Bhagavad Gita 10.32
सर्गाणामादिरन्तश्च मध्यं चैवाहमर्जुन | अध्यात्मविद्या विद्यानां वादः प्रवदतामहम् ||
sargāṇām ādir antaś ca madhyaṁ caivāham arjuna | adhyātma-vidyā vidyānāṁ vādaḥ pravadatām aham ||
Translation
Of creations I am the beginning, the end, and also the middle, O Arjuna. Among sciences I am the science of the self. Among debates, the right argument.
Reflection
Does your asking aim at truth, or at winning the room?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Ten
Three pointers. Of creations Krishna is the beginning, middle, and end. Among knowledges, adhyatma-vidya, the knowledge of the self, is His vibhuti. Among the kinds of speech that contend, vada, the proper argument, is His form. The verse subtly raises the bar of the catalogue. Among knowledges, the highest one. Among debates, the one whose goal is truth rather than victory. Krishna is naming the kind of debate the Gita itself models, the patient back and forth between teacher and student that aims at conviction rather than at winning. The chapter has been such a debate from the start. The placement of vada among Krishna's vibhutis is also a quiet validation of Arjuna's own way of asking. He has been doing it correctly all along.