Monthly Archives: January 2018

The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11:  The Path of the Vision of the Universal Form

Bhagavad Gita, Reflections, Vedanta

The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11:

The Path of the Vision of the Universal Form

Arjuna said, “Out of compassion for me, you have told me profound truths about the Self. These words have removed my delusion.

O Lotus-eyed Shri Krishna! I have heard from you in detail about the creation and dissolution of beings and also about Your Divine Manifestations.

O Lord! I completely believe what you have described about yourself.  But, O Supreme Purusha! I want to see these Divine Manifestations with my own eyes.

O Lord! O the Master of all Yogas! If you think that I am fit to see your Imperishable Universal Form, then please show me that divine form.”

Shri Krishna said, “O Partha (Arjuna)! Behold My hundreds and thousands of divine forms which consist of various colors and shapes.

Behold in Me. all the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, two Ashwinkumaras and the Marutas.  Also, behold various wondrous forms which were not seen before by anyone.

O Arjuna! Behold in Me the whole universe including movable and immovable beings and things, and also whatever you desire to see.

But, you will not be able to see My Divine Forms with your physical eyes, so I will give you ‘Divine Eyes’. With these ‘Divine Eyes’, behold My Supreme Yogic Power.”

Sanjaya said, “O King Dhrutarashtra! By saying thus, the Great Master of the Yogas, Lord Shri Krishna showed Arjuna His Supreme Divine Form.

Then, Arjuna saw the Infinite Form of Shri Krishna which had infinitely many faces and eyes, was wearing various celestial garments and garlands, was adorned with divine ointments and ornaments, and was holding various celestial arms. This Form was filled with various wonderful and wondrous sights and was facing in all directions.

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst forth at once in the sky, then it would be like the splendor of that Mighty Being.

At that time, Arjuna saw the whole universe with its various aspects in that one Universal Form.

Then, overcome with wonder and with goosebumps, Arjuna saluted that Universal Form with folded hands and said the following:

Arjuna Said, “O Lord! I see in Thy body all the gods, all the beings, all the celestial serpents, all the Rishis, and the creator Brahma sitting on a lotus.

O Lord of the Universe! I see that Thou have infinitely many faces, eyes, hands, and bellies. I see that Thou are everywhere having infinitely many forms. I do not see the beginning, the middle, and the end of Thy Infinite Form.

I see Thou wearing a crown on head and holding a mace and a ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ (discus). I see Thou glowing like a mass of radiance on all sides. Thou are blazing like a burning fire and the sun and very difficult to look at. Thou are incomprehensible.

O Lord! Thou art the Supreme Imperishable Being that has to be realized. Thou art the sole support of the universe. Thou art the protector of the ‘Eternal Dharma’ (Righteousness in the universe).  In my opinion, Thou art the ‘Eternal Purusha.’

I see that Thou art without beginning, middle and an end, having infinitely many arms, and an embodiment of infinite strength. I see the sun and moon as Thine eyes and Thy face is like a blazing fire burning the whole universe with Thy radiance.

O Great Soul! The space between the heaven and the earth and all the directions are filled with Thee. I see that with Thy wonderful and terrible form the three worlds tremble with fear.

All the gods enter into Thy body and a few out of fear sing Thy glories with folded hands. The Great Rishis and the Siddhas, after saying ‘May there is peace!’ praise Thee with excellent hymns.

All the Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sadhyas, Viswas, Ashwin Kumars, Maruts, Ushmapas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Asuras, and the Siddhas behold Thee and are amazed.

O Mighty Armed Lord! By beholding Thy Infinite Form with many faces, eyes, arms, thighs, feet, bellies, and terrible tusks, all the people are terrified and so am I.

O Lord Vishnu! By seeing Thy blazing form which reaches the sky, which shines with many colors, having its mouth wide open and with bright shining big eyes, I am scared and I am losing my courage and peace.

Thy mouths and terrible tusks blaze like fire which is going to devour the whole universe. By seeing them I am disoriented and find no peace. O Lord! O Abode of the Universe! Please be gracious to us all.

I behold that all the sons of Dhrutarashtra with all their kings, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and many prominent warriors of our side enter into Thy terrible mouth with big tusks. Many of them have been caught between Thy teeth with their heads being crushed to powder.

As the torrents of rivers gush to the ocean, all these warriors are gushing into Thy blazing mouth.  As the moths fly into the fire for their own destruction, so these beings are gushing into Thy mouth for their destruction. O Lord Vishnu! Devouring all the worlds through Thy fiercely flaming mouths Thou lick Thy lips from all sides.  Thy fiery rays fill the whole universe with their radiance and scorch it.

