Here's a summary of the talk by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on bhagavad gita 11the chapter.
arjuna uvaca
mad-anugrahaya paramam guhyam adhyatma-samjnitam
yat tvayoktam vacas tena moho 'yam vigato mama ||11 - 1||
bhavapyayau hi bhutanam srutau vistaraso maya
tvattah kamala-patraksa mahatmyam api cavyayam ||11 - 2||
evam etad yathattha tvam atmanam paramesvara
drastum icchami te rupam aisvaram purusottama ||11 - 3||
manyase yadi tac chakyam maya drastum iti prabho
yogesvara tato me tvam darsayatmanam avyayam ||11 - 4||
We believe in what we hear. And so most of our delusions are from what we have heard. Whether good or bad, what we hear makes a very strong impact on our mind.
To remove the delusion in the mind, again here Lord Krishna has described himself and which Arjuna has accepted and has now come to a stage where he says, "I am free from my delusions. Because it you who has shown me or told me about yourself. How vast you are. How big you are. What is the Self? What is the Being? How Being cannot be destroyed by air, fire, water, or earth? How Being is separate from the material things around? You have made this very clear to me how the relative existence and absolute truth are two different things. And what is not seen is responsible for all that is seen. My delusion has disappeared. And this has happened only out of your grace and not out of my effort."
A deluded mind cannot come out the delusion on its own. It is only grace. It needs a holding hand. Someone who is drowning in the water, cannot jump out of the water because he is drowning anyway. If he could swim, he would have swum. Since he cannot swim, he is drowning and he needs some help.
Arjuna says, "I was drowning in this Samsara, in this world, deluded and you have me a helping hand and you took me out of this. I am so grateful. Your grace has saved me. You have taught me the secrets of spirituality. I cannot thank you enough. You have told me about your qualities. How you are everywhere. How you are not just the body. You have explained to me in many ways that you are the spirit eternal and I totally believe in it because there is no reason for you to not tell me the truth. You are telling me the truth. There is no reason for you to give me just your glory, talk about your glory. It is true, so you have given me this understanding. I am so thankful, grateful to you." But then, the more knowledge you gain, the more inquisitiveness arises in you. This is the sign of a good seeker. See the dichotomy here. One is contentment: I am so thankful, grateful to you that I have come out of delusion. There is a certain contentment. Yet, there is a spirit of enquiry: "I want to see your multiple forms. I want to see you more. I want to see your divine form. You have told me about your form, but you have not told me shown me your divine form. I want to see the divine form." What Arjuna says next verse is very very interesting. "Only if you feel that I am fit to know it, you tell me. You show me your form if you feel that I am fit for it, if you feel that I am capable for beholding your form, only then show it to me." This indicates that spiritual knowledge has brought contentment, but also kept the spirit of enquiry, of knowing alive, and total confidence in the teacher. He says, "Only if you feel that I am capable for it, I am fit for it, you show me." He is not demanding, "You better show me only then I will believe. You tell me you are everything, but you show me now." He is not asking for proof. He is not demanding, "You better show me now, otherwise I am going to sit here and go on a hunger strike." No. That comes out of an agitated mind. Here, this spirit of enquiry is coming out of a contented mind. You cannot be grateful if you are agitated. If you are grateful, agitation is not there. Often people think when you are so grateful, you are not agitated, it's finished. There is no more enthusiasm; there is no more passion; there is no more spirit of enquiry. All this is associated with only when you have misery, when you have a dissatisfied mind, restless mind. It is contrary to this here.
In the Vibhuti Yoga, in the tenth chapter, Lord Krishna has said, "Who I am." Before that Dhyaan Yoga, in the sixth chapter, He has made him go through meditation. After meditation and after the knowledge about the Self and the non-Self and the glory of the aatman, of the Being, is there anything left? Yes and no. No in the sense there is total contentment. Full knowledge has already been given. He says, "You are full with the knowledge of the Self and the non-self; of the prakruti and the purusha. All this knowledge has been kept in front of you." After absorbing all this, only then this enquiry is coming. "I am still interested to see your divine form. I have heard, but I want to see." The desire to see is a very deep desire. All the believers want to see God in some form, knowing God has no form. They have heard God has no form, still there is this urge to see. Knowing God is everywhere, still they want to see the divine form. I want to see something more. This burning desire has come up. It is difficult to say burning desire and not to say it is a burning desire. If the desire is not genuine, why would anyone care to fulfil it. But if it is a burning desire, it does not mean that it is associated with restlessness, anxiety. This is a very unique situation where Arjuna leaves the ultimate decision to Krishna himself, "If you find me capable of having that vision, if you feel I am fit for it, then you show me."
sri-bhagavan uvaca
pasya me partha rupani sataso 'tha sahasrasah
nana-vidhani divyani nana-varnakrtini ca ||11 - 5||
pasyadityan vasun rudran asvinau marutas tatha
bahuny adrsta-purvani pasyascaryani bharata ||11 - 6||
ihaika-stham jagat krtsnam pasyadya sa-caracaram
mama dehe gudakesa yac canyad drastum icchasi ||11 - 7||
na tu mam sakyase drastum anenaiva sva-caksusa
divyam dadami te caksuh pasya me yogam aisvaram ||11 - 8||
Sri Sri: The formless is now talking and it is bridging the gap between the forms and the formless. The formless is one and the forms are many, hundreds and thousands in number. In this dichotomy of the one formless and the millions of forms, one needs a special angle or eye to see that, to perceive this, to comprehend.
Krishna says, "Though I am formless, but I am in all the forms. My forms are not one, but many millions, hundreds and thousands of them. In all shapes; in all forms, I am there. See me everywhere. This is Vishwa Roopa. Vishwa is the world. This chapter is called Vishwa Roopa Darshan. Krishna says, "The whole Universe is my form. In everything I am there, but everything is in me." Krishna has explained earlier, "I am like the space. Like air exists in the space, in me everything exists." Arjuna has heard that, but now he wants to see that: how in you everything is there? Krishna says, "Look here. Look in me. The Suns (adityas) and all the Devas and all the Bhutas, everything. In the Universe there are objects which are moving, objects which are stationary, those that are conscious, those that are not conscious. So the conscious, unconscious, moving, and immovable, all these forms and shapes, everything is in me. To see this you need a special eye. You cannot see this with the normal eye. I am going to give you the eye also to see that.
This is just like a scientist speaking. For someone to say everything is just atoms or everything is just one wave function, you need a scientific eye to see that. A Quantum Mechanics scientist says everything is only one thing, everything is just a wave function. But an ordinary person, one who is Classical Chemistry says, "I cannot agree. I cannot see that everything is one." Lord Krishna says, "You need an eye of wisdom. You need a special eye to look deeply into the reality. I'll give you that vision." Lord Krishna gave Vishwa Roopa darshana to only three people. Arjuna is one of them. One is his own mother. He opened his mouth and Yashoda, his mother, saw the whole world in the mouth of Shri Krishna. And now here to Arjuna, Lord Krishna says, "You need a special eye to see that. It is not the same vision that you are using a on a day-to-day basis to see the differences. So, I will give you that eye."
That deep trust between Lord Krishna and Arjuna here, and the connection that Lord Krishna and Arjuna have on the battlefield. We will see as we go further. This is so amazing. This is so mind boggling. He warns him beforehand, "No one has seen this. You are going to see something which nobody has seen." Usually, when you see something you ask someone to verify whether what I have seen is it true or not. But when no one else has seen, there is nowhere else to go and verify that. There is no external proof. It demands a deep inner trust. Just imagine that there are only two people on a planet and you want to do a background check on the person, whom will you go to for the background check? There is only one person available. There is no other means to verify this. That's why a special eye is needed. Normal eye requires verification. The eye of wisdom is beyond verification. That's why He says with this eye which requires verification because it is limited, its knowledge is limited. What you see through eyes can be erroneous. But what you get from inner eye, the eye of wisdom, the third eye, is infalliable. It doesn't need a verification. It doesn't need a proof because there is none. Through these eyes what you see may be right, it may not be right. You see Sun rising and Sun setting, but you know that Sun is neither rising nor setting. So, this eye is deceiving you. It is deceptive. But what you get through the special eye of wisdom is proof in itself, because it is beyond deception. It is foolproof and there is no verification available.
Krishna says, "You will be so surprised, pleasantly shocked, and wonder about all that you will see now. Be prepared. Because I am going to show you something that no one has ever seen before." Krishna is very good at conveying things before and after. So, he is preparing the viewer. He is running a very good promo. He is beginning with enthusiasm, "Look you are going to get some things. Stay on! It is going to be very exciting. You are going to see all that you have heard, you are going to see in Me. I am going to show you through a special eye."
