Hari Aum.
So far in the Gita, we have seen Krishna explain various paths of yoga to Arjuna. He has explained that the human being is in reality an immortal being, and that one should strive to realise this truth in one's lifetime.
He has told Arjuna about the importance of selfless service of living beings to purify the mind so that it can experience this truth. He has explained the importance of taking refuge in God in order to succeed in the difficult battle with the lower mind. The higher mind (consisting of positive emotions and wisdom) can only defeat the lower mind (consisting of negative emotions and ignorance) with the help of the Divine. He has emphasised the importance of meditation with open eyes (not just with closed eyes)-- this is the art of training the mind to see God in everything and everywhere.
At this stage, Arjuna has an overwhelming desire to see the divine form of God (Krishna). The eleventh chapter opens with Arjuna declaring that his confusion regarding his duty as a warrior has been resolved by Krishna's teachings so far (he recognises the need to do his duty even if it is unpleasant for him). Now he requests Krishna to show him His divine form if He feels Arjuna is capable of seeing it.
Hearing of Arjuna's wish to see His divine form, Krishna agrees and grants him divine eyes to fulfil his wish.
He says (all translations based on those given by my Guru, Sivananda):
"Now behold Arjuna, in this My body, the whole universe centred in one-- including the moving and the unmoving--and whatever else that you desire to see"
Arjuna then has an extraordinary experience.
He beholds the wondrous universal form of God. The form that Krishna had previously described when He said that He was everywhere and everything.
Arjuna sees numerous divine manifestations of Krishna-- he sees many divine beautiful forms, wearing flower garlands and ornaments and holding divine weapons. The brilliance of these divine forms is very intense similar to that of a "thousand suns simultaneously blazing in the sky".
He sees the many classes of beings including demi-gods and divine sages within the body of Krishna.
Arjuna says:
"I see You 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."
"I see You 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".
"You are the Imperishable, the Supreme Being, worthy to be known. You are the great treasure-house of this universe. You are the imperishable protector of the eternal Dharma (goodness/righteousness); You are the Primal person, I deem".
"I see You without beginning, middle or end, infinite in power, of endless arms, the sun and the moon being Your eyes, the burning fire Your mouth, heating the whole universe with Your radiance".
"This space between the earth and heaven and all the directions are filled with You alone; having seen this, Your wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-souled Being"
In the verses above, Arjuna sees that all beings (both divine and undivine) exist in the body of the Supreme Being, God. The arms, legs, heads and bodies of all beings belong to God-- hence the vision of God with numerous forms. The forms of God are infinite.
Arjuna also describes God as having infinite power, who takes the form of the Sun (which heats the earth so that life can exist here). He sees all space filled with God in every direction.
This universal form, with such power and glory, is both wonderful and also overwhelming to behold. Thus Arjuna says the three worlds (heaven, earth and the underworld) tremble with fear seeing it.
Arjuna himself also says he feels frightened seeing the Cosmic Form of God. He sees various people who are about to participate in the Kurukshetra war, enter into the body of Krishna and be destroyed. He sees God in the form of the destroyer of evil, and as Time, which eventually destroys all material creation.
He says:
"Truly, just as many rivers flow into the ocean, similarly, these heroes of the world enter Your flaming mouths".
"As moths hurriedly rush into a blazing fire for their own destruction, similarly these creatures rush into Your mouths for their own destruction".
Arjuna is filled with awe and fear at this aspect of God, which destroys material creation. He says:
"Tell me who You are, so fierce of form! Salutations to You, O Supreme God. Have mercy! I wish to know You, the Original Being. I do not know Your working"
Krishna then replies to Arjuna, saying:
"I am Time, which destroys the (material) worlds. Even without you, none of the warriors in the hostile (opposite) side will live."
Krishna then tells Arjuna that it is Himself (and not Arjuna) who will in reality destroy the evil soldiers in the Kurukshetra battle. He tells Arjuna to simply be His instrument ("nimitta matram bhava"). Arjuna was afraid of the sin of participating in this war between good and evil; here Krishna tells him that it is He (who always stands by the good) who is the real destroyer of evil.
At this stage, the Cosmic Form becomes too much for Arjuna to bear. Trembling in fear, he joins in palms in respect, and prostrates before Krishna.
He extolls Him saying that He is the One who is praised by the good, and feared by the evil. He describes Him as the supreme refuge of the universe, the One who knows all and is to be known, the One who pervades everything, who is everywhere, with infinite forms.
