नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्
देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम् उदीरयेत्
Summary
by Michael Dolan/ B.V. Mahāyogī
Virata Rupa
The Universal Form
This
chapter is usually called the Universal Form, or Arjuna’s vision of the
Universal Form. It begins with Arjuna’s
wish to see the unlimited form of God.
For millions of Hindus, The Bhagavad-Gītā answers the question, “What
would God say, if he could speak to us?”
Here we also find an answer to the question, “What would it be like to
see God?”
In the 10th
Chapter, Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa’s divinity in principle. He understands that
he must act in devotion. Still, he is curious. Perhaps there is still some
doubt within him. He wants to see. Seeing is believing. And so he asks Kṛṣṇa to
reveal himself as unlimited God.
We are
told that God withholds this vision from ordinary men so as not to interfere
with our free will. If He showed us His unlimited power, then we would have no
choice but to worship him, thus cancelling our free will. Love should be
voluntary. If God were to demonstrate his unlimited power, then we would
worship him by force, and not by love.
But
Arjuna wants to see.
Arjuna
said: “I have heard Your instruction on
confidential spiritual matters which You have so kindly delivered unto me, and
my illusion is now dispelled. O lotus-eyed
one, I have heard from You in detail about the appearance and disappearance of
every living entity, as realized through Your in exhaustible glories. O greatest of all personalities, O supreme
form, though I see here before me Your actual position, I yet wish to see how
You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of
Yours. If
You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all
mystic power, then kindly show me that universal self.”
Arjuna has begun the dialogue with Kṛṣṇa in a bewildered state.
Overwhelmed with bodily identification, he began by thinking only of his
materialistic duties and religion. Now, Arjuna’s illusion is over. He accepts Kṛṣṇa
as the Lord God Himself. And yet, he is curious. Now that his eyes have been
opened, he wants a direct presentation of God in His forms as sovereign,
creator, maintainer and dissolver of all entities.
He asks Kṛṣṇa to reveal himself completely if possible. Arjuna wishes to see Kṛṣṇa’s Universal Form,
not only for himself, but to convince others. It may be considered that Arjuna
has no personal desire for confirmation, but wants to set a criterion for the
future. Anyone who would pose as God would have to show his universal form to
the people.
Kṛṣṇa explains that a vision of God is impossible to the
ordinary vegetable eye, inaccessible to natural perception, but provides Arjuna
with a divine vision.
At this point, God shows Arjuna his supreme and majestic form,
the foundation of the entire universe, manifold and multiform, governing
everything.
The
Blessed Lord said: "My dear Arjuna, O son of Prtha, behold now My opulences,
hundreds of thousands of varied divine forms, unlimited by tie and space, multicolored
like the sea. O best of the Bhāratas,
see here the different manifestations of Ādityas, Rudras, and all the demigods.
Whatever you wish to see can be seen all at once in this body. This universal
form can show you all that you now desire, as well as whatever you may desire
in the future. Everything is here completely. Behold the many things which no
one has ever seen or heard before. But you cannot see Me with your present
eyes. Therefore, I give to you divine eyes by which you can behold My mystic
opulence."
Sañjaya
said: “O King, speaking thus, the Supreme Lord of all mystic power, the
Personality of Godhead, displayed His universal form to Arjuna. Arjuna saw in
that universal form unlimited mouths and unlimited eyes. It was all wondrous.
The form was decorated with divine, dazzling ornaments and made in many garbs.”
“He was garlanded gloriously, and there were
many fragrances smeared over his body. All was magnificent, all-expanding,
unlimited. This was seen by Arjuna. If hundreds of thousands of suns rose up at
once into the sky, they might resemble your full versions of the supreme person
in that universal form. At that time, Arjuna could see in the universal form of
the Lord, the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place
although divided into many, many thousands.
Then, bewildered and astonished,
his hair standing on end, Arjuna began to pray with folded hands, offering
reverences to the supreme Lord.”
With this
vision, Arjuna is filled with awe and
struck with terror.
Arjuna
said, "my dear Lord Krishna, I see assembled together in your body all the
demigods and various other living entities. I see the creator Lord Brahma
sitting on the lotus flower as well as Lord Shiva and many sages and defined
serpents. Oh Lord of the universe, I see in your universal body many, many
forms – bellies, mouths, eyes – expanded without limit. There is no end, there
is no beginning, and there is no middle to all this. Your form adorned with
various grounds, clubs and discs, is difficult to see because of its glaring if
oceans, which is fiery and immeasurable like the sun.
