Bhagwad Gita - Post 132

Dear All, 

We have read in the verses prior to the verse 13 taken up today that upon Arjuna's request to show His cosmic vision, the Lord grants Arjuna the grace to see Him in His cosmic form.

What does Arjuna see then?

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.

Tatraikasthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ pravibhaktam anekadhā (11.13): Divided into multifarious shapes, this entire creation was seen there as if it is only a fraction of this total manifestation. 

Purusha Sukhtam describes “Pādo’sya viśvā bhūtāni”: Only one-fourth of the Supreme Being is manifested in this cosmos, as it were. Tripādasyā’mṛtaṁ divi: Three-fourths is invisible. 

The imminent form of God is only one-fourth, as it were; the transcendent form is three-fourths, as it were. It is not actually an arithmetical division that is intended here; the idea is that it is a very small fraction. 

In the previous chapter, Lord declared, Viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat: “With a little fraction of Myself, I am supporting the entire cosmos.” The idea is that a little bit of the glory of God is revealed in the whole cosmos, and the real glory is transcendent. 

In the Brahdaranyaka Upanishad, it is said, “Estasyaivānandasyānyāni bhūtāni mātrām upajīvant: 

Yajnavalkya says that with a little spoonful of the bliss of the ocean of Brahman, the whole universe is sustained. And we are licking it in a mild, adulterated, spread-out, dense, concretized form of one spoonful only. What would be the ocean of that bliss? Such a thing Arjuna beheld.

In that great God of God’s Being, Arjuna had the blessing of beholding the wonder. There is no word in language to describe this wonder, except that it is a wonder. 

Isavasya Upanishad begins with the mantra- Isavasyam idam sarvam: "This creation is enveloped/ Pervaded by the Almighty Supreme Being. 

Is it contradictory to what we have seen in the verse we are reading wherein Krishna says, the entire creation is seen within Him / The lord?

Actually it is not contradictory.  When we have understood that the entire creation rests in Lord, then it s but necessary that the essence that the Lord is, must be present in each and every created being!!

The lord, the supreme creator willed and this creation came into being. 

This is what is the understanding upto almost the final stage in our learning and experiencing Lord in this creation.

Swami said, “ I separated myself from myself to Love myself”. 

When we have believed and understood this, then, both the affirmations given below are true and in essence, mean the same thing.

Lord has created this entire universe and is present (Isavasyam) in every living and non-living thing that is present 

Or

Divided into multifarious shapes, this entire creation was seen there as if it is only a fraction of this total manifestation. 

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 131

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!

“O Supreme Lord! Master of yoga! If You think that I am ready for this vision, let me be granted the vision of the immortal Universality that You are.” This is the introduction to the Visvarupa Darshana in the Eleventh Chapter.

It may be wondered that if the great sages, liberated beings and the demigods are unable to see the Supreme Lord Krishna's visvarupa or divine universal form, how will it be possible for Arjuna to see such a form?

This is why Arjuna states the words "manyase yada" which means if you consider. If Lord Krishna considers that Arjuna who is His surrendered devotee is capable of beholding His universal form which encompasses the total creation then by the Supreme Lord's grace, He can reveal it.

Lord Krishna is addressed by him as Yogeswara or the Lord of yogis perfected in the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the Pure absolute consciousness.

By the Supreme Lord's grace one can achieve the path leading to spiritual perfection which is one's highest good and without the Supreme Lord's grace no path is capable of yielding spiritual perfection. Arjuna is inferring that due to being fully devoted to Lord Krishna, he can witness this supreme form.

  

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 colors and shapes!

The Supreme Lord Krishna being requested by His surrendered devotee to reveal His viswarupa or divine universal form; responded with the word "pasya" meaning behold, His hundreds of thousands of radiant and dazzling transcendental manifestations inferring that he should be prepared because it is difficult to look at. 

The word “ropaani” meaning forms is used to express the manifestation of innumerable multifarious and multicolored divine forms and shapes.

Nānāvidhāni divyāni nānāvarṇākṛtīni ca: “Every form, every color, every detail, anything that you would like to see is here just now. And it is not just spread out in a distance or a spatial expanse; it is a distance less compactness of the presence of all things at one and the same place.”

There, when one thing was touched, everything was touched. Everything looked like a mirror reflecting every other thing. It appeared that everything could be seen everywhere. “Look at Me then, in this Form. Look at the suns dazzling everywhere!

When Sri Krishna assumed this Cosmic Form, the very earth started melting down into the liquid of consciousness, and it was God everywhere.