He then apologises to Krishna, saying that he had mistakenly thought of Him as simply his relative (Krishna took birth as Arjuna's cousin) and had therefore insulted Him as a joke on many occasions, not knowing of His true identity and greatness as God. For this conduct, he apologises profusely, asking Krishna to forgive him.
Arjuna describes Krishna, saying:
"You are the father of this world, moving and unmoving. You are to be adored by this world, You are the greatest Guru, there exists nobody equal to You."
He then thanks Krishna for fulfilling his wish in revealing His Cosmic Form. However, he tells Krishna that he feels both delighted and frightened seeing this, and would now like this vision to be withdrawn. Instead of the awesome Cosmic Form, he asks Krishna to show His beautiful and peaceful four-armed divine form (as Narayana), holding the divine discus, conch, mace and lotus.
He says:
"I desire to see You as before, with a crown, holding a mace, with the discus in Your hand; Your previous form with four-arms, O thousand-armed Cosmic Being".
Hearing this, Krishna tells Arjuna that the Cosmic Form which he just saw was a rare event that nobody had seen previously. He then told Arjuna not to be scared, and withdrew the Cosmic Form. He then assumed His gentle form as Krishna, which made Arjuna feel very relieved!
Krishna then told Arjuna that His Cosmic Form could not be seen by any number of complex rituals and austerities, but only through devotion to Him.
He then makes a famous statement which my Guru, Sivananda, says, contains the essence of all the teachings of the Gita.
This statement is:
"One 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, that one comes to Me, O Arjuna".
My Guru says that the spiritual aspirant who lives in accordance with this statement of Krishna will attain Supreme Bliss and Immortality.
What are the qualities we need to develop based on the above statement?
1. Do all actions for God
2. See God as Supreme
3. Have devotion to God
4. Be free from worldly desires
5. Have no enmity towards any beings
My Guru Sivananda would say that the combination of the recitation of God's name or mantra (japa) and selfless service of humanity (karma yoga) will help us develop the above five qualities. These two spiritual practices form the building blocks of the edifice of our spiritual progress and will enable us to attain Self/God-realisation.
To be continued....
Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
P.S. I am planning to resume my work as a doctor in the next few weeks/in May but will aim to continue writing this series on the Gita and also on other spiritual topics as far as possible
So far in the Gita, we have seen Krishna explain various paths of yoga to Arjuna. He has explained that the human being is in reality an immortal being, and that one should strive to realise this truth in one's lifetime.
He has told Arjuna about the importance of selfless service of living beings to purify the mind so that it can experience this truth. He has explained the importance of taking refuge in God in order to succeed in the difficult battle with the lower mind. The higher mind (consisting of positive emotions and wisdom) can only defeat the lower mind (consisting of negative emotions and ignorance) with the help of the Divine. He has emphasised the importance of meditation with open eyes (not just with closed eyes)-- this is the art of training the mind to see God in everything and everywhere.
At this stage, Arjuna has an overwhelming desire to see the divine form of God (Krishna). The eleventh chapter opens with Arjuna declaring that his confusion regarding his duty as a warrior has been resolved by Krishna's teachings so far (he recognises the need to do his duty even if it is unpleasant for him). Now he requests Krishna to show him His divine form if He feels Arjuna is capable of seeing it.
Hearing of Arjuna's wish to see His divine form, Krishna agrees and grants him divine eyes to fulfil his wish.
He says (all translations based on those given by my Guru, Sivananda):
"Now behold Arjuna, in this My body, the whole universe centred in one-- including the moving and the unmoving--and whatever else that you desire to see"
Arjuna then has an extraordinary experience.
He beholds the wondrous universal form of God. The form that Krishna had previously described when He said that He was everywhere and everything.
Arjuna sees numerous divine manifestations of Krishna-- he sees many divine beautiful forms, wearing flower garlands and ornaments and holding divine weapons. The brilliance of these divine forms is very intense similar to that of a "thousand suns simultaneously blazing in the sky".
He sees the many classes of beings including demi-gods and divine sages within the body of Krishna.
Arjuna says:
"I see You 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."
"I see You 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".
"You are the Imperishable, the Supreme Being, worthy to be known. You are the great treasure-house of this universe. You are the imperishable protector of the eternal Dharma (goodness/righteousness); You are the Primal person, I deem".
"I see You without beginning, middle or end, infinite in power, of endless arms, the sun and the moon being Your eyes, the burning fire Your mouth, heating the whole universe with Your radiance".
