Bhagwad Gita - Post 128

Eleventh Discourse

THE YOGA OF THE VISION OF THE COSMIC FORM

Verse 1

Arjuna Uvaacha:

Madanugrahaaya paramam

Guhyamadhyaatmasamjnitam;

Yattwayoktam vachastena

Moho’yam vigato mama.

Arjuna said:

By this explanation of the highest secret concerning the Self, which Thou hast spoken out of compassion towards me my delusion is gone.

Verse 2

Bhavaapyayau hi bhootaanaam

Shrutau vistarasho mayaa;

Twattah kamalapatraaksha

Maahaatmyamapi chaavyayam.

The origin and the destruction of beings verily have been heard by me in detail from Thee, O lotus-eyed Lord, and also Thy inexhaustible greatness!

Verse 3

Evametadyathaattha

Twamaatmaanam parameshwara;

Drashtumicchaami te roopam

Aishwaram purushottama.

(Now), O Supreme Lord, as Thou hast thus described Thyself, O Supreme Person, I wish to see Thy Divine Form!

Verse 4

Manyase yadi tacchakyam

Mayaa drashtumiti prabho;

Yogeshwara tato me twam Darshayaatmaanamavyayam.

If Thou, O Lord, thinkest it possible for me to see it, do Thou, then, O Lord of the Yogis, show me Thy imperishable Self!

Verse 5

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Pashya me paartha roopaani

Shatasho’tha sahasrashah;

Naanaavidhaani divyaani

Naanaavarnaakriteeni cha.

The Blessed Lord said:

Behold, O Arjuna, My forms by the hundreds and thousands, of different sorts, divine and of various colours and shapes!

Verse 6

Pashyaadityaan vasoon rudraan

Ashwinau marutastathaa;

Bahoonyadrishtapoorvaani

Pashyaashcharyaani bhaarata.

Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Asvins and also the Maruts; behold many wonders never seen before, O Arjuna!

Verse 7

Ihaikastham jagatkritsnam

Pashyaadya sacharaacharam;

Mama dehe gudaakesha

Yachchaanyad drashtumicchasi.

Now behold, O Arjuna, in this, My body, the whole universe centered in the one — including the moving and the unmoving—and whatever else thou desirest to see!

Verse 8

Na tu maam shakyase drashtum

Anenaiva swachakshushaa;

Divyam dadaami te chakshuh

Pashya me yogamaishwaram.

But thou art not able to behold Me with these, thine own eyes; I give thee the divine eye; behold My lordly Yoga.

Verse 9

Sanjaya Uvaacha:

Evamuktwaa tato raajan

Mahaayogeshwaro harih;

Darshayaamaasa paarthaaya

Paramam roopamaishwaram.

Sanjaya said:

Having thus spoken, O king, the great Lord of Yoga, Hari (Krishna), showed to Arjuna His supreme form as the Lord!

Verse 10

Anekavaktra nayanam

Anekaadbhuta darshanam;

Anekadivyaabharanam

Divyaanekodyataayudham.

With numerous mouths and eyes, with numerous wonderful sights, with numerous divine ornaments, with numerous divine weapons uplifted (such a form He showed).

Verse 11

Divyamaalyaambaradharam Divyagandhaanulepanam;

Sarvaashcharyamayam devam

Anantam vishwatomukham.

Wearing divine garlands and apparel, anointed with divine unguents, the all-wonderful, resplendent (Being), endless, with faces on all sides.

Verse 12

Divi sooryasahasrasya

Bhavedyugapadutthitaa;

Yadi bhaah sadrishee saa

Syaadbhaasastasya mahaatmanah.

If the splendour of a thousand suns were to blaze out at once (simultaneously) in the sky, that would be the splendour of that mighty Being (great soul).

Verse 13

Tatraikastham jagatkritsnam

Pravibhaktamanekadhaa;

Apashyaddevadevasya

Shareere paandavastadaa.

There, in the body of the God of gods, Arjuna then saw the whole universe resting in the one, with its many groups.

Verse 14

Tatah sa vismayaavishto

Hrishtaromaa dhananjayah;

Pranamya shirasaa devam

Kritaanjalirabhaashata.

Then, Arjuna, filled with wonder and with hair standing on end, bowed down his head to the Lord and spoke with joined palms.

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!

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!

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.

Verse 18

Twamaksharam paramam veditavyam

Twamasya vishwasya param nidhaanam;

Twamavyayah shaashwatadharmagoptaa

Sanaatanastwam purusho mato me.

Thou art the Imperishable, the Supreme Being, worthy of being known; Thou art the great treasure-house of this universe; Thou art the imperishable protector of the eternal Dharma; Thou art the ancient Person, I deem.

Continued…

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 127

THE YOGA OF THE VISION OF THE COSMIC FORM

Summary of Eleventh Discourse

Then Arjuna puts a question: “I have understood everything that You say, but I want to know how You are visibly present in this world. What are Your special manifestations? I understand that You are, generally speaking, present everywhere; but where are You especially manifest?”

Then Lord Sri Krishna gave a long list of special manifestations of great glories, powers and magnificence.