But, Krishna says one more thing, "You should know my real Being is Divine. I am talking to you here from a different plane and I am giving you a different vision. Know that I am very Divine Being. And now you are going to see." Having said this, the chapter goes to Sanjay who is narrating this.
sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva tato rajan maha-yogesvaro harih
darsayam asa parthaya paramam rupam aisvaram ||11 - 9||
aneka-vaktra-nayanam anekadbhuta-darsanam
aneka-divyabharanam divyanekodyatayudham ||11 - 10||
divya-malyambara-dharam divya-gandhanulepanam
sarvascarya-mayam devam anantam visvato-mukham ||11 - 11||
divi surya-sahasrasya bhaved yugapad utthita
yagi bhah sadrsi sa syad bhasas tasya mahatmanah ||11 - 12||
tatraika-stham jagat krtsnam pravibhaktam anekadha
apasyad deva-devasya sarire pandavas tada ||11 - 13||
tatah sa vismayavisto hrsta-roma dhananjayah
pranamya sirasa devam krtanjalir abhasata ||11 - 14||
Our experience of the Universe is only through the five senses, and the five senses relate to the five elements: Earth, element, air element, fire element, water element, and ether. Anything that you see, you hear, you taste, you smell, you touch, that's what our Universe is all about. That is our experience of the world. Our experience of the world is limited to the five senses. Now, through yoga you are getting these experiences in a very subtle way. In deep meditation, many people have experience fragrance. How many of you have experienced fragrance? In deep meditation, many people have seen light. How many of you have seen light? In deep meditation, many have experienced a sense of touch, a warm embrace, or a warm presence. How many of you have experienced a warm presence? And many of you have experienced some sort of taste also in meditation. How many of you have experienced some sort of nectar, some sort of sweet smell, fragrance, taste? So, these are all experiences that are part of the yoga. When you go deep in meditation, these experiences come up. Now, the same experience in its enhanced form is what Arjuna is experiencing. What Arjuna is experiencing is the dazzling light of the million Suns. You have transcended from this I, from this dimension of life to another dimension. This Universe is full of many dimensions. Our life has many dimensions. Our consciousness has access to many dimensions. Don't think this is the only dimension that is. This is only a fraction of the many dimensions that exists in the Universe. In fact, our brain is just a frequency analyzer. It only catches certain frequencies; these five frequencies of the five senses. When you transcend this and go to another dimension, deep within, that dimension is everywhere, all pervading.
Arjuna sees that divinity now with many forms. He is not seeing Krishna in Krishna's form. He is seeing all the forms at once. Krishna has just become like a TV box. In the TV tube, you see everything. In the same way, the body has become transparent now. But in the body, he is seeing many forms. All the things he wanted to see, he had imagined, or he had not imagined, all those things started appearing. What you adore, appreciate, or you are in awe with, he is seeing. As a prince, he must have had great fascination for ornaments, armours, and armaments. That's why he sees all different types of arms and all different types of ornaments. He gets beautiful fragrances. All this vision has made his hair stand up.
The moment one has the slightest idea of more dimensions that are in existence, there is already some thrill that happens. Just look at the thrill that our scientists had when their first mission, Mangalyaan, landed and the first picture came from Mars. What was that excitement! I am sure they would not have slept that day. The scientists who had been dreaming for years to send their mission to Mars and when the first voyage landed in Mars and they received the picture, their hairs were standing. They were so excited. They had tears in their eyes because they had discovered something new. And here Arjuna is no less than a scientist on the platform of yoga. With such connectedness to Lord Krishna, his Master, he is able to now see a vision which just made his hair stand up. He saw all forms in one form. He sees all the beauty in the planet in one form, all the brilliance in one place, and all that is charming.
In the previous chapter, tenth chapter, Krishna has already arrested Arjuna's mind. He said, "If you find anything charming anywhere, it is because of me only." He said, "I am there. That is why it is charming. Something is powerful, because the power is mine, so they appear to be powerful. If you see beauty somewhere, the beauty is because of me. I am there. That's why it is beautiful." So, he arrested the student's mind. Wherever the mind would go, he started standing there and saying this is all Me and tried to bring him to a point of conclusion that there is only one thing that is beautiful. There is only one thing. And that one thing is many things all in one. And here, when Arjuna is seeing that in the one form of Lord Krishna, he is seeing all the forms, he is experiencing all the fragrances, and the glory, and all the wealth. Everything. What else do you expect? His hair stood up and with folded hands, he is going to say something. Let's see what he is going to say.