Sri Chinmaya writes,

“Behold, in hundreds and thousands, my different forms celestial, varied in colors and shapes".  It was not necessary for Krishna to change His form to that of the Cosmic-Man; all that Arjuna had to do was to BEHOLD THE FORM right in front of him. But, unfortunately, the instrument-of perception was not tuned up for the object of his investigation, and therefore, Arjuna could not perceive that which was already in Krishna.

That which is lying beyond the focal length of a telescope, cannot be viewed by the observer even though the object may be present in line with the axis of the instrument. In order to bring the farther object within the span of vision, the observer will have to make the required adjustments in the telescope. 

Similarly, Krishna did not Transform Himself into His Cosmic-Form, but He only helped Arjuna to make the necessary inward adjustments so that he could perceive what was there evidently in Krishna. Naturally, the Lord says, "BEHOLD."

Dear All,

Chinmaya conveys the most subtlest  truth through the above revelation.

When we are prepared internally through our years of intense spiritual sadhana and our vision of the world has vanished, with the help of His own eye of the eye (nayan nayan mein), we are able to experience the Lord in all magnificence, where, the cosmic form is not the Lord raising to sky height, but the Lord experienced with the whole creation within Him, as the supreme, all pervading, universal consciousness!!!!

As we refresh our thoughts on the Sadan (Sai centre in Muscat) talks, can't we then take the granting of the required vision by Krishna to Arjuna as the grace that we deserve with our intense  sadhana so that:

- Krishna comes  parallel to us

- Krishna comes very near to us and touches us

- Krishna merges in us , and, 

 Our eyes are replaced by Krishna's eyes so that, 

WE ARE ABLE TO GET BEYOND ALL THE FEAR OF THE COSMIC FORM AND ARE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE LORD IN ALL HIS GRANDEUR WITHIN OUR OWN HEART AS CONSCIOUSNESS.

This is the stage when there is no cosmic form of God outside us, there is no creation outside us. 

The realized seer roars in ecstasy at that state,  " I AM THAT" or " I AM I".

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 130

Eleventh Discourse

THE YOGA OF THE VISION OF THE COSMIC FORM

(Continued...)

Verse 37

Kasmaachcha te na nameran mahaatman

Gareeyase brahmano’pyaadikartre;

Ananta devesha jagannivaasa

Twamaksharam sadasattatparam yat.

And why should they not, O great soul, bow to Thee who art greater (than all else), the primal cause even of (Brahma) the creator, O Infinite Being! O Lord of the gods! O abode of the universe! Thou art the imperishable, the Being, the non-being and That which is the supreme (that

which is beyond the Being and non-being).

Verse 38

Twamaadidevah purushah puraanas

Twamasya vishwasya param nidhaanam;

Vettaasi vedyam cha param cha dhaama

Twayaa tatam vishwamanantaroopa.

Thou art the primal God, the ancient Purusha, the supreme refuge of this universe, the knower, the knowable and the supreme abode. By Thee is the universe pervaded, O Being of infinite forms!

Verse 39

Vaayuryamo’gnirvarunah shashaankah

Prajaapatistwam prapitaamahashcha;

Namo namaste’stu sahasrakritwah

Punashcha bhooyo’pi namo namaste.

Thou art Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, the moon, the creator, and the great-grandfather. Salutations, salutations unto Thee, a thousand times, and again salutations, salutations unto Thee!

Verse 40

Namah purastaadatha prishthataste

Namo’stu te sarvata eva sarva;

Anantaveeryaamitavikramastwam

Sarvam samaapnoshi tato’si sarvah.

Salutations to Thee from front and from behind! Salutations to Thee on every side! O All! Thou infinite in power and prowess, pervadest all; wherefore Thou art all.

Verse 41

Sakheti matwaa prasabham yaduktam

He krishna he yaadava he sakheti;

Ajaanataa mahimaanam tavedam

Mayaa pramaadaat pranayena vaapi.

Whatever I have presumptuously uttered from love or carelessness, addressing Thee as O Krishna! O Yadava! O Friend! regarding Thee merely as a friend, unknowing of this, Thy greatness.

Verse 42

Yachchaavahaasaartham asatkrito’si

Vihaarashayyaasanabhojaneshu;

Eko’thavaapyachyuta tatsamaksham

Tatkshaamaye twaamaham aprameyam.

In whatever way I may have insulted Thee for the sake of fun while at play, reposing, sitting or at meals, when alone (with Thee), O Achyuta, or in company—that I implore Thee, immeasurable one, to forgive!

Verse 43

Pitaasi lokasya charaacharasya

Twamasya poojyashcha gururgareeyaan;

Na twatsamo’styabhyadhikah kuto’nyo

Lokatraye’pyapratimaprabhaava.

