Scriptures and puranas describe the vision of Eeswara darshanam as a thrilling and fulfilling experience.  Any experience involves two things.  One if the object of experience which should be available.  It is not enough that the object of experience is available, we require a subject of experience is also available.  Object of experience should be available, and we also require a subject of experience; an experiencer who is prepared to appreciate experience.  Generally, we focus of the object, but not on the preparedness of the experiencer.  Viswa roopa is nothing but the lord in the form of entire universe.  Viswa roopa darshanam is available for us, but if we do not get the thrill of the darshanam, it is because of the non-preparedness of our mind; that is purity of the mind.   Just like gold is available in the ornaments, viśva roopa darshanam is always available but what is not present is a prepared experiencer.  The prepared mind is called the third eye or divya shakshu.  Arjuna asks Krishna to grant him this divya shakshu. 

Verse 4

Oh Lord!  If You consider that it can be seen by me, then, You show me Your inexhaustible form, Oh Lord!

Purity of mind is a tedious time-consuming process which requires lot of karma yoga and upasana yoga and it is a slow gradual transformation.  Showing the viśva roopa darshanam is not required, but what is required is removing the impurities of mind.

Verse 5

The Lord said – Oh Arjuna! See My divine forms of various kinds, various colors and forms, in hundred and in thousands.

Even though purifying the mind is a slow and gradual process, Arjuna asks Krishna for a temporary purification of mind.  This is similar to someone getting the vision by some grace.  But the problem is it will only be temporary.  When it is artificial purification, the full impact is not gained.    It cannot be an experience that can be assimilated.  Because of Arjuna’s request, Krishna grants Arjuna temporary purification of mind so that Arjuna can see many varieties and colors of Lord’s form.  We should understand that it is not a particular form that appear, we should learn to see and appreciate various forms and colors as different forms of the Lord. 

Verse 6

Oh Arjuna! See adityas, vasus, rudras, asvins, and maruts.  See many wonders which are not seen before.

Verse 7

Oh Arjuna!  See here and now, in my body the entire universe with the movable and the immovable placed together and also anything else that you desire to see.

Krishna says see the eight vasus:  Eight natural principles:  Vayu, agni, water, earth, andhariksha, sun, moon, stars.  The 12 Aditya are the 12 months.  Ashwini kumara represents principles presiding over prana.  Martus represents different forms of Vayu.

All of them belong to viśva roopa.   We don’t generally notice any of these wonderful principles.  We must purify our mind by avoiding raga, dwesha and lōbha. When puranas describe Krishna as blue skinned, it represents the vastness of blue sky.  The whole universe is contained in Lords body. 

The word Yogaha at the end of every topic means a topic.  viśva roopa darshana means the vision of the Lord as viśva roopa, which is the name of the Lord.  Viśva roopam means the lord whose form is nothing but the very universe itself.  How can one have darshana of the lord in the form of the world itself?  Direct vision of the lord of Rama, Krishna etc., the scriptures prescribe tapas.  Tapas is nothing but concentration or meditation.  One has to learn the dhyana sloka, concentrate and visualize on that particular form and chant the mantras.  If a devotee follows this process, the devotee will give darshana in that particular form.  We have many puranic stories describing the devotees getting the darshana of the lord.

If you want to have the vision of the lord, as the world itself, then you have to invite the lord to come in the form of world.  Should we invite the lord in the form of the lord?  Even before our birth, the lord in the form of viśva roopa has already arrived.  What should I do to have the darshana of the lord in the form of the world?  Learn to see the world in the form of the lord.  Train the mind to look at the world as the manifestation of the lord.  Understand and assimilate the teaching that lord alone as the material principle of the world.  Everything appearing before me is a form of lord.  Clearly understand and assimilate this teaching.  Only then the perspective and vision will change.  This vision is divine vision or divya shakshu.   The world has a different feature that is divine – that is world is a manifestation of lord.  I need not invite the Lord; the Lord is available all the time as the world.

The first eight verses we get an introduction to this viswa roopa darshana.  It begins with Arjuna’s summarization of the first ten chapters. 

Verse 1

Arjuna said – This supreme secret teaching named adhyatmam has been imparted by You for blessing me.  This delusion of mine has gone by that.

In this verse, Arjuna summarizes the first six chapters.  The essence if jiva swaroopa varna.  The description of the essential nature of jiva, which is not physical body which is only temporary. Similarly, the mind is also a temporary instrument.  So, I am neither the body nor mind but consciousness.  The features of consciousness are:

• Consciousness is not a part, product, or property of an individual.
• Consciousness is an independent principle, pervading body and making it alive.
• Consciousness is not limited by boundaries of the body.
• Consciousness survives the fall of the body.
• Surviving consciousness is not accessible because there is no medium.

This consciousness is my nature.  Krishna describes this nature in chapters 2 to 5. 

Arjuna states that with the teaching his delusion is gone, and the doubts are cleared as he listened to the teachings of Gita.

Verse 2

Oh Krishna! Verily, the origin and dissolution of beings as well as (Your) inexhaustible glory were heard by me from You in detail.

From chapter 7, 9 and 10 Lord Krishna described Eeswara swaroopa, defining the Lord as jagat karanam or material cause.  That is the lord is the cause of shristi, sthithi and laya karanam of the beings, similar to ocean is the material cause for wave.  There are no waves separate from the ocean.  Wave is only another name for ocean.  Similarly, god alone exists in the form of world.

Verse 3

Oh Lord! It is just so as You describe yourself.  Oh Lord! I desire to see Your divine form.

In this verse, Arjuna adds Parameswara and Purushothama as the name of the Lord.  Purushothama means the supreme lord; In Chapter 15, Krishna will tell that philosophically Purushothama also means nirguna brahman.

Arjuna says he has no resistance in accepting the teaching.  Intellectually Arjuna is able to understand that the whole world is divine, and there should be no raga and dwesha.  But that is not the case.  We always have raga and dwesha against one thing or another.  Arjuna requests Krishna to teach how avoid raga and dwesha and see divine in everything.