Sanjay is the commentator. He is seeing from his third eye as well. Sanjay is sitting in the palace, so far away from the battlefield and he is explaining to the king or giving commentary to the king what he has seen. Sanjay had developed this ability to sit anywhere, close his eyes, and put his attention and he will narrate what is happening in that spot. This is the narration of Sanjay, who is sitting in a palace and narrating what's happening in Kurukshetra, a few hundred kilometers away from Hastinapur, where the king was. There is no need to doubt this because today even our own children do this here. When our kids do the Intuition process and they practice for even a few days, they are able to tell. Sitting on the 14th floor, they are able to tell which car is coming in the garage now and the car number, and who is arriving in the basement. Our kids are able to tell where the mother or father has lost their file or gold chain. And they are able to predict to people and tell things. This ability is present. This ability has nothing to do with enlightenment, by the way. It is just enhancing a faculty in you. Sanjay had that faculty. He had mastered that faculty: sitting anywhere, putting his attention, and narrating. he was sort of psychic.
Having heard his version, we will go to Arjuna and see what he says.
arjuna uvaca
pasyami devams tava deva dehe
sarvams tatha bhuta-visesa-sanghan
brahmanam isam kamalasana-stham
rsims ca sarvan uragams ca divyan ||11 - 15||
aneka-bahudara-vaktra-netram
pasyami tvam sarvato 'nanta-rupam
nantam na madhyam na punas tavadim
pasyami visvesvara visva-rupa ||11 - 16||
You know Gods are not somewhere sitting in the heaven. They are here. The word God in English should not be equated to the Sanskrit word Devas. Devas, we should take it only as Devas. Devas means divine energies, divine beings. All divine beings are in us. 33 different categories are in human body and each one is connected with each organ of our body. A particular energy makes the eye form, makes the ears form differently. So, in all the poojas, first you remember the devas in all different parts of the body. That's how the pooja begins.
Arjuna says, "Now I see all the divine forms in you. The Rishis are in you. All the Sages of the Universe, I see them all. And I see no beginning, no end, or no middle. Every form in the Universe is your form, are in you." This is something very very subtle to comprehend. It is a very subtle thing. You need to comprehend with full attention. You are the Universe. The world is Divinity. The Divinity and the world are not two separate things now. It is one. There is no beginning, no end, and there is no middle also. Middle can be there only if there is end and beginning, isn't it? You can say this is the middle only when you have the end or the beginning. He says, "There is no end. There is no beginning. And obviously, there is no middle." This is a dimension that you are uplifted to to see. Our mind is always programmed to see the beginning and the end. That's why we ask: when the Universe began? When this Universe will end? Who created this Universe? This Universe was never created. That's what he is saying. When there is no end, no beginning, how can there be a creation of it?
You see a mirage when you are driving on the street. If you ask, "When was it created?" What would anybody say? What a foolish question! Mirage never gets created. It only appears. You keep a stick half in the water and half outside and it appears to be bent. Someone asks, "When did this stick bend?" What can you say? It looks bent, when did it bend? My dear, it never did bend. It is only an appearance.
Arjuna says, "I see so many hands and so many eyes. I get so many visions. It is creating goose bumps in me. All these forms, the entire Universe is nothing but you, in you." That is why it is Vishwa Roopa. The world is my form. And see Me in the world and see the world in Me, then you have seen the Vishwa Roopa, you have seen the Universal Form. And it needs that special eye, that special vision. Then, Arjuna says, "I see you as all encompassing. There is nowhere I could find you not there and nothing I could discard because everything is part of you. You have become the world."
Here, Bramha means one who brings the Creation. Here creation is from unmanifest to manifest. That something was there even before it was manifest. And one who is making the unmanifest into manifest, I am seeing that Bramha also. That power from where something appears from nothing and goes back to that nothing.
kiritinam gadinam cakrinam ca
tejo-rasim sarvato diptimantam
pasyami tvam durniriksyam samantad
diptanalarka-dyutim aprameyam ||11 - 17||
tvam aksaram paramam veditavyam
tvam asya visvasya param nidhanam
tvam avyayah sasvata-dharma-gopta
sanatanas tvam puruso mato me ||11 - 18||
When an experience of that intensity happens, it becomes hard to handle. And this is what is happening to Arjuna. Arjuna says, "I cannot look. It is too grand for me. I cannot see. I am disappearing. Something is happening. I am dissolving. I cannot see any more. It is too much to take. Tvam aksaram. You are the imperishable. That which is worth knowing. If you have not known this, there is nothing else worth knowing. If I have not known the basic substratum of the whole Universe. You are imperishable. The holder of everything, that is imperishable. The space in which everything is, is imperishable. That is what you are. My Goodness! I never knew this before."
