Summary:

Arjuna’s eagerness to behold the cosmic form of God–

Brothers, last week we learnt how to recognise divine presence in the countless things in this universe and how to let that comprehension sink deep into us. We saw that one should discern divinity step by step, first in the simple and the gross and then in the complex and the subtle manifestations of the Lord. One should thus see God everywhere, realize Him and through constant practice, learn to see the whole creation as the Self.

Now we turn to the Eleventh Chapter. In this Chapter the Lord has showered His highest grace on Arjuna by showing him His divine cosmic form. Arjuna had expressed a desire to see the Lord in His fullness, in the form in which all His splendor and glory are fully manifest. What Arjuna sought was to behold the cosmic form of the Lord.

Our world is only a small part of the universe, and we do not have an adequate understanding of even this small part.

If we look up at the night sky, we see it dotted with innumerable points of light.These stars are actually many times bigger and brighter than the sun. And they are countless. Even the naked eye can see thousands of them; a telescope would reveal them in millions. With an advanced telescope, trillions could be visible. There seems to be no end to them. Our earth is but a tiny fragment of this boundless creation; still we find it so vast!

This vast creation is but one aspect of the Lord. Another aspect is that of time. If we consider the past, our knowledge of history goes back at most to ten thousand years. Of the future, we know nothing. The span of known history is ten thousand years, and our own lifespan is hardly hundred years! Time is, in fact, without beginning and without end. It is impossible to count the time that has passed into the past. As for the infinitesimal present, it is slipping into the past every moment. Even as we try to point out its presence, it has already passed into the past. This fleeting present is all that is with us. I am speaking now, but the moment I utter a word, it becomes a part of the past. The stream of time is flowing continuously. We know neither its beginning nor its end. What comes to our view is just a tiny portion of that stream in the middle.

Thus, when we look at the creation we find a vast expanse of space on one hand, and on the other there is a flow of time that has neither beginning nor end. It then becomes clear that however much we stretch our imagination, we can never see the limits of it. In Arjuna’s mind arises a desire to have a vision of the Lord in His omnipresent and all-pervading form, the form that fills all the three-dimensional space and all the three-dimensional time. He wants to see Him all at once, at the same moment. This Chapter has its genesis in that desire. 

A common man like us cannot see God in His Universal Form.The Lord’s love for Arjuna knew no bounds. The Eleventh Chapter is the blessed gift of that love. The Lord endowed Arjuna with the divine vision and fulfilled his desire to see His cosmic form.

Full vision even in a small image –

This Chapter contains the beautiful and magnificent description of that Supreme divine form. Vinobahi says,” However, I am not particularly enamored of it. I am quite happy with the small and lovable form which I see.The Lord who pervades this vast universe is present in His fullness in a small image; and even in a speck of dust. He is not a bit less there.Hence I am not eager to have the vision of His cosmic form; nor am I worthy, like Arjuna, to ask for it.”

Everything that is there in the big photograph is there in the small photograph too. The latter is not a fragment of the big photograph. A word may be printed in big type or small type; this makes no difference as far as its meaning is concerned. Image-worship has its basis in this way of thinking.

The basis of image-worship is the same as that of similes and metaphors in poetry. A circle or a sphere is nice to see, as there is order and symmetry in it, and these are divine attributes. The Lord’s creation is beautiful in all respects. There is order and harmony in it. A sphere symbolizes the shapeliness of the Lord. A twisted and disorderly tree in a forest is also His manifestation; therein you find the Lord’s freedom. That tree knows no constraints; and it is true of the Lord as well. The unconstrained and self-willed Lord is there in that unshapely tree.An image may be smooth or misshapen; nevertheless, the divinity therein is the same. I would not, therefore, mind if I could not get to see the cosmic form of the Lord apart from His presence in the creation.

Realize that the Lord within you is there in that object too. As this realization grows, your joy too will increase. There is no other source of real joy. Start establishing relationships of love and see the wonderful results. You will then see in every speck of dust the Lord who is immanent in the whole creation. Once one gains this realization, what more would one ask for? But, for this purpose, the sense organs must be disciplined and trained. When the lust for sensual pleasures gives way to the pure spirit of love, you will find Him and Him only in each and every object.

There is a beautiful description of the color of the Self ( Atman) in an Upanishad. What could be its color? The sage says lovingly, – यथा अयं इंद्रगोप: – ‘The Self is like an indragop’.( Indragop is an extremely beautiful insect with bright red velvet-like skin. It appears at the beginning of the rainy season.) 

The sight of an indragop fills us with immense joy. Why? Because that which exists in me exists in the indragop too. Had there been no relation with it, I would not have felt such joy. The indragop too has the same beautiful soul that I have. That is why the simile of indragop is given. Why do we use similes? Why do we find joy in them? A simile pleases us as there is some similarity between the objects compared; otherwise it would not be pleasing. 

What all this means is that everything in the world is filled with the Lord’s presence. To realize this, one 

Vision of the cosmic form is difficult to bear–

Besides, how can I bear the vision of that cosmic form? That form may not perhaps give rise to the same feelings of love and tender intimacy that I have for a small, beautiful and saguna form. It happened with Arjuna too. He started trembling and beseeched the Lord to assume the familiar and lovable form again. Arjuna is thus cautioning us from his own experience that we should not have the desire to see the cosmic form. 

What is true of space is true of time too. We do not remember the past and have no idea of the future; and that is good for us. We can at best make a guess; but a guess is not knowledge.We should take only what is good from history and cast off what is evil. It would indeed be wonderful if one remembers the good only. But alas! It does not happen. Hence forgetting is extremely necessary. God has created death for this purpose.

In short, the world, as it is, is auspicious. There is no need to pack this vast world of time and space into a little spot. Excessive familiarity is not good. We should be intimate with some things and maintain a distance from some things. We respectfully keep a distance from the teacher, but would love to sit in the mother’s lap. There is an appropriate way to behave with anybody and deal with anything. A flower may be taken in the hand, but fire should be kept away.  

The Quintessence of the Gita –

Vinobaji says,”I am not at all inclined to use my reason or intellect in analyzing the description of that divine cosmic form; that would be a sacrilege. We should instead recite those holy verses again and again and purify ourselves. To analyze the cosmic form would be a monstrosity.”

In this description, there is only one point at which the mind begins to think. The Lord has said to Arjuna, “All these warriors are going to die. Be only an occasion, an instrument. I have already slain them.” These words keep ringing in my ears. When the idea that I should become His instrument arises in the mind, one begins to think. How to do it? 

The Lord has Himself told us, in the last verse of this Chapter- verse no. 55-, how to do it, how this can come about. Shankaracharya has, in his commentary on the Gita, called this verse ‘the quintessence of the Gita’ — He who is free from enmity to all creatures, who is ever engrossed in serving the world impartially without any expectations, who dedicates all his actions to the Lord, who is full of devotion, who forgives all and is detached and full of love, becomes an instrument of the Lord. This is the essence of the Gita’s teaching.

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