Swamiji summarized the
chapter today. He said the significance of the chapter could be fully
understood only if one has an understanding of Chapter’s # 7 through # 10. It
is a developmental chapter based on previous four chapters. In previous
chapters Sri Krishna talked about nature of God or Ishwara Swarupam.

Ishwara is jagat karanam,
the cause of the universe. What type of cause is he? Is he an intelligent cause
or a material cause? The carpenter, the intelligent cause, and wood, the material
cause, both are required in creation of furniture. God, however, is both the intelligent
cause and material cause of this world and hence called the abhina-nimitha –upadana-
karana Ishwara.

Of
these two causes, we focus upon one cause, that is the material cause aspect in
these four chapters; and when we focus on this material cause aspect, we come
to know that the material cause alone modifies or transforms to become various effects.
Blessed and backed by the intelligent cause, it is the material cause alone that
manifests as manifold effect. This we clearly see in day-to-day experiences. One
gold alone evolves or manifests into varieties of ornaments; one wood alone

becomes a variety of furniture. Thus we find that cause alone manifests in the form of effect. In fact there is no effect at all separate from the material cause, there are no ornaments separate from gold, there
are no furniture separate from wood; there are no products separate from the material
cause. To put in another language; one
material cause alone appears as manifold effect, by assuming different names
and forms. Thus behind all the names
and forms of the product, there is only one material cause. So behind bangle
nameand form; chain name and form;
ring name and form; what I am experiencing is the material cause, the gold
alone. That means, if I wish the darshanam of gold; I need not separately
attempt it; when I am seeing the ornaments; I am seeing the causal gold alone.
I need not dismiss the ornaments; and separately work for thedarshanam of the gold.

When
you are seeing the ornaments, you are directly in contact with the material
cause alone, with varieties of nama rupa.
Material cause becomes various effects
backed by intelligent cause. We see this in daily experience where gold
manifests as ornaments; wood manifests as furniture etc. There is no effect separate
from material cause; there is no product separate from material cause.

Therefore
karya darshanam is
essentially the material karana darshanam only. This
is a very important fact, which we should remember when we see these four chapters.
and Lord Krishna applies this principle and points out, O Arjuna, I am
the material cause of the creation; not a few ornaments or a few furniture; I
am the material cause of this whole universe, consisting of para and apara prakrti; Which means that the universe is nothing but God
evolved with different nama and rupa.

Therefore one gold, which is called gold in the karana avastha (potential form); the very same gold is called ornaments in the karya avastha (manifest form). So karanam and karyam are one and the same material only; karanam is with potential nama and rupa, whereas the karyam is with the manifest nama and rupa.

Thus, when we see ornaments,
we are in contact with both karya darshanam and karana darshanam.

O Arjuna, I am the material
cause of this whole universe, consisting of para prakriti and apara prakriti.

And therefore Sri Krishna wants to say that Ishvara and the world can never be different; when all the names and forms are resolved; like resolving the ornaments, what obtains is called avyaktha nama and rupa; we call it Ishwara and when the very same Ishwara available with evolved nama rupa is called prapancha. So there is no difference between prapancha darshanam and Ishvara darshanam; therefore whenever I am looking at the universe, I am only looking at the Lord with infinite varieites of nama rupa. In short, the world is the very embodiment of the Lord. If I do not have this understanding, I will call it the world. But if I have the understanding, I will call it as the form or the embodiment of Ishwara. When I look at the world as the embodiment of Ishwara; it is called Vishva rupa darshanam,  as the very body of the Lord; that new perception based on the new understanding; that understanding is called the divya chakshuhu; based on this new understanding; when I have got a new attitude towards the ordinary universe; that new attitude is extra-ordinary attitude; the world is the ordinary world; but we are developing an extra ordinary attitude born out of understanding. And the new attitude is that, this which I thought to be world, is nothing but Ishvarasya shariram; and therefore Vishva rupa darshanam is not an extra ordinary object; but an extra ordinary attitude towards an ordinary universe that we experience everyday.

So, Vishwa Rupam is an
extraordinary attitude towards an ordinary universe. An ordinary thing, when
associated with great people or things, assumes extraordinary value. It is like
the Venkateshwara laddu has special significance compared to an ordinary laddu;
the same laddu because of association with god becomes revered. This value is a
non-physical value; it is an attitudinal value born of understanding called
Divya chakshu.

Citing an example of a
friend who shows up with a surprise item. When asked, he says it is a broken
guitar belonging to Harrison, a Beatle. He sees a special value in the broken
guitar due to its association with one of the Beatles. What is the difference between
my perception and other, of the guitar? He has a divya chakshu, as he looks at
the guitar with an extra-ordinary attitude.

And therefore we should remember appreciation is two-fold, one is physical and the other is attitudinal; attitudinal appreciation comes out of training and understanding; I should know all the exploits of Tendulkar; I should have been a parama bhaktha; knowing all the statistics; how many centuries; how many runs; how many catches behind the wickets; all these statistics are there; If I study all that and if I become a baktha; then an ordinary bat associated with Tendulkar will have an extraordinary value.

Extending
this to this universe; this universe is also something ordinary because we have
been contacting it all the time; I should have bhakthi for Ishvara first; which requires
lot of training and having developed bhakthi for the Lord; later I should be able
to associate this universe as the embodiment associated with Isvara. Then appreciation
of Ishvara should be there
and understanding that this world is connected with Ishwara.

It
requires tremendous intellectual drill and mental refinement because we are not
seeing anything new but we are seeing something old with a new attitude. And
only then Vishva rupa darshanam can be
understood properly and that is why Krishna gives four chapters of training and
then in the 11th chapter we get the culmination; this is the background we have
to keep in mind.