Please tell me, “Who art Thou? O the Supreme Lord! I salute to you. Be pleased with me. O Ancient Purusha! I want to know Thee.  I do not know Thy purpose.”

Shri Krishna said, “I am the mighty world-destroying Time.  I am engaged here to destroy these people. Even without you, the warriors in the opposite side will be destroyed.  Therefore, O Arjuna! Get up, fight, conquer the enemies, enjoy the flourishing kingdom and obtain fame.  Know that I have destroyed them already and you are just an instrument.

Know that I have already killed Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna and many other powerful warriors. You fight with them and become an instrument to kill them. Do not worry.  Go on and fight. You will be victorious over your enemies.”

Sanjaya said, “After listening to Shri Krishna’s words, Arjuna trembled. With folded hands in adoration, he saluted Shri Krishna. Overwhelmed with fear, he saluted Shri Krishna again and addressed Shri Krishna with a choked voice.

Arjuna said, “O Hrishikesh (Shri Krishna)! It is appropriate that the world rejoices and takes delight in singing your glories.  The fearful Rakshasas are fleeing away in terror and all the Siddhas salute Thee in adoration.

O Great Soul! Thou art the Primal Cause of even Brahma, the creator of the universe. Thou art the greatest among all.  There is no wonder that all these Siddhas are saluting you. O Supreme Lord! O Abode of the Universe! Thou art the Supreme Imperishable Brahman which is beyond the Manifest and the Un-manifest.

Thou art the Ancient God, the Eternal Purusha. Thou art the Supreme Abode of the universe. Thou art the Knower and That which has to be known. Thou art the Ultimate Goal of all. O Lord with Infinite Form! The universe is pervaded by Thee only.

Thou art the Wind, Yama, Fire, Varuna (Water), the Moon, and the creator of the universe,
Brahma. I salute to Thee a thousand times.  And I salute to you again and again.

O Mighty Lord with Infinite Power! Thou pervade the whole universe and therefore Thou art everything. I salute to you from the front, from behind, and from all sides.

Considering Thou as my friend and not knowing Thy greatness, I have rashly addressed you as “O Krishna” or “O Yadava” or “O Friend” out of love or from inadvertence. O Achyuta! I may have shown disrespect to Thee while playing, resting, eating, or sitting when we were alone or in front of other people. Please forgive me for all this disrespectful behavior.

Thou art the Father of the whole universe including the movable or the immovable beings and things. Thou art the Great Teacher and most respectable. O Almighty Lord! In the three worlds, there is no one even equal to Thee, then how someone could be superior to Thee?

Therefore, O Adorable Lord! I salute to Thee, prostrate my body at Thy feet, and pray to Thee to be pleased with me. O Lord! Please bear with me as a loving father does to his son, a close friend to his friend, and a loving husband to his wife.

By seeing Thy wonderful and terrible form that I have never before seen, I am very happy, but my mind has been distressed with fear. O Lord of the gods! O Abode of the Universe! Be pleased with me and show me Thy godly form.

I want to see Thy godly form wearing a crown and holding a conch, a discus, a mace and a lotus. O Lord with the Universal Form! O Thousand Armed Lord! Please reveal Thy four-armed godly form to me.”

Shri Krishna said, “O Arjuna! By My grace, through My Yoga Power, I showed you My Supreme, Resplendent, Primeval, and Infinite Universal Form which no one has seen except you.

O Arjuna! In this human world, the Universal Form that you had seen is not possible for anyone to see by studying scriptures, by charity, by performing rituals, or by any austerity.

Do not be afraid or bewildered by seeing My terrible form.  Be fearless and be glad to behold My godly form.”

Sanjaya said, “After saying thus, Lord Vasudeva (Shri Krishna), the Great Soul, showed Arjuna his godly form. Then, he assumed his gracious form and appeased the terrified Arjuna.

Arjuna said, “O Janardana (Shri Krishna)! Now, by seeing Thy gracious human form, I have come back to my senses and have attained my normal state of my mind.”

Shri Krishna said, “My godly form that you have seen is very difficult to see. Even all the Devas (gods) always desire to see this form.

One cannot see this godly form (that you have seen) by studying the scriptures, by performing austerities, by charity, or by performing Yajnas.

O Arjuna! Only through one-pointed devotion to Me one can see this godly form, really understand It and become one with It.

O Arjuna! One who performs all actions for Me, looks at Me as the Supreme Goal of life, is My devotee, is unattached and hates none, attains Me.

Thus, in the Bhagavad Gita— the essence of the Upanishads, the science of Brahman, the scripture of Yoga, and the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna— ends the Eleventh Chapter, entitled “The Path of the Vision of the Universal Form.”