"This space between the earth and heaven and all the directions are filled with You alone; having seen this, Your wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-souled Being"
In the verses above, Arjuna sees that all beings (both divine and undivine) exist in the body of the Supreme Being, God. The arms, legs, heads and bodies of all beings belong to God-- hence the vision of God with numerous forms. The forms of God are infinite.
Arjuna also describes God as having infinite power, who takes the form of the Sun (which heats the earth so that life can exist here). He sees all space filled with God in every direction.
This universal form, with such power and glory, is both wonderful and also overwhelming to behold. Thus Arjuna says the three worlds (heaven, earth and the underworld) tremble with fear seeing it.
Arjuna himself also says he feels frightened seeing the Cosmic Form of God. He sees various people who are about to participate in the Kurukshetra war, enter into the body of Krishna and be destroyed. He sees God in the form of the destroyer of evil, and as Time, which eventually destroys all material creation.
He says:
"Truly, just as many rivers flow into the ocean, similarly, these heroes of the world enter Your flaming mouths".
"As moths hurriedly rush into a blazing fire for their own destruction, similarly these creatures rush into Your mouths for their own destruction".
Arjuna is filled with awe and fear at this aspect of God, which destroys material creation. He says:
"Tell me who You are, so fierce of form! Salutations to You, O Supreme God. Have mercy! I wish to know You, the Original Being. I do not know Your working"
Krishna then replies to Arjuna, saying:
"I am Time, which destroys the (material) worlds. Even without you, none of the warriors in the hostile (opposite) side will live."
Krishna then tells Arjuna that it is Himself (and not Arjuna) who will in reality destroy the evil soldiers in the Kurukshetra battle. He tells Arjuna to simply be His instrument ("nimitta matram bhava"). Arjuna was afraid of the sin of participating in this war between good and evil; here Krishna tells him that it is He (who always stands by the good) who is the real destroyer of evil.
At this stage, the Cosmic Form becomes too much for Arjuna to bear. Trembling in fear, he joins in palms in respect, and prostrates before Krishna.
He extolls Him saying that He is the One who is praised by the good, and feared by the evil. He describes Him as the supreme refuge of the universe, the One who knows all and is to be known, the One who pervades everything, who is everywhere, with infinite forms.
He then apologises to Krishna, saying that he had mistakenly thought of Him as simply his relative (Krishna took birth as Arjuna's cousin) and had therefore insulted Him as a joke on many occasions, not knowing of His true identity and greatness as God. For this conduct, he apologises profusely, asking Krishna to forgive him.
Arjuna describes Krishna, saying:
"You are the father of this world, moving and unmoving. You are to be adored by this world, You are the greatest Guru, there exists nobody equal to You."
He then thanks Krishna for fulfilling his wish in revealing His Cosmic Form. However, he tells Krishna that he feels both delighted and frightened seeing this, and would now like this vision to be withdrawn. Instead of the awesome Cosmic Form, he asks Krishna to show His beautiful and peaceful four-armed divine form (as Narayana), holding the divine discus, conch, mace and lotus.
He says:
"I desire to see You as before, with a crown, holding a mace, with the discus in Your hand; Your previous form with four-arms, O thousand-armed Cosmic Being".
Hearing this, Krishna tells Arjuna that the Cosmic Form which he just saw was a rare event that nobody had seen previously. He then told Arjuna not to be scared, and withdrew the Cosmic Form. He then assumed His gentle form as Krishna, which made Arjuna feel very relieved!
Krishna then told Arjuna that His Cosmic Form could not be seen by any number of complex rituals and austerities, but only through devotion to Him.
He then makes a famous statement which my Guru, Sivananda, says, contains the essence of all the teachings of the Gita.
This statement is:
"One 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, that one comes to Me, O Arjuna".
My Guru says that the spiritual aspirant who lives in accordance with this statement of Krishna will attain Supreme Bliss and Immortality.
What are the qualities we need to develop based on the above statement?
1. Do all actions for God
2. See God as Supreme
3. Have devotion to God
4. Be free from worldly desires
5. Have no enmity towards any beings
My Guru Sivananda would say that the combination of the recitation of God's name or mantra (japa) and selfless service of humanity (karma yoga) will help us develop the above five qualities. These two spiritual practices form the building blocks of the edifice of our spiritual progress and will enable us to attain Self/God-realisation.
To be continued....
Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
P.S. I am planning to resume my work as a doctor in the next few weeks/in May but will aim to continue writing this series on the Gita and also on other spiritual topics as far as possible
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