Shloka # 1-#8:

Introductory shloka: Arjuna asks Sri Krishna, how can I get Vishwa Rupa
darshanam? Sri Krishna says Vishwa Rupa Darshanam is not one of the forms of
God. To obtain Vishwa Rupa Darshanam a tremendous change is required in one’s
attitude. Vishwa Rupam can be seen only with a Divya Chashu. Divya chakshu in
turn requires a mind free from Ahamakra and mamakara; a mind that sees everything
as belonging to God; thus, all my relations are not my people, but belong to
God.

What about the body? Even
it is God’s alone when we see everything as belonging to God; that is Vishwa
Rupa darshanam. This ahamkara mamakara
rahita chakshu is Divya chakshu. Sri Krishna blesses Arjuna with this Divya
chakshu and Arjuna is stunned by the vision he sees.

Shloka # 9-# 13:

Sanjaya now gives a
description of Vishwa Rupam. Some say, Sanjaya was reportedly given the Divya
chakshu by Sri Krishna as well. The word Sanjaya means Sam Jaya, one who has
conquered ahamkara and mamakara.

What is Vishwa Rupam? Lord has thousand hands, legs, stomachs etc. We have to understand the Vishwa Rupam of thousands of hands and legs means all the hands and legs of all the people previously I saw as belonging to You and I; now I see all of them as Bhagavan’s only, that is why in the Rudram, towards the end it says, when I am looking at my hands, this is also the hand of the Lord only.

Arjuna, now, has
appreciation of Vishwa Rupam. He goes through three stages of appreciation. First
he is wonderstruck by the vision. We don’t appreciate it as we are stuck in
Samsara. Scientists are wonderstruck by animals and insects. Scientists are
still not able to recreate the cobweb of a spider. If you are wonderstruck, the
wonder belongs to Ishwara.

In Australia there is an
anthill with temperature controls created by ants. What scientists call wonders
of nature, Vedas call it wonders of God.

This ascharyam is described
in shlokas # 15-# 22.

Then in shlokas # 23- # 30
mouth of God or Kala Tatvam is described. Here he describes all soldiers of
both armies that are going to die, entering mouth of God. Kala is Srishti,
Sthiti and Laya Karanam, all a part of Vishwa Rupa Drashanam. We are trained to
be un-afraid of death. Death is not amangalam, rather it is mangalam for the
next generation.

Arjuna saw all this, but he
also saw Bhishma, Drona and others die as well. He was not free of Ahamkara.
His Divya chakshu is a borrowed one and not one acquired due to his maturity.
He could not accept death of his kith and kin. He then experiences fear of the
destruction of kith and kin as he sees God devouring them and enjoying it in
the process. One with strong Ahamkara can get upset with God, seeing this
suffering. So Arjuna asks, O God, who are you?

Shlokas # 31- # 34:

Sri Krishna answers
Arjuna’s question. He says, I am kalatatvam, the destructive force in the battlefield.
Therefore, Arjuna, Vishwa Rupam involves accepting God as Srishti, Sthiti and
Laya Karanam. When you appreciate totality and orderliness of creation, you
will also use free will to be in accord with Dharma, the universal order; then
there will be surrender. In a violin concert, even one Violinist can’t go off
on his own, as the orchestra will be destroyed; thus, he surrenders to the
Group.

This surrender requires
maturity and
when maturity is there; the surrender is natural; Similarly if my mind is
trained to appreciate the total harmony; it is called dharma appreciation; I
cannot go off dharma; I do have a freewill but my freewill is in alignment,
This is called sharanagati; Vishva rupa darshanam makes sharanagati natural;
therefore Arjuna you also surrender; follow the dharma which means you have to
kill all these people; it is in keeping with the requirement of dharma.

Shlokas # 35- # 45:

Surrender is a mental
thing. Alignment of freewill to Dharma is mental, expressed physically, in our
tradition, by performing namaskara. It occurs in a mature mind. Shruti is
everywhere. I see order, harmony and rhythm everywhere. This invisible harmony
is called Dharma.

Shlokas # 35-45:

Of the three steps of
ascharya, bhakti and bhayam one remains prominent. Bhayam is due to Ahamakara
and Mamakara.

As long as ahamkara and mamakara are there; fear is unavoidable; fear of death; fear of old age; fear of separation; all this will be unavoidable; If I do not have ahamkara and mamakara; all these will appear as the leela of God; we all come together; leela of Isvara; we all get separated; leela of Ishvara; we all grow old; leela of Ishvara; But when aham mama are there; they are terrible thing; therefore Arjuna is frightened; therefore he says O Sri Krishna I only asked for Vishva rupa darshanam; but now I am changing my mind; he says I do not want this darshanam anymore; I would like to return it.  

Sri Krishna agrees that an immature
mind can’t appreciate Vishwa Rupa Darshanam. So he says, confine yourself to
Eka Rupa Ishwara and reduce ahamakra and mamakara. Our culture is designed to
reduce ahamkara. When a new house is built, first action is to place a picture
of God, telling him, it is your house.

Next is seeing this body
also as God’s. When you think this daily, one day it will come true. Come to
Eka Rupa Darshanam.

Sri Krishna now comes to
Eka Rupa and with that Arjuna’s Divya chakshu also goes. This was given in shloka’s
# 31- # 34:

Shloka # 46-55:

And
46 to 55 is the upasamhara
or the conclusion of this teaching; wherein Lord Krishna points out that Arjuna
you had the rare opportunity of Vishva rupa darshanam;
because of your bhakthi; So, thus, bhakthi as a sadhana for evolution is pointed out.

Arjuna, you had a rare
opportunity of Vishwa Rupa Darshanam due to your Bhakti. So, Bhakti is a means
of moving from Eka Rupa to Aneka Rupa; a Bhakti, where God is the end in itself
and this should result in Vairagyam and when vairagyam increases;
the bhakthi becomes the ananya bhakthi.

Concluding in the last shloka, Sri Krishna says, initially stay with Eka rupa, sakama Bhakti; fulfill your material goals; use God to attain them. Let God be your Ishta Devata. You will get Viveka; then you will know the ephemerality of the worldly goals; once you know the limitation; God will become the end; then eka rupa bhakthi also will gradually become anekarupa bhakthi; And ultimately you will attain Me.