Om Tat Sat.

(Thanks to Rushil Desai for editing this post.)

Celebrating Swami Vivekananda’s 155th Birthday

Celebrations, Reflections, Vivekananda

My Homage to Swami Vivekananda 

(The following blog is based upon my thoughts I shared with Vivekananda Vidyapith’s students, teachers, parents, and helpers during Youth Day Celebration Speech Competitions held on Saturday and Sunday, January 6th and 7th of 2018.)

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) lived only for 39 years, but his life and teachings will continue to inspire people as long as a single person on earth searches for the eternal truth. All over the world, we can see the positive and uplifting effect of Swami Vivekananda’s life and teachings helping the humanity for its good. His teachings about strength, the divinity of the soul, oneness of existence, and harmony of religions have been appealing to more and more people. These teachings encourage them to search for their inner divinity and try to manifest it in their thoughts, speech, and actions, especially through their unselfish service to the society. His emphasis on serving the “Living God,” the sum total of all living beings, touches the hearts of even atheists.

We could see a fraction of this positive effect during the Vidyapith’s Youth Day Celebration Speech Competition. The temperature during last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were in single digit close to zero degrees Fahrenheit and the wind-chill was in negative degrees. But, the Vivdyapith’s students and helpers joyfully loaded and unloaded a truck in the cold with the things needed for the competition. Several other people worked unselfishly for countless hours to make this competition a great success. For all of them, it was a labor of love. Also, almost all the students from grades sixth through twelfth came for the competition and presented their excellent speeches. The students, teachers, and the helpers were inspired by Swami Vivekananda’s life and teachings.

The following are few of my thoughts I shared with the Vidyapith’s students, teachers, and helpers:

“Swami Vivekananda is our beloved teacher, leader, and a role-model. He was a saint, a prophet, a yogi, a great teacher, an orator, a poet, a reformer, a humanitarian, a patriot, a world-leader, a visionary and many more.

He told about himself that, “He is a voice without a body.” His voice was and is the voice of the Vedanta – the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. He also said that “As Buddha had a message for the east, he has a message for the west.”

There are many teachings of Swami Vivekananda which we have to learn and practice in our life. As students, one teaching we have to really learn is his definition of education. He said, “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.” By ‘man’ he meant men and women. This perfection is the perfection of the Atman dwelling in each one of us. We have to realize this perfection and then try to manifest it in our thoughts, speech, and actions.

To me, the simple meaning of perfection is ‘Be happy with what we have and be always ready to improve our performance.’  With this simple rule, we will constantly improve our study, our work, and our performance in every field.

There is another aspect of education. In schools and colleges, we learn about the topics related to the physical and mental world. There, we do not learn about our true identity which is beyond our body and mind. For that, we have to learn to go deeper within ourselves and search for our true identity. Swami Vivekananda says that our true identity is divine. In order to search our true identity (or divinity dwelling within), Bhagavad Gita has described four paths, namely Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga. We can do every day four simple spiritual practices which cover all these four yogas: (1) Spend few minutes doing prayer, Japa and meditation, (2) read couple of pages from inspiring books and seek holy company which encourages us in our search for our true identity, (3) practice values which help us realize this true identity (for example the values described in the 12th chapter of Bhagavad Gita shlokas 13-19), and (4) do unselfish service. If we do these four practices regularly and properly, then definitely we will go deeper within and realize our true identity which is divine.

Note that the goal of all the Vidyapith’s classes and all activities including this speech competition is to help us to learn about our true identity (the divinity dwelling within) and encourage us to realize it and manifest it in our thoughts, speech, and actions. But, we have to do our homework by practicing the above mentioned four practices. Just as we do homework after taking classes in schools and college and educate ourselves, similarly in this search also we have to do our homework.

What do we get by realizing our inner divinity? We see that each person irrespective of his/her color of skin, religion, culture, country, physical appearance or any external difference is divine. The basic life-force in all beings is the same. Once we realize that then we love all and be ready to help all. We do not hate anyone. We will get control on our lower nature including our anger, jealousy, greed, lust, ego, and other impurities. We become sincere, honest, and humble. This makes us a better person fit to live in the society.

When we realize this inner divinity, then we can understand Swami Vivekananda’s teachings of Vedanta, namely the divinity of the soul, oneness of existence, harmony of religions, and service to the ‘Living God’. With oneness of existence, we realize ‘unity in diversity’.  This is the best way to celebrate Swami Vivekananda’s birthday. May we all get inspired by Swami Vivekananda’s life and teachings and make our life blessed.”