The whole point is that the Lord wants to drive into the mind of Arjuna the truth of God not merely being all things, or God being everywhere, God being present in highly excellent manifestations, God being the Creator, and God being the Procurer of all the welfare of people. 

This kind of teaching is good, but it is not enough for God, because God does not tolerate the presence of anyone outside Him. He is a supremely selfish person, we may say. God does not tolerate anything outside Him, not even the world.

There is no question of transmigration, going to another realm, taking rebirth in some other place, becoming a yogi and again practicing yoga to reach God, and contemplating on the creation of the universe as if creation is outside God—as if there is a material out of which He fashions the world. These ideas must be completely removed from the mind. 

Also, all Arjuna’s doubts having been removed through a clear description of the nature of the Atman and the origin and destruction of all created things, he is now ready to behold the Cosmic Vision. Krishna grants him the divine sight by means of which Arjuna beholds the Lord as the vast Cosmic Manifestation. 

The vision is at once all-comprehensive and simultaneous. In every direction Arjuna sees the Lord as the entire universe. All the created worlds, gods, beings, creatures and things stand revealed as the one gigantic body of the Lord. Arjuna further sees that the great cosmic drama is set in motion and controlled by the all-mighty power of the Lord. His Will alone prevails in all things and actions, both good and bad.

The Lord exhorts him to fight, he being only an apparent cause of the destruction of his enemies. Arjuna is unable to bear the pressure of the sudden expansion of consciousness and is filled with fear. He begs the Lord to assume once more His usual form. 

Krishna reiterates that this vision cannot be had through any amount of austerities, study, sacrifices or philanthropic  acts. Supreme devotion is the only means by which one can have access to His grand vision.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 126

Verse 25

Maharsheenaam bhriguraham

Giraamasm yekamaksharam;

Yajnaanaam japayajno’smi

Sthaavaraanaam himaalayah.

  

Among the great sages I am Bhrigu;

Among words I am the monosyllable Om;

Among sacrifices I am the sacrifice of silent repetition;

Among immovable things the Himalayas I am.

While all fruits and flowers grow from the same land, only the best amongst them are selected for an exhibition. 

Similarly, everything that is manifest and unmanifest in the universe is the glory of God, but the prominent amongst them are singled out for mention as his opulence.

Amongst the sages in the celestial planes of existence, Bhrigu is special. He possesses wisdom, glory, and devotion. 

Lord Vishnu holds the mark of his foot on his chest as a consequence of a divine pastime described in the Puranas in which Bhrigu tested the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv. Shree Krishna’s glory is revealed best through him.

AMONG  WORDS, I AM THE ONE-SYLLABLED "OM"

If ordinary word-symbol indicate only the finite, the Rishis thought that they must conceive a word-symbol to indicate the Eternal. Thus, they discovered the one syllabled word 'OM,' which is the greatest mantra in all the Vedas and traditionally, up-to recent times, this has been, in the spiritual world, the one sound idol used as a prop (Alambanam) for all early meditators.

Of sound vibrations, Lord Krishna's vibhuti or divine, transcendental opulence manifests as the sacred monosyllable OM which is uttered before every Vedic ritual can begin. The words ekam aksaram directly refers to OM.

In one of the sadan talks (Talk in a Sai Center in Oman), the author shared an incident when John Hislop asked Swami,

"Swami,  If we have to worship You without Your form, how do we do worship?”.

Swami answered, “Worship me as AUM”.

Let us go through some more words of Bhagwan on OM/ AUM.

“Om is the symbol of the unchanging eternal universal supreme God .... Om is the sound of the movement of the stars in the firmament; it is the sound that manifested when the dawn of Creative Will stirred the Niraakaara (the Attributeless) into activity. SSS6, Chap. 42 

If you have the ear, you can hear 'Om' announcing the Lord's Presence in every sound. All the five elements produce this sound, 'Om.' The bell in the temple is intended to convey the Om as the symbol of the Omnipresent God. When the bell sounds Om, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be aware of His Presence. That is the meaning of the bell which is rung in front of the inner shrine in the temple. SSS1, Chap. 9”

Yajña is the act of dedicating ourselves to the Supreme. The simplest of all yajñas is the chanting of the holy names of God. This is called japa yajña, or the sacrifice of the devotional repetition of the divine names of God. In the present age of Kali, the chanting of the names of God is even more emphasized.

Kalijuga kevala nāma ādhārā,

Sumiri sumiri nara utarahiṅ pārā

(Ramayan)[v28]

“In the age of Kali, the chanting and remembrance of the names of God is the most powerful means of crossing the ocean of material existence.”

The Himalayas are a mountain range lying at the north of India. Since ages, they have inspired spiritual awe and wonder in billions of devotees. 

Their atmosphere, environment, and solitude are conducive to the performance of austerities for spiritual progress. Thus, many great sages reside in the Himalayas in their subtle bodies, practicing penance for their own advancement and for the benefit of humankind. 

And so, of the multitude of mountain ranges in this world, the Himalayas best display his opulence.

Love.