Benefits of Vishwa Rupam:

1.
The first advantage is we do not hate anything in the creation; because
everything is part of the Lord only; So I do not divide the world into raga vishaya and dvesha vishaya; everything
has got its place; including a cockroach; including a mosquito; even poison has
got its role to play and therefore dvesha becomes lesser and lesser.

2.
Then the next benefit is amanitvam;
once I know everything is Lord; any glory in any part of the world belongs to
the Lord alone; therefore if I enjoy any faculty, any excellence in me; in
music or dance or knowledge or intelligence or beauty; I do not claim it as
mine; all of them belongs to the Lord; and therefore freedom from conceit;
Self-conceit or humility is the benefit of Vishwa rupa darshanam.

3.
And then the next benefit is I look upon everything as sacred; there is no
secular, sacred division; there is nothing called secular; everything is sacred.
Even the earth, water, fire, and akasha, all are worshipped.

4. Then the next benefit of Vishva rupa bhavana is we have respect for all forms of worship; all forms of God; I may be attracted to one form of Lord; I may have vishnu as my Ishta devatha; but I know that any form is Lord’s form; Therefore I do not look down upon Shiva; I do not compare one form or the other; all forms are OK: therefore all religions also are OK for me; sarva matha sama bhavah.

5. The benefit of Vishva rupa darshanam is the expansion of the mind; the narrowness of the mind; the shortsighted of the mind will go away; because I appreciate the totality. Therefore the totality, the more I see it; the more my mind expands.

Take away:

One
material cause alone appears as manifold effect, by assuming different names
and forms.

Universe
is nothing but God evolved with different nama and rupa’s.

So
karanam and karyam are one
and the same material only; karanam is with potential nama and rupa, whereas the
karyam is with
the manifest nama and rupa.

This ahamkara mamakara
rahita chakshu is Divya chakshu.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka # 46:

I want to see You just as before, wearing a
crown, wielding a mace, and holding a disc in hand. O You with thousand arms, O
You of Cosmic form, appear with that very form with four hands.

Continuing
his teaching Swamiji said, shlokas # 35 to # 45 have been completed and with
this Arjuna’s appreciation of Vishwa Rupa Drashanam and his surrender to Lord
is also complete.

Arjuna, while he is happy
with Vishwa rupa darshanam, he is not mature enough for it. Vishwa rupa
darshanam means looking at everything as one whole.

The
creation is a relative entity consisting of pairs of opposite and therefore, if
I am going to see the universe as the Lord; I should be able to accept the both
the pairs of opposite equally. I should have a reverential attitude of
acceptance with regard to every event in the creation,

Not
only the things consists of pairs of opposite; even events are pairs of
opposites. Thus, we have birth and death;
both are an integral a part of God.

Therefore,
to become a Vishva rupa bhakta; I
should be able to accept death
of anyone, without any complaint, which means an inner maturity is required;
which is also as an integral part of Bhagavan; And therefore it requires a
reverence; rather than complaint. That is why in Sandhya vandanam; we regularly
worship Yama as Bhagavan. Accepting pairs of opposites with a non-complaining
attitude is a sign of maturity.

Similarly every association I have to accept and I have to accept every disassociation as well without grumbling, similarly, health and sickness. Similarly war and peace; as long as human freewill is there; there will be raga and dvesha; which means there will be war even in heaven; devas and asuras will be quarreling; And therefore most of the things are integral part of Vishvarupa; I should be able to accept them without grumbling; which means I should have a very rarified mind; which sees the totality and therefore for an immature mind, Vishva rupam can be a threat; and Arjuna proves that his mind is immature because he says I am not able to withstand it.

Then the question is how can I make myself mature. Until I get the maturity to accept Bhagavan, the aneka rupa Ishvara, the only alternative I have, is to accept the ekarupa Ishvara as the Lord; that is why we start with Ishta devatha bhakthi so that I will be able to accept the situation by feeling the presence of my Ishta devatha in my heart; this is how I begin; Shankaracharya writes a beautiful sthothram called shiva shankara sthothram:

It says, “ O Lord, I will
have old age and face death as well; I don’t know how death will come for me.
The Yama dutas will come and threaten me; at that time I should not be
frightened; at that time I want you to come, O Lord Shiva. I should not be
affected by anything; my attention at that time should be on you and Parvati
alone. I hope to see your Tandavam and Parvati’s Lasyam; absorbed in it I
should not even know when I leave this earth. This prayer to the Ishta Devata
gives one a great relief. We have to develop that bhakti for our Ishta Devata
right now.

This ishta devatha bhakthi or eka rupa bhakthi will give you sufficient strength to expand your vision to Vishva rupa bhakthi; and when it is getting converted to Vishva rupa bhakthi; ishta devatha bhakthi need not go away; I see the ishta devatha himself as all the rupam; if Sri Krishna is my Ishta devatha; all people are Krishna in different vesham; and thus if I go to Shiva temple; Krishna is in Shiva Vesham; in this manner whole creation becomes Vishwa Rupam.

After remaining in Vishwa
rupam for sometime, one then comes to Arupa Bhakti. So, Arjuna confesses to God
that I prefer to see you as the simple Sri Krishna.

Shloka # 47:

The Blessed Lord said Out of grace, O Arjuna,
this supreme, radiant, Cosmic, infinite, primeval form-which (form) of Mine has
not been seen before by anyone other than you, has been
shown to you by Me through the power of My own Yoga.

Sri Krishna spoke:

So
when Arjuna made this request, Lord Krishna says: Arjuna I am not responsible for
showing this Vishva rupam; in fact, I
know you are not yet ready; but since you made a special request, I chose to
show you; and now that you do not want Vishvarupa, I will bless you accordingly.

In the shloka Yoga means
Maya Shakti; the assembly of three gunas; it is god’s Maya Shakti by which I
gave you the Divya chakshu. Atmayogat means my own maya Shakti. I used my own
Maya Shakti to show Vishwa rupam to you. I was pleased with your sincerity; I
gave you the Divya chakshu. If you were mature you would have enjoyed the
Vishwa Rupam; for an immature person it maybe frightening; by itself it is
Tejomayam, containing all galaxies and stars of the universe; consisting of everything,
cognized in many forms. Anantam means limitless space and time; it is first
born and only after that individual bodies are born, so it is first born. Arjuna
is a blessed devotee; nobody else had this blessing before. Swamiji says, some
others too had seen Viswa rupa darshanam; here it is used just as a figure of
speech.

Shloka # 48:

Not by the study of the Vedas and sacrifices,
not by gifts, not even by rituals, not by severe austerities can I, in this
form, be perceived in the human world by anyone [‘By anyone who has not
received My grace’. other than you, O most valiant among the Kurus.

Here Sri Krishna wants to
point out that Arjuna saw the Vishwa rupam due to his bhakti. Bhakti’s
importance is emphasized here while other sadhanas are brought down. This is a
method scriptures use. One has to understand this. All sadhanas are important
but scriptures bring some down, in a particular context.

Scriptures criticize some
sadhanas. In Taittirya Upanishad Various sadhanas were highlighted; Swadhyaya
was highlighted and swadhyaya was considered important relative to others.

Here Sri Krishna says bhakti
is most important. What should we conclude from this? We can conclude that all
values are equally important, however, here bhakti is highlighted. This criticism
of other sadhanas should not be taken literally.

Sri Krishna says study of
Vedas (learning to chant vedas) can’t give Vishwa rupa darshanam. Discussing the
study of yagnas, that is rituals; there is a difference between Veda adhyayana
and yagna adhyayana. Veda
adhyayana is learning to chant the Vedas; and yagna adhyayana means analysis of the Vedas; and
learning how to do the
rituals. Sri Krishna says Veda
adhyayanam is useless; yagna adhyayanam is also useless; none of them will give
you Vishva rupa darshanam.

Dana is also useless, how
about laukika Karmas? They are also useless for obtaining Vishwa rupa darshanam
as are Vaidica karmas.

Tapas is also useless, as
are intense austerities. Through all these sadhanas, Vishwa Rupam can’t be
seen. Only people like you, O Arjuna, can see it since you have a unique
qualification for Vishwa rupa darshanam. Sri Krishna will later say that
qualification is Bhakti. Bhakti alone helps one obtain Vishwa rupa darshanam. In the 7^th
chapter, Sri Krishna has talked about four types of bhakthi: artha bhakthi;
artharthi bhakthi; jignasu bhakthi and Gyani bhakthi.

What type of bhakti helps?
Artha bhakti (crisis driven bhakti) won’t help. Artharthi bhakti, bhakti
craving for wealth, also does not help. Now Jignasu bhakta means one who
seeks ekarupa
Ishvara darshanam through
devotion, such a mature bhakthi alone can help you see Vishwa rupa darshanam. So, O Arjuna, you asked for it
and I gave it to you.

Shloka # 49:

May you have no fear, and may not there be
bewilderment by seeing this form of Mine so terrible Becoming free from fear
and gladdened in mind again, see this very earlier form of Mine.

Sri Krishna says if you are
not ready for Vishwa rupa darshanam, I don’t want to impose it on you. Vedic
teachings don’t impose anything. Moksha is advaitam and many can’t accept it.
Appreciating the value of moksha requires a great maturity. If you don’t
appreciate importance of moksha, don’t strive for it. Citing an example: A
woman wanted to be a Gopi and dance with Sri Krishna; another woman wanted to
visit heaven. If you are not ready for Vishwa rupa darshanam ask for others
such as Artha and Kama.

So, therefore if you are not ready for Vishva rupa darshanam; I do not want to impose it; have eka rupa bhakthi; ask for artha; ask for kama; with only one condition, that is to follow dharma. And whatever you get legitimately, take it as Bhagavan’s gift. That is the only sadhana we request you to practice; you need not study upanishad; follow only karma kanda; follow only karma Yoga by which we mean fulfill your desires, legitimately and take whatever you get as Ishvara prasada; Start there and it will lead you to Moksha. In fact, Sri Krishna himself is going to tell this beautifully in the next chapter.

 “ May you not feel the pain of my crushing
people between my teeth; don’t feel immobilized by seeing my viswa rupam that
is frightening to you”.

Many people cant stand the
sight of blood; imagine a doctor in such a situation.

“ Now may you see my old
Sri Krishna rupam, my Eka rupam, without any fears and with a stress free mind
again.

Shloka # 50:

Sanjaya said Thus, having spoken to Arjuna in
that manner, Vasudeva showed His own form again. And He, the exalted One,
reassured this terrified one by again becoming serene in form.

So
Arjuna requested the Lord to change the form and Lord Krishna has also agreed to
change the form; And now there is a period of silence during this change;
wherein the transformation is taking place from aneka rupa to eka rupa; And since
there is silence neither Sri Krishna talks nor Arjuna talks; And therefore Sanjaya
comes in and gives a running commentary as to what is happening in the battle
field; So Sanjaya reports:

Lord Krishna uttered these
words and once again showed his Eka Rupa form to Arjuna. Even after having seen
the changed rupam of Sri Krishna, even then, Arjuna’s fears continue for some
time. It is the same with our nightmares as well. Sri Krishna, in his peaceful
rupam, consoles Arjuna like a mother. Thus Aneka rupa Ishwara became Eka Rupa Ishwara
and consoled Arjuna.

What does the withdrawing of
Vishwa Rupam mean? Will God remove Vishwa rupam? World is the body of God as
such there is no arrival or departure for Vishwa rupam. All that Sri Krishna
did was to withdraw the Divya Chakshu from Arjuna. Divya chakshu is a mind that is not overpowered by Ahamkara and
mamakara. In a state of ahamkara and mamamkara one can’t see the totality.

Citing an example, if you
take a picture of a person standing with a mountain in background; if you focus
on person the mountain becomes defocused or the other way around. So, depending
on focus, one may see the man or the mountain.

So if Aham-Mama are dominant; my focus is never on vishva rupam; it will be one segment of the creation alone; but when aham and mama; I and mine, come down; then and then alone, Vishva rupa appreciation would come.

So ahamkara and mamakara
has to come down.

Citing another example: Children
acted in a play at a school’s annual day program. Parents came to see the play.
It was interesting to see people taking pictures of some scenes and then
leaving. The parents were not interested in the drama, only in their child or
children. They did not come to see other kids. They only see “ my” son or
daughter and not the totality.  

We
are all trapped in enclosed consciousness; we do not have a rarified consciousness,
to appreciate the totality;

So
divya chakshu was gone;
that means Arjuna has come back to my Bhishma; my Drona; he has come back to the old story.

Take away:

Divya chakshu is a mind
that is not overpowered by Ahamkara and mamakara. In a state of ahamkara and
mamamkara one can’t see the totality.

Swamiji
says, follow only karma kanda;
follow only karma Yoga by
which we mean fulfill your

desires,
legitimately and take whatever you get as Ishvara prasada; Start there and it will lead you to
Moksha.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka # 46:

I want to see You just as before, wearing a
crown, wielding a mace, and holding a disc in hand. O You with thousand arms, O
You of Cosmic form, appear with that very form with four hands.

Continuing
his teaching Swamiji said, shlokas # 35 to # 45 have been completed and with
this Arjuna’s appreciation of Vishwa Rupa Drashanam and his surrender to Lord
is also complete.

Arjuna, while he is happy
with Vishwa rupa darshanam, he is not mature enough for it. Vishwa rupa
darshanam means looking at everything as one whole.

The
creation is a relative entity consisting of pairs of opposite and therefore, if
I am going to see the universe as the Lord; I should be able to accept the both
the pairs of opposite equally. I should have a reverential attitude of
acceptance with regard to every event in the creation,

Not
only the things consists of pairs of opposite; even events are pairs of
opposites. Thus, we have birth and death;
both are an integral a part of God.

Therefore,
to become a Vishva rupa bhakta; I
should be able to accept death
of anyone, without any complaint, which means an inner maturity is required;
which is also as an integral part of Bhagavan; And therefore it requires a
reverence; rather than complaint. That is why in Sandhya vandanam; we regularly
worship Yama as Bhagavan. Accepting pairs of opposites with a non-complaining
attitude is a sign of maturity.

Similarly every association I have to accept and I have to accept every disassociation as well without grumbling, similarly, health and sickness. Similarly war and peace; as long as human freewill is there; there will be raga and dvesha; which means there will be war even in heaven; devas and asuras will be quarreling; And therefore most of the things are integral part of Vishvarupa; I should be able to accept them without grumbling; which means I should have a very rarified mind; which sees the totality and therefore for an immature mind, Vishva rupam can be a threat; and Arjuna proves that his mind is immature because he says I am not able to withstand it.

Then the question is how can I make myself mature. Until I get the maturity to accept Bhagavan, the aneka rupa Ishvara, the only alternative I have, is to accept the ekarupa Ishvara as the Lord; that is why we start with Ishta devatha bhakthi so that I will be able to accept the situation by feeling the presence of my Ishta devatha in my heart; this is how I begin; Shankaracharya writes a beautiful sthothram called shiva shankara sthothram:

It says, “ O Lord, I will
have old age and face death as well; I don’t know how death will come for me.
The Yama dutas will come and threaten me; at that time I should not be
frightened; at that time I want you to come, O Lord Shiva. I should not be
affected by anything; my attention at that time should be on you and Parvati
alone. I hope to see your Tandavam and Parvati’s Lasyam; absorbed in it I
should not even know when I leave this earth. This prayer to the Ishta Devata
gives one a great relief. We have to develop that bhakti for our Ishta Devata
right now.

This ishta devatha bhakthi or eka rupa bhakthi will give you sufficient strength to expand your vision to Vishva rupa bhakthi; and when it is getting converted to Vishva rupa bhakthi; ishta devatha bhakthi need not go away; I see the ishta devatha himself as all the rupam; if Sri Krishna is my Ishta devatha; all people are Krishna in different vesham; and thus if I go to Shiva temple; Krishna is in Shiva Vesham; in this manner whole creation
becomes Vishwa
Rupam.

After remaining in Vishwa
rupam for sometime, one then comes to Arupa Bhakti. So, Arjuna confesses to God
that I prefer to see you as the simple Sri Krishna.

Shloka # 47:

The Blessed Lord said Out of grace, O Arjuna,
this supreme, radiant, Cosmic, infinite, primeval form-which (form) of Mine has
not been seen before by anyone other than you, has been
shown to you by Me through the power of My own Yoga.

Sri Krishna spoke:

So
when Arjuna made this request, Lord Krishna says: Arjuna I am not responsible for
showing this Vishva rupam; in fact, I
know you are not yet ready; but since you made a special request, I chose to
show you; and now that you do not want Vishvarupa, I will bless you accordingly.

In the shloka Yoga means
Maya Shakti; the assembly of three gunas; it is god’s Maya Shakti by which I
gave you the Divya chakshu. Atmayogat means my own maya Shakti. I used my own
Maya Shakti to show Vishwa rupam to you. I was pleased with your sincerity; I
gave you the Divya chakshu. If you were mature you would have enjoyed the
Vishwa Rupam; for an immature person it maybe frightening; by itself it is
Tejomayam, containing all galaxies and stars of the universe; consisting of everything,
cognized in many forms. Anantam means limitless space and time; it is first
born and only after that individual bodies are born, so it is first born. Arjuna
is a blessed devotee; nobody else had this blessing before. Swamiji says, some
others too had seen Viswa rupa darshanam; here it is used just as a figure of
speech.

Shloka # 48:

Not by the study of the Vedas and sacrifices,
not by gifts, not even by rituals, not by severe austerities can I, in this
form, be perceived in the human world by anyone [‘By anyone who has not
received My grace’. other than you, O most valiant among the Kurus.

Here Sri Krishna wants to
point out that Arjuna saw the Vishwa rupam due to his bhakti. Bhakti’s
importance is emphasized here while other sadhanas are brought down. This is a
method scriptures use. One has to understand this. All sadhanas are important
but scriptures bring some down, in a particular context.

Scriptures criticize some
sadhanas. In Taittirya Upanishad Various sadhanas were highlighted; Swadhyaya
was highlighted and swadhyaya was considered important relative to others.

Here Sri Krishna says bhakti
is most important. What should we conclude from this? We can conclude that all
values are equally important, however, here bhakti is highlighted. This criticism
of other sadhanas should not be taken literally.

Sri Krishna says study of
Vedas (learning to chant vedas) can’t give Vishwa rupa darshanam. Discussing the
study of yagnas, that is rituals; there is a difference between Veda adhyayana
and yagna adhyayana. Veda
adhyayana is learning to chant the Vedas; and yagna adhyayana means analysis of the Vedas; and
learning how to do the
rituals. Sri Krishna says Veda
adhyayanam is useless; yagna adhyayanam is also useless; none of them will give
you Vishva rupa darshanam.

Dana is also useless, how
about laukika Karmas? They are also useless for obtaining Vishwa rupa darshanam
as are Vaidica karmas.

Tapas is also useless, as
are intense austerities. Through all these sadhanas, Vishwa Rupam can’t be
seen. Only people like you, O Arjuna, can see it since you have a unique
qualification for Vishwa rupa darshanam. Sri Krishna will later say that
qualification is Bhakti. Bhakti alone helps one obtain Vishwa rupa darshanam. In the 7^th
chapter, Sri Krishna has talked about four types of bhakthi: artha bhakthi;
artharthi bhakthi; jignasu bhakthi and Gyani bhakthi.

What type of bhakti helps?
Artha bhakti (crisis driven bhakti) won’t help. Artharthi bhakti, bhakti
craving for wealth, also does not help. Now Jignasu bhakta means one who
seeks ekarupa
Ishvara darshanam through
devotion, such a mature bhakthi alone can help you see Vishwa rupa darshanam. So, O Arjuna, you asked for it
and I gave it to you.

Shloka # 49:

May you have no fear, and may not there be
bewilderment by seeing this form of Mine so terrible Becoming free from fear
and gladdened in mind again, see this very earlier form of Mine.

Sri Krishna says if you are
not ready for Vishwa rupa darshanam, I don’t want to impose it on you. Vedic
teachings don’t impose anything. Moksha is advaitam and many can’t accept it.
Appreciating the value of moksha requires a great maturity. If you don’t
appreciate importance of moksha, don’t strive for it. Citing an example: A
woman wanted to be a Gopi and dance with Sri Krishna; another woman wanted to
visit heaven. If you are not ready for Vishwa rupa darshanam ask for others
such as Artha and Kama.

So,
therefore if you are not ready for Vishva rupa darshanam;
I do not want to impose it; have eka rupa
bhakthi; ask for artha;
ask for kama; with only
one condition, that is to follow dharma. And whatever you get legitimately,
take it as Bhagavan’s
gift. That is the only sadhana we request you
to practice; you need not study upanishad; follow only karma kanda; follow only karma Yoga by which we mean fulfill your

desires,
legitimately and take whatever you get as Ishvara prasada; Start there and it will lead you to Moksha. In fact, Sri Krishna
himself is going to tell this beautifully in the next chapter.

 “ May you not feel the pain of my crushing
people between my teeth; don’t feel immobilized by seeing my viswa rupam that
is frightening to you”.

Many people cant stand the
sight of blood; imagine a doctor in such a situation.

“ Now may you see my old
Sri Krishna rupam, my Eka rupam, without any fears and with a stress free mind
again.

Shloka # 50:

Sanjaya said Thus, having spoken to Arjuna in
that manner, Vasudeva showed His own form again. And He, the exalted One,
reassured this terrified one by again becoming serene in form.

So
Arjuna requested the Lord to change the form and Lord Krishna has also agreed to
change the form; And now there is a period of silence during this change;
wherein the transformation is taking place from aneka rupa to eka rupa; And since
there is silence neither Sri Krishna talks nor Arjuna talks; And therefore Sanjaya
comes in and gives a running commentary as to what is happening in the battle
field; So Sanjaya reports:

Lord Krishna uttered these
words and once again showed his Eka Rupa form to Arjuna. Even after having seen
the changed rupam of Sri Krishna, even then, Arjuna’s fears continue for some
time. It is the same with our nightmares as well. Sri Krishna, in his peaceful
rupam, consoles Arjuna like a mother. Thus Aneka rupa Ishwara became Eka Rupa Ishwara
and consoled Arjuna.

What does the withdrawing of
Vishwa Rupam mean? Will God remove Vishwa rupam? World is the body of God as
such there is no arrival or departure for Vishwa rupam. All that Sri Krishna
did was to withdraw the Divya Chakshu from Arjuna. Divya chakshu is a mind that is not overpowered by Ahamkara and
mamakara. In a state of ahamkara and mamamkara one can’t see the totality.

Citing an example, if you
take a picture of a person standing with a mountain in background; if you focus
on person the mountain becomes defocused or the other way around. So, depending
on focus, one may see the man or the mountain.

So if Aham-Mama are dominant; my focus is never on vishva rupam; it will be one segment of the creation alone; but when aham and mama; I and mine, come down; then and then alone, Vishva rupa appreciation would come. So ahamkara and mamakara has to come down.

Citing another example: Children
acted in a play at a school’s annual day program. Parents came to see the play.
It was interesting to see people taking pictures of some scenes and then
leaving. The parents were not interested in the drama, only in their child or
children. They did not come to see other kids. They only see “ my” son or
daughter and not the totality.  

We
are all trapped in enclosed consciousness; we do not have a rarified consciousness,
to appreciate the totality;

So
divya chakshu was gone;
that means Arjuna has come back to my Bhishma; my Drona; he has come back to the old story.

Take away:

Divya chakshu is a mind
that is not overpowered by Ahamkara and mamakara. In a state of ahamkara and
mamamkara one can’t see the totality.

Swamiji
says, follow only karma kanda;
follow only karma Yoga by
which we mean fulfill your

desires,
legitimately and take whatever you get as Ishvara prasada; Start there and it will lead you to
Moksha.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka # 43:

You are the Father of all beings moving and
non-moving; to this (world) You are worthy of worship, the Teacher, and greater
(than a teacher). There is none equal to You; how at all can there be anyone
greater even in all the three worlds, O You of unrivalled power?

Continuing his teaching
Swamiji said, Sri Krishna answering Arjuna’s question, pointed out that he,
Krishna, himself was Kalatatvam. Time is not separate from Creation and once I appreciate
desha and kala as Ishvara; then
everything existing in time and space also must be Ishvara because
the world cannot exist separate from desaha and kala. As I said the other day, previously
it was thought that time and space are separate and the creation is separate; this was the thinking under Newtonian
physics. Later we have revised our opinion; creation cannot be separated from
time and space; or time and space cannot be separated from creation.

Shankaracharya says, God
created time, space and the World.

It
is not that time and space existed before and Bhagavan thought in
time, one day, to create the universe; that is not the idea; when we say Bhagavan created the
world it means Bhagavan
created time, place and the world; and that is why we get into a logical
problem; once I know Bhagavan
created time and space and world, we will have difficulty in answering questions
such as; when did Bhagavan
create time; What will be your answer. It
is a difficult question to answer. One cannot answer, when time arrived. Another
question is where does space exist? How did cause and effect principle come
about? These
three questions, can never answered; that is why we use the word: Maya. Maya does not
mean we do not know how to answer; Maya means intellectually these questions are undecipherable. So,
what I want to say is: when Bhagavan says I am time, we should understand that as, Bhagavan is Time,
Bhagavan is Space;
Bhagavan is the
objects also.

So, Bhagawan is time, space
and objects. It also includes events that occur. Finally God is, all the laws
governing all events. Citing example of boiling water, it follows laws such as
boiling point etc. Every event is governed by physical and moral laws and is called
Bhagawan or Niyama.

Whenever I experience
anyone of the above four (time, space, objects, events) I am experiencing God. A
person asked could I get darshan of God? Gita says, you are obtaining this
darshan at all times; it is just that you are not aware of it. The moment we
become aware of it, it becomes a mature mind; one becomes a madhyama bhakta. An Uttama bhaktha is
even above this state.

This Vishwa rupa bhakta is
a great nature lover that he appreciates as Bhagawan. Arjuna also gets a glimpse
of this darshanam and he becomes overwhelmed by devotion.

In this context Shiva sankalpa mantras come to mind,
they are so beautiful; it says, let my mind have auspicious thought; and one of
the auspicious thoughts is that all the legs, all the eyes; all the faces are
the faces of the Lord alone; and when Arjuna appreciates this; he looks back in
time and remembers.

At this time, looking back,
Arjuna feels guilt that in the past I have not addressed God properly, when we
were younger. He surrenders to Lord and asks for forgiveness. Hence we should
not disrespect Earth and Water. Do not spit in water; do not take bath
in the river without clothes; all these advices are given by the Vedas.

Why so much respect? When
rain comes we run away; then ask why escape from rain which is God himself.

Arjuna says, O Lord, you
are father of Universe consisting of moving and non-moving objects.”

This is the shloka I introduced in the last class. “Oh Lord: You are the father of the universe.” Here we have to see two things; In Vedantic teaching, three stages are there; I have told you before; philosophically first we say:

Bhagavan creates the
world; stage one;

stage
two is Bhagavan himself
becomes the world,

the
last stage is Bhagavan
appears as the world without undergoing change.

First stage is called nimitha karana Ishvara or ekarupa Ishvara; the second stage is called upadana karana Ishvara or anekarupa Isvara; the third stage is called vivartha upadana Ishvara or arupa Ishvara.

Arjuna
is, here, doing both; He is says, You are the Father of the world and You are
the world.

God is the creator of
scriptural teaching tradition. You are the adi guru. You are greater than all
other Gurus. Why so? All other Gurus were at one point in time a shishya.
Bhagawan is the absolute Guru who was never a shishya (gariyan).

“ there is no one equal to
you; so, where is the question of someone being greater than you; you are
matchless one; you are Lord of matchless glory.”

Shloka # 44:

Therefore, by bowing down and prostrating the
body, I seek to propitate You who are God and are adorable. O Lord, You should
[The elision of a (in arhasi of priyayarhasi) is a metrical licence.] forgive
(my faults) as would a father (the faults) of a son, as a friend, of a friend,
and as a lover of a beloved.

Arjuna’s guilt does not
leave him, although he has only treated Sri Krishna as a friend. In Bhakti
literature God is accepted as a friend, but still Arjuna feels guilty.

“ I request forgiveness,
falling at your feet. I propitiate you for my offense.” Other than God nobody
deserves namaskara. All namaskara’s finally go to God through Guru Paramapara.

“I do this so that you
forgive me for my insults to you; even as a parent forgives children.” We should
forgive our children when they make mistakes.

Like a husband forgiving
his wife for her offenses; husband was considered a Guru and wife the shishya. “You are like husband”,
is also a form of bhakthi called madhura bhakthi; where the devotee looks upon
himself as Gopi or Radha and Lord is
the only purusha.

Finally, forgive me, just
as a friend forgives another friend.

Shloka # 45:

I am delighