moonshine is due to the reflection of the sun’s light. But the periodic movement of the moon is also part of God’s amazing creation. The sun, the moon, the planets, stars, the
panch mahabhootas
(earth, water, air, fire, and ether); in fact, the entire universe is a manifestation of God’s
vibhūtis
(opulence). It would be very naïve to think that such an amazing celestial arrangement is a result of some random big bang.
There is a story in Kenopanishad, which explicates this. Once there was a prolonged war between the
devatās
(celestial gods) and the
daityas
(demons from the nether regions). Eventually, the
devatās
won by the grace of God. But their pride made them think that it was due to their own strength. God wanted to teach them a lesson; He manifested as an effulgent and powerful
yakṣha
(a semi-celestial being) in the celestial sky.
When Indra, the King of Heaven saw this
yakṣha,
he felt insecure and intimidated. To find out who this
yakṣha
was, he sent
Agni,
the fire god. With great pride,
Agni
challenged the
yakṣha
and said, “I am the fire god, and possess the power to burn the entire world within seconds, please reveal yourself.” The
yakṣha
put in front of him a piece of straw and asked if he could burn it. Agni laughed, “Can a blade of grass be a test for my immense power? Let that be.” But when he moved forward to burn it, he could not and started feeling very cold himself. God had taken away his power, defeated and embarrassed he ran back to Indra.
Next, Indra sent
Vayu
, the wind god to inquire who this
yakṣha
was. He went to the
yakṣha
and said, “I am the wind god and possess the power to turn the world upside down within a few seconds, reveal who you are?” Again, the
yakṣha
put a piece of straw in front of
Vayu
and said, “Turn this over if you can?”
Vayu
smirked with pride and tried to blow it, but could not. He felt powerless, and with great effort, he returned to Indra exhausted.
Now Indra was raged and came to challenge the
yakṣha
himself. But by then the
yakṣha
had disappeared and in his place was seated Goddess Uma, God’s divine
Yogmaya
power. A baffled Indra asked her, “O Divine Mother, please tell me who was that powerful
yakṣha
?” She answered, “O imprudent child, you could not recognize Him? Your pride had blinded your prudence. He was your Supreme Father, your creator, and power source, without him you would be powerless.” Realizing his mistake, Indra begged for forgiveness.