That realization is happening to Arjuna now. When this realization happens at the existential level, his whole being is shivering, his whole body is feeling that enormous energy. And he says, you are the protector of Dharma, the natural law. Usually, one thinks one is taking care of everything. Remember, there is a natural law. Something else is taking care of the whole Universe. You are here on this planet only for 50, 60, 80, 100 years. How can you take care of this planet? This is another way to look at it. There are so many activists who feel so absolutely devastated thinking they cannot take care of the Universe. Recently, when I was in Europe, one lady came. She was breaking down. She said, "What will happen to this Earth? Global warming is a big issue. What can we do? We cannot do anything. Whatever we do is just a drop in the Ocean. We cannot take care of this world. We are going towards doomsday." And there are many people who believe that way: we are going towards doomsday, we cannot do anything. Because we don't know that there is some power that has taken care of this planet before us and it will continue to take care after us also. This knowledge is lacking, so you feel helpless and hopeless. When you feel helpless and hopeless, you can't do anything also. See if you feel like you can do something, you can always do. Then you don't feel hopeless or helpless. When you see that you can't do anything, that's when you feel helpless and hopeless. At that time, remember that there is some power that is taking care.
People say, "Our religion is in danger. Islam is in danger. Hinduism is in danger. Christianity is in danger." What do you mean? From time immemorial, nature has preserved the wisdom, preserved the knowledge, preserved the Dharma. And it will continue to do. There is no need to be anxious about it. This is to put down your anxiety. I am not saying you be inactive. Everything God will do. There are two completely opposite attitude that people have. One type of people say, "God does everything. Why should I do anything? Anyway, God is the doer, the maker, the destroyer of everything. It is foolish to say I want to do something. Better sit and enjoy and do nothing." This is people with one kind of mindset. There is another set of people with another different mindset, they feel that the whole world is on their head. They have to take care of everything, otherwise doomsday is going to come. This is another set of people. Both have lost the race. They both don't know.
Lord Krishna is santana, He is there from time immemorial. Arjuna doesn't say, "Hey! You were born just 90-years ago." I think Lord Krishna gave the Gita when he was 90-year-old and he died when He was 124 and some days old. Those days at 90 also, they were very strong and looking good. Arjuna doesn't say, "You were born on some day of Shravan ashtami." He has seen Lord Krishna from a very different dimension. Though, Lord Krishna had a definite timeline. He was born around 5100 and odd years ago. He left the body when He was more than 124 years old. These are all recorded. But here, when Arjuna is seeing in Lord Krishna the Parama Purusha, the Viraat Purusha, the Universal Being from which everything has come up. And seeing that Universal Being is all the forms in the Universe.
It is both the form and the formless. Through the form, you approach the formless. Earlier, Krishna has said in another chapter, "People who go directly to the formless, they will face a lot of difficulty in their life." This you find is very true. Take for example, Judaism. There has been misery from the very beginning. From the time of Moses and onwards. Take for example, Islam. Lot of hardship. Even Prophet Mohammad and his children had to go through a lot of hardships. Hardly any peaceful time. And even his children had to go through a lot of hardships. Take for example Sikhism, again going directly to the unmanifest. Every Sikh Guru had to go through a lot of hardship. The form and the formless - both approaches are great. Through the form, approaching the formless has a certain comfort associated with it.
Arjuna says, "In your form, I see the formless. You are eternal. You are the Being."
Rest we will see tomorrow. Now, let's meditate. From the form, we go to the formless now.
________________________________________
Here's a summary of the talk by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on 14th August 2016.
anadi-madhyantam ananta-viryam
ananta-bahum sasi-surya-netram
pasyami tvam dipta-hutasa-vaktram
sva-tejasa visvam idam tapantam ||11 - 19||
dyav aprthivyor idam antaram hi
vyaptam tvayaikena disas ca sarvah
drstvadbhutam rupam ugram tavedam
loka-trayam pravyathitam mahatman ||11 - 20||
ami hi tvam sura-sangha visanti
kecid bhitah pranjalayo grnanti
svastity uktva maharsi-siddha-sanghah
stuvanti tvam stutibhih puskalabhih ||11 - 21||
rudraditya vasavo ye ca sadhya
visve 'svinau marutas cosmapas ca
gandharva-yaksasura-siddha-sangha
viksante tvam vismitas caiva sarve ||11 - 22||
rupam mahat te bahu-vaktra-netram
maha-baho bahu-bahuru-padam
bahudaram bahu-damstra-karalam
drstva lokah pravyathitas tathaham ||11 - 23||
Though mankind is one, but there are many races. here is the Mongolian race, there is the Chinese race, and there is the Indian race, the Asian race, the African race, the Caucasians, Hispanics. How many varieties are there!
In the same way, species. You take any species, there are so many varieties. There is not one type of bird. Among parrots, there are many types of parrots.
Similarly, in the level spirit also there are different levels or layers: Human, Pitru, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Kinaras, Devas, Siddhas.
At one place, Lord Krishna says, "The whole world is under the influence of the Devas. And the Devas are under the influence of the mantras. The Siddhas have control over the mantras. And so, Siddha is my God, is my divinity." Siddhas, Gurus, their position comes above the Devas. They are enlightened beings.
And above the Siddha is Paramatma. Paramatma is the divinity, God. What you call God in all the religions. Only one, without a second. Here, Arjuna is seeing all the Gods and Goddesses, everyone merging into the Paramatma, the non-dual Self which is the summum bonum of whole Creation. And it is startling. He says, "I can see so many faces." Any face, any form anywhere you see is only part of that, has come out of the grandeur called the Self and it is going to dissolve into it. And that Self is what Shri Krishna is.
nabhah-sprsam diptam aneka-varnam
vyattananam dipta-visala-netram
drstva hi tvam pravyathitantar-atma
dhrtim na vindami samam ca visno ||11 - 24||
damstra-karalani ca te mukhani
drstvaiva kalanala-sannibhani
diso na jane na labhe ca sarma
prasida devesa jagan-nivasa ||11 - 25||
Truth no doubt is beautiful, but it is scary also.
All this while he was admiring, "Oh! It is so beautiful, splendorous, awesome, unimaginable." And now, it is also scary. And he sees this Viraat form, the Universal form, and the ego starts melting. The ego starts disappearing and that is very scary.
Here, Arjuna when he sees this enormous form, that something that he was still holding onto started disappearing. And so he finds the whole scenario very scary.
Here, Arjuna when he sees this enormous form, that something that he was still holding onto started disappearing. And so he finds the whole scenario very scary. There is an awe there. When there is something new and so exciting, then there is no peace. That is what is happening here with Arjuna. He is unable to digest this new revelation. One who was with him as his friend, suddenly is telling him, "Look I am somebody different." And here, Arjuna's experience is that mixture of having known Krishna for so long, suddenly he is discovering an aspect in Lord Krishna's body that he has never imagined before. Never thought of it before. Never experienced it before. He sees the entire Universe in the inner space of Shri Krishna. Krishna himself says in an earlier chapter, "These foolish people think I am a human body. They see me only as a human body. They don't see the spirit inside of me, which is all pervading." From being in the form, now Arjuna is able to move to the formless form deep behind. Behind the form, through the form, moving to the formless. It is not only creating thrill in him, it is a hair raising experience for him, and it also very scary at the same time.
ami ca tvam dhrtarastrasya putrah
sarve sahaivavani-pala-sanghaih
bhismo dronah suta-putras tathasau
sahasmadiyair api yodha-mukhyaih ||11 - 26||
vaktrani te tvaramana visanti
damstra-karalani bhayanakani
kecid vilagna dasanantaresu
sandrsyante curnitair uttamangaih ||11 - 27||
yatha nadinam bahavo 'mbu-vegah
samudram evabhimukha dravanti
tatha tavami nara-loka-vira
visanti vaktrany abhivijvalanti ||11 - 28||
Have you had this experience? When you go on the giant wheel or on all these rides that have a rapid fall, you are scared and yet you take that adventure because someone is holding your hand.