Thou art the Father of this world, unmoving and moving. Thou art to be adored by this world. Thou art the greatest Guru; (for) none there exists who is equal to Thee; how then can there be another superior to Thee in the three worlds, O Being of unequalled power?

Verse 44

Tasmaatpranamya pranidhaaya kaayam

Prasaadaye twaamahameeshameedyam;

Piteva putrasya sakheva sakhyuh

Priyah priyaayaarhasi deva sodhum.

Therefore, bowing down, prostrating my body, I crave Thy forgiveness, O adorable Lord! As a father forgives his son, a friend his (dear) friend, a lover his beloved, even so shouldst Thou forgive me, O God!

Verse 45

Adrishtapoorvam hrishito’smi drishtwaa

Bhayena cha pravyathitam mano me;

Tadeva me darshaya deva roopam

Praseeda devesha jagannivaasa.

I am delighted, having seen what has never been seen before; and yet my mind is distressed with fear. Show me that (previous) form only, O God! Have mercy, O God of gods! O abode of the universe!

Verse 46

Kireetinam gadinam chakrahastam

Icchaami twaam drashtumaham tathaiva;

Tenaiva roopena chaturbhujena

Sahasrabaaho bhava vishwamoorte.

I desire to see Thee as before, crowned, bearing a mace, with the discus in hand, in Thy former form only, having four arms, O thousand-armed, Cosmic Form (Being)!

Verse 47

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Mayaa prasannena tavaarjunedam

Roopam param darshitamaatmayogaat;

Tejomayam vishwamanantamaadyam

Yanme twadanyena na drishtapoorvam.

The Blessed Lord said:

OArjuna, this Cosmic Form has graciously been shown to thee by Me by My own Yogic power; full of splendour, primeval, and infinite, this Cosmic Form of Mine has never been seen before by anyone other than thyself.

Verse 48

Na vedayajnaadhyayanairna daanair

Na cha kriyaabhirna tapobhirugraih;

Evam roopah shakya aham nriloke

Drashtum twadanyena karupraveera.

Neither by the study of the Vedas and sacrifices, nor by gifts, nor by rituals, nor by severe austerities, can I be seen in this form in the world of men by any other than thyself, O great hero of the Kurus (Arjuna)!

Verse 49

Maa te vyathaa maa cha vimoodhabhaavo

Drishtwaa roopam ghorameedringmamedam;

Vyapetabheeh preetamanaah punastwam

Tadeva me roopamidam prapashya.

Be not afraid nor bewildered on seeing such a terrible form of Mine as this; with thy fear entirely dispelled and with a gladdened heart, now behold again this former form of Mine.

Verse 50

Sanjaya Uvaacha:

Ityarjunam vaasudevastathoktwaa

Swakam roopam darshayaamaasa bhooyah;

Aashwaasayaamaasa cha bheetamenam

Bhootwaa punah saumyavapurmahaatmaa.

Sanjaya said:

Having thus spoken to Arjuna, Krishna again showed His own form; and the great soul (Krishna), assuming His gentle form, consoled him who was terrified (Arjuna).

Verse 51

Arjuna Uvaacha:

Drishtwedam maanusham roopam

Tava saumyam janaardana;

Idaaneemasmi samvrittah

Sachetaah prakritim gatah.

Arjuna said:

Having seen this Thy gentle human form, O Krishna, now I am composed and restored to my own nature!

Verse 52

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Sudurdarshamidam roopam

Drishtavaanasi yanmama;

Devaa apyasya roopasya

Nityam darshanakaangkshinah.

The Blessed Lord said:

Very hard indeed it is to see this form of Mine which thou hast seen. Even the gods are ever longing to behold it.

Verse 53

Naa ham vedairna tapasaa

Na daanena na chejyayaa;

Shakya evamvidho drashtum

Drishtavaanasi maam yathaa.

Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gift, nor by sacrifice, can I be seen in this form as thou hast seen Me (so easily).

Verse 54

Bhaktyaa twananyayaa shakyam

Aham evamvidho’rjuna;

Jnaatum drashtum cha tattwena

Praveshtum cha parantapa.

But by single-minded devotion can I, of this form, be known and seen in reality and also entered into, O Arjuna!

Verse 55

Matkarmakrinmatparamo

Madbhaktah sangavarjitah;

Nirvairah sarvabhooteshu yah

Sa maameti paandava.

He who does all actions for Me, who looks upon Me as the Supreme, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity towards no creature, he comes to Me, O Arjuna!

Iti Srimad Bhagavadgeetaasoopanishatsu Brahmavidyaayaam

Yogashaastre Sri Krishnaarjunasamvaade

Vishwaroopa Darshanayogo Naama Ekaadasho’dhyaayah

Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the eleventh discourse.

Love.