"You
are the supreme primal objective; you are the best in all the universes; you
are inexhaustible and you are the oldest; you are the maintainer of religion,
the eternal personality of God. You are the origin without beginning,
middle, or end. You have numberless
arms, and the sun and moon are among your great unlimited eyes. By your own
radiance you heating this are universe.
Although you are one, you were spread throughout the sky and the planets and
all space between. Oh great one, as I behold this terrible form, I see that all
the planetary systems are perplexed.
"All
the gods are surrendering before you and entering into you. They are awestruck, and with
folded hands they sing the Vedic hymns. The different manifestations of
Lord Shiva, the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, the Viśvadevas, the two Aśvins,
the Māruts, the forefathers and the Gandharvas, the Yakṣas, Asuras, and all
the perfect gods are behold You in wonder. O mighty armed one, all the
planets with their gods are disturbed at seeing your thousands of faces, eyes, arms, bellies, and legs and your terrible teeth, and as they are disturbed, so
am I in shock and awe at your astonishing wonders.
"Oh
all pervading Vishnu, I can no longer maintain my equilibrium. Seeing your
radiant colors fill the skies and beholding your eyes and mouths, I'm
afraid. Oh Lord of lords, a refuge of
the worlds, please be gracious to me. I cannot keep my balance seeing thus your
blazing deathlike faces and awful teeth. All directions I am bewildered."
All the sons Dhṛtarāṣṭra along with their allied Kings and Bhīṣma, Droṇa and
Karṇa, and all our soldiers are rushing into your mouths, their heads smashed
by your fearful tea. I see that some are being crushed between your teeth as
well.
"As
the rivers flow into the sea, so all these great warriors and to your blazing
mouths and perish. I see all people rushing with full speed into your mouths as
moths – into a blazing fire. O Viṣṇu,
devouring all people in your flaming mounds and covering the universe with your
immeasurable raise. Scorching the worlds, you are manifest. "Oh Lord of
lords, so fierce of form, please tell me who you are. I offer my references
unto you and bow before you. Please be gracious to me. I do not know what you
want. Please tell me what you want.”
The
terrible aspect of God is revealed as Time, the destroyer.
The
blessed Lord said, "Time I am, destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to
engage all people. With the exception of you and your brothers, all the
soldiers here on both sides will be slain.
“Therefore
get up and prepared to fight. After conquering your enemies you will enjoy a
flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by my arrangements, and you,
O Arjuna, can be but an instrument in the fight. The blessed Lord said, “ All
the great warriors—Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Jayadratha, Karṇa—are already destroyed.
Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies.”
The
Bhagavad-Gītā is not an argument for violence or war. Here, Kṛṣṇa is simply pointed out the
inevitability of the conflict and its resolution. It is part of God’s plan.
Arjuna is pointing out that even if he did not fight, all the warriors on the
field would be destroyed anyway. It was God’s plan. Even if Arjuna did not take
up his bow and fight, they would die another wary. In fact, they were already
dead. Time is destruction. Death cannot be stopped by anyone. All manifestations are to be vanquished by
the will of God.
Finally,
upon receiving the ocular proof of this
divine revelation, Arjuna is exalted.
Sañjaya
said to Dhṛtarāśtrara: O King, after hearing these words from the Lord God
Himself, Arjuna trembled, fearfully offered reverences with folded hands in
prayer and spoke with trembling voice:
"Oh
my God, the world becomes joyful upon hearing your holy name and so everyone
becomes attached to you. While perfected beings offer you prayers homage, those
who are in ignorance are afraid. Such demonic persons fleeing here and there.
So be it. Oh great one, who stands above even the creator of the universe Lord
Brahma, you are the original master. Why should they not offer prayers to you,
O limitless one? Oh refuge of the universe, you are the invincible source, the
cause of all causes, transcendental to this material manifestation.”
“You are
the origin of all the gods, the supreme, the Lord God himself. You are the only
sanctuary of this manifested cosmic world. You know everything, and you are all
that is noble. You are above the material modes. O limitless form: This whole
cosmic manifestation is pervaded by you.
You are
air, fire, water, and You are the moon! You are the supreme controller and the
grandfather. Thus I offer my respectful obeisances unto You a thousand times,
and again and yet again! Obeisances from the front, from behind and from all
sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless might! You are
all-pervading, and thus You are everything!
“I have in
the past addressed You as "O Kṛṣṇa," "O Yadava," "O my
friend," without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have
done in madness or in love. I have dishonored You many times while relaxing or
while lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes
in front of many friends. Please excuse me for all my offenses. “
Although
Kṛṣṇa is manifested before Arjuna in his universal form, Arjuna remembers his
friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa and is therefore asking pardon and requesting
Kṛṣṇa to excuse him for the many informal gestures which arise out of
friendship. He is admitting that formerly
he did not know that Kṛṣṇa could assume such universal form, although Kṛṣṇa
explained it as his intimate friend. Here, Arjuna recognizes His friend as
Divinity Himself.
Arjuna said, “You are the father of this
complete cosmic manifestation, the worship able chief, the spiritual master.
No one is equal to You, nor can anyone be one with You. Within the three
worlds, You are immeasurable.
“You are
the Supreme Lord, to he worshiped by every living being. Thus I fall down to
offer You my respects and ask Your mercy. Please tolerate the wrongs that I may
have done to You and hear with me as a father with his son, or a friend with
his friend, or a lover with his beloved.
After seeing this universal form, which I have never seen before, I am
gladdened, hut at the same time my mind is disturbed with fear. Therefore
please bestow Your grace upon me and reveal again Your form as the Personality
of Godhead, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.”
And yet
the perfect and intimate forms of God are only revealed through devotion and
dedication. In the final analysis, the universal form of Kṛṣṇa is not very
important. Devotees who are correctly
situated in a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa are attracted by loving
features, not by a godless display of opulences. The playmates of Kṛṣṇa, the
friends of Kṛṣṇa, and the parents of Kṛṣṇa are all great devotees, they are
unaware of his position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and wouldn’t
like to be reminded of His opulences.
But for the purpose of demonstrating his position to the world, Kṛṣṇa has revealed his Universal Form to
Arjuna. Now, Arjuna wants to see his four-armed form.
“O
universal Lord, I wish to see You in Your four-armed form, with helmeted head
and with club, wheel, conch and lotus flower in Your hands. I long to see You in
that form.
The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, happily do I show you this
universal form within the material world by My internal potency. No one before
you has ever seen this unlimited and glaringly effulgent form. O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before
you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the
Vedas, nor by per forming sacrifices, nor by charities or similar activities
can this form he seen. Only you have seen this.
Your mind has been perturbed upon seeing this horrible feature of Mine.
Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free froml all disturbance. With a
peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.”
Sañjaya
said to Dhṛṭarāṣṭra: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, while speaking thus to Arjuna, displayed His
real four-armed form, and at last He showed him His two-armed form, thus
encouraging the fearful Arjuna.
In the end, Arjuna is terrified. He wants to see the two armed form of the Lord. And when Krishna finally shows in this form, he tells Arjuna that this essential nature of God, and his human form, can only be known through bhakti.
Kṛṣṇa
knows that Arjuna was not interested in seeing a four-handed form, but since
Arjuna asked to see this four-handed form, Kṛṣṇa also showed him this form
again and them showed himself in his two-handed form, and in this way calmed
Arjuna’s terror at seeing the destructive form of God Himself as Time and the
Universe. Kṛṣṇa changes from the universal form to the four-handed form of Nārāyaṇa
and then to His own natural form of two hands. This indicates that the
four-handed forms and other forms mentioned in Vedic literature are all
emanations of the original two-handed Kṛṣṇa.
 |
| All four-handed forms of Viṣṇu are emanations of Kṛṣṇa |
He is the original of all
emanations. Kṛśṇa is distinct even from these forms, not to speak of the
impersonal conception. As far as the four-handed forms of Kṛṣṇa are concerned,
it is stated clearly that even the most identical four-handed form of Kṛṣṇa is
also an expansion of the Supreme Lord.
When
Arjuna saw Kṛṣṇa in His original form, he said: “Seeing this humanlike form, so
very beautiful, my mind is now pacified, and I am restored to my original
nature. “
The
Blessed Lord said: “My dear Arjuna, the form which you are now seeing is very
difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see
this form which is so dear. The form
which you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply
by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances, nor by charity, nor
by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am.
“My dear
Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am,
standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you
enter into the mysteries of My understanding. My dear Arjuna, one who is
engaged in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of previous
activities and from mental speculation, who is friendly to every living entity,
certainly comes to Me.”
Yamunacharya
comments that the 11th Chapter is a description of the immediate
presentation of God and teaches that the quiddity of God can only be known and
attained by bhakti.