Arjuna is telling Krishna, "You are present in the whole Universe. You be pleased with me. You be with me. I am going through this terrible phase. What I am seeing is destruction. In the fire of destruction, everything is dissolving. All the past is dissolving. And then now, I see all my relatives. I see all their heads getting crushed."
lelihyase grasamanah samantal
lokan samagran vadanair jvaladbhih
tejobhir apurya jagat samagram
bhasas tavograh pratapanti visno ||11 - 30||
akhyahi me ko bhavan ugra-rupo
namo 'stu te deva-vara prasida
vijnatum icchami bhavantam adyam
na hi prajanami tava pravrttim ||11 - 31||
Often one wonders, what is the purpose of Creation? Why go through all this and die? These questions arise in a intelligent person. If these questions do not arise in you, know that you are not intelligent. What is all this about? Who am I? What is this Divinity? Those are the enquiries that are flared up after having this experience. Now, he wants to know more about the person he knew all this time. He asks, "Tell me more about you."
sri-bhagavan uvaca
kalo 'smi loka-ksaya-krt pravrddho
lokan samahartum iha pravrttah
rte 'pi tvam na bhavisyanti sarve
ye 'vasthitah pratyanikesu yodhah ||11 - 32||
tasmat tvam uttistha yaso labhasva
jitva satrun bhunksva rajyam samrddham
mayaivaite nihatah purvam eva
nimitta-matram bhava savya-sacin ||11 - 33||
dronam ca bhismam ca jayadratham ca
karnam tathanyan api yodha-viran
maya hatams tvam jahi ma vyathistha
yudhyasva jetasi rane sapatnan ||11 - 34||
This query of Arjuna, "Who are you?" Now Lord Krishna says, "kalo 'smi loka-ksaya-krt pravrddho. I am the time in which everything dissolves, from which everything comes. It is in time things arise and in time they all dissolve. And I am the time." The suspense was kept till now, and now it is out. Who am I? I am the grand time. I am the NOW. This now is so deep and that's what we don't realize.
Lord Krishna says, "You just become an instrument of mine. You just be my instrument. You be hollow and empty, and you just do whatever you need to do. Whatever is your duty, you just perform it."
Be practical at the same time be the instrument of the divinity.
You do your job and then leave the rest to the Universe, the Time to take care of. Because Krishna has declared here, "I am the Time beyond the space. Wherein everything comes and into which everything dissolves." This is not the time that is caught in the time - space graph.
sanjaya uvaca
etac chrutva vacanam kesavasya
krtanjalir vepamanah kiriti
namaskrtva bhuya evaha krsnam
sa-gadgadam bhita-bhitah pranamya ||11 - 35||
When you are grateful, your throat chokes. And now Arjuna has completely woken up to the reality. And that delusion has gone. Ignorance has gone. Gratitude has taken over. When you are grateful, you hold your hands together and then bow down.
arjuna uvaca
sthane hrsikesa tava prakirtya
jagat prahrsyaty anurajyate ca
raksamsi bhitani diso dravanti
sarve namasyanti ca siddha-sanghah ||11 - 36||
kasmac ca te na nameran mahatman
gariyase brahmano 'py adi-kartre
ananta devesa jagan-nivasa
tvam aksaram sad-asat tat param yat ||11 - 37||
Arjuna wonders, "How come people don't know you and you are beyond the existence and non-existence?" We are stuck in one paradigm, so our vision is very small. When your vision is narrow, you can only have misery in life. Arjuna was so miserable. Now, his vision has expanded. An awe has arisen in him. He is wondering how come people are not aware of this? If everyone recognized Krishna as the grand time, the war would not have happened. These questions are coming in him as a wonder.
tvam adi-devah purusah puranas
tvam asya visvasya param nidhanam
vettasi vedyam ca param ca dhama
tvaya tatam visvam ananta-rupa ||11 - 38||
vayur yamo 'gnir varunah sasankah
prajapatis tvam prapitamahas ca
namo namas te 'stu sahasra-krtvah
punas ca bhuyo 'pi namo namas te ||11 - 39||
Your consciousness is ancient, yet very moment it is new.
Arjuna is finding all the different Gods dissolving into one form of the formless Shri Krishna. He says he is the aatman, the Self. There are different Gods for different things and he says all this is inside you. Not only the Gods, the Oceans, the Moon, and the Sun.
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Here's a summary of the talk by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on 15th August 2016
namah purastad atha prsthatas te
namo 'stu te sarvata eva sarva
ananta-viryamita-vikramas tvam
sarvam samapnosi tato 'si sarvah ||11 - 40||
sakheti matva prasabham yad uktam
he krsna he yadava he sakheti
ajanata mahimanam tavedam
maya pramadat pranayena vapi ||11 - 41||
yac cavahasartham asat-krto 'si
vihara-sayyasana-bhojanesu
eko 'tha vapy acyuta tat-samaksam
tat ksamaye tvam aham aprameyam ||11 - 42||
pitasi lokasya caracarasya
tvam asya pujyas ca gurur gariyan
na tvat-samo 'sty abhyadhikah kuto 'nyo
loka-traye 'py apratima-prabhava ||11 - 43||
After having bowed down again and again. Now, Arjuna is recollecting how he had behaved earlier. He says, "I didn't know who you are. I have spent so many days with you in private and public. I must have committed so many blunders." Suddenly, he sees bigger than life in that one glimpse. His whole equation starts changing.
tasmat pranamya pranidhaya kayam
prasadaye tvam aham isam idyam
piteva putrasya sakheva sakhyuh
priyah priyayarhasi deva sodhum ||11 - 44||
adrsta-purvam hrsito 'smi drstva
bhayena ca pravyathitam mano me
tad eva me darsaya deva rupam
prasida devesa jagan-nivasa ||11 - 45||
kiritinam gadinam cakra-hastam
icchami tvam drastum aham tathaiva
tenaiva rupena catur-bhujena
sahasra-baho bhava visva-murte ||11 - 46||
There are three levels of relating to others. Here, Arjuna is covering all those dimensions. Like a son to a father, like a friend to a very dear friend, like a lover to a beloved. I know you will forgive me if I have committed any sins, because you are mine and I belong to you. Guilt brings distance between people. Guilt destroys relationships. Guilt is always related to something that happened in the past.
I have never seen this form of yours. Having seen this, it is very fearful form of yours. I don't want to see this anymore. You be to me like your original form. Come back to me in your normal form.
Chatur has two meanings. One means four and the other means clever. Krishna was the most clever. From any angle, he was the most complete.
sri-bhagavan uvaca
maya prasannena tavarjunedam
rupam param darsitam atma-yogat
tejo-mayam visvam anantam adyam
yan me tvad anyena na drsta-purvam ||11 - 47||
na veda-yajnadhyayanair na danair
na ca kriyabhir na tapobhir ugraih
evam-rupah sakya aham nr-loke
drastum tvad anyena kuru-pravira ||11 - 48||
ma te vyatha ma ca vimudha-bhavo
drstva rupam ghoram idrn mamedam
vyapeta-bhih prita-manah punas tvam
tad eva me rupam idam prapasya ||11 - 49||
Thousand arms. Thousand means thousands of arms. One aatman is expressing itself in so many forms. If a bird is chirping, it is not the bird that is chirping. It is the one consciousness which is manifesting itself, which is playing all this drama.
The absolute wisdom can impact the relative life. You cannot walk around saying, "I am Bramhan. You are Bramhan. So, how does it matter your pocket or my pocket." Lord Krishna has given him this vision to be prepared to act. You take shower, become fresh, and then you become active.
Here, Bhagwan says, "I am so pleased with me. You are so dear to me."
How can you see my infinite form? Only through my grace. Not by sitting in meditation, not by doing a lot of charity.
sanjaya uvaca
ity arjunam vasudevas tathoktva svakam rupam darsayam asa bhuyah
asvasayam asa ca bhitam enam bhutva punah saumya-vapur mahatma ||11 - 50||
arjuna uvaca
drstvedam manusam rupam tava saumyam janardana
idanim asmi samvrttah sa-cetah prakrtim gatah ||11 - 51||
At these moments, you need a third person's confirmation. When things are happening between two people, you need a witness to confirm. So here, Sanjaya is confirming. yes. Lord Krishna showed his Universal Form and now he came back to the human form and comforted Arjuna.
Arjuna himself says, "I see you again as my friend. So, I am in normal state. Your human form is so pleasing. That form I could rela te to is very harmonious. Having seen your harmonious, natural form, I feel a silent relief. I can feel my body. I am back in myself."
sri-bhagavan uvaca
su-durdarsam idam rupam drstavan asi yan mama
deva apy asya rupasya nityam darsana-kanksinah ||11 - 52||
naham vedair na tapasa na danena na cejyaya
sakya evam-vidho drastum drstavan asi mam yatha ||11 - 53||
bhaktya tv ananyaya sakya aham evam-vidho 'rjuna
jnatum drastum ca tattvena pravestum ca parantapa ||11 - 54||
mat-karma-krn mat-paramo mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah
nirvairah sarva-bhutesu yah sa mam eti pandava ||11 - 55||
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