Journey Deep Within: 12/16/19

Monday, December 16, 2019

Bhagwad Gita - Post 133

Verse 15

Arjuna Uvaacha:

Pashyaami devaamstava deva dehe

Sarvaamstathaa bhootavisheshasanghaan;

Brahmaanameesham kamalaasanastha-

Mrisheemshcha sarvaanuragaamshcha divyaan.

Arjuna said:

I behold all the gods, O God, in Thy body, and hosts of various classes of beings; Brahma, the Lord, seated on the lotus, all the sages and the celestial serpents!

“O Lord! I behold everything here. Brahma, the Creator himself, is seen here. I am seeing him.” Who can have darshan of Brahma? We cannot see him, but here he was, and here Rudra was.

“In Your form, I see all the gods. Every form of creation, including every created essence — all animals, all creatures, all human beings, all the denizens of heaven—I am seeing here just in front of me. I am seeing all the rishis.

Verse 16

Anekabaahoodaravaktranetram

Pashyaami twaam sarvato’nantaroopam;

Naantam na madhyam na punastavaadim

Pashyaami vishweshwara vishwaroopa.

I see Thee of boundless form on every side, with many arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes; neither the end nor the middle nor also the beginning do I see, O Lord of the universe, O Cosmic Form!

“In this multifaceted manifestation of Yours, with faces everywhere turned in my direction, with all eyes gazing at me, I see the infinity of Yours everywhere.

I cannot know where You begin, where You end, or where is Your middle is. I cannot understand how vast is this personality of Yours. Hey Viswesvara! O Lord of the universe! O Visvarupa!

The All-form, Omni-form! I am not able to gauge how vast You are. I am simply struck with surprise.”

Verse 17

Kireetinam gadinam chakrinam cha,

Tejoraashim sarvato deeptimantam;

Pashyaami twaam durnireekshyam samantaad

Deeptaanalaarkadyutimaprameyam.

I see Thee with the diadem, the club and the discus, a mass of radiance shining everywhere, very hard to look at, blazing all round like burning fire and the sun, and immeasurable.

“With diadems on every head of this multifarious form, I am seeing you shining. With gadas, with astras, together with this radiance that You are manifesting, I am unable to locate what is what at any place. Like blazing fire, I am seeing Your form spread out everywhere.

Columns of radiance, that is what I am seeing in front of me, and they have dazzled the whole space. I cannot see anything properly because my eyes are dazzled, dimmed completely in this light. Impossible it is for me to behold You, O Lord!” Durnirīkṣyaṁ: “Really I am speaking, I cannot behold You. It is not possible for me even with this blessing of a new eye that You have given me.

This is too much for me, and I cannot behold You any more because You are fire, You are radiance, You are the Sun of suns. Immeasurable Thou art, O Lord!”

Sri Chinmaya writes,

AS A MASS OF RADIANCE SHINING EVERYWHERE,

ALL ROUND GLOWING LIKE THE BLAZING SUN AND FIRE,

HARD TO GAZE ON.

One of the most expressive lines in this description, this brings home to us the glory of Pure Awareness. This is not 'light' in the physical sense of the term; but all the same we have to use the word, borrowed from ordinary language, though it is applied here with a special significance.

Consciousness is the 'Light' in which we so clearly 'SEE' our own thoughts and emotions. It is the same light which, beaming out through the eyes, throws 'light' upon the world and illumines for us the Forms and shapes. The same Consciousness, beaming out through the ears, with its special 'light,' illumines Sound , and so on.

Naturally, therefore, the Universal-Form of Krishna, representing in Himself the Infinite Awareness, had to be described, in the faltering language of Arjuna, as a mass of resplendent light, blinding all faculties of perception, feeling and understanding.”

INCOMPREHENSIBLE (Aprameya)

“Though the universal Form is painted here by the author, in the language of an "objective experience," he makes us understand that the Truth is the SUBJECT and not an object of even the intellect. “

Dear All,

Human beings COMPREHEND anything in this world through their senses / their mind and / or their intellect. These are the only faculties provided to them to know about anything in this world as an object.

It is the Body / senses that perceive, the mind that feels and the intellect that thinks about anything in this creation.

Here, Krishna represents THAT PURE SUBJECT, THE SELF, that illumines all these faculties and hence, subtler than all these senses / mind and intellect.

Hence, Arjuna represents all human beings in centuries to come when he declares, “Lord, you are incomprehensible”, which means, we can never KNOW the SELF as we have been knowing all other objects hitherto.