Who Is Bhagavan ?

Bhagavān is the one who has bhaga (the six-fold virtues) in absolute measure . These are : all knowledge (jñāna) , total dispassion (vairāgya) , the capacity to create , sustain and resolve (vīrya) , absolute fame (yaśas) , all wealth (srī) and overlordship (aiśvarya) .

To have all knowledge (jñāna) means to be free from all ignorance . Thus , the one who has jñāna does not require a mind , perception or a means of knowledge with which to know . If we require a mind to know , there is always ignorance . Thus , whoever is endowed with a mind in order to know cannot be Bhagavān – as an individual , that is . We will see how it is possible to be one with Bhagavān later . Bhaga , then , is jñāna , all knowledge .

The one who has total , absolute dispassion (vairāgya) has no longing  , no insecurity . He or she is full . Vīrya is absolute power or śakti , meaning the capacity to create , to sustain , and to resolve . The one who has this absolute power is called the Almighty .

Absolute fame (yaśas) means all fame , including your own or anyone else’s . One who is endowed with the ability to sing , for example , may gain some fame , a ray of glory , but that fame belongs to the Lord , the one who has all fame . The Lord also has all wealth , all resources (srī) . Any wealth you may have really belongs to Bhagavān , the Lord , and you are only a trustee of whatever resources you happen to have .

Finally , the one who is not caused , who is not ruled by anyone , who does not subject himself or herself to the laws of someone else , has what is called aiśvarya . We , as individuals , have to go by the laws ; we cannot go against them . Even an engineer who is responsible for planning , commissioning , and running a thermal plant cannot touch a live wire without consequence . In other words , the engineer cannot behave as he or she likes merely because he or she is the author of the electricity . It was because of the laws alone that the engineer was able to generate electricity in the first place .

The one who does not subject Himself to another’s law or laws is the Lord . If the Lord is ruled by someone else , then that someone else becomes the Lord – and it is this Lord that we are talking about . These six absolute virtues , then , constitute bhaga and the one who has bhaga is Bhagavān .

Source : Bhagavad Gita Home Study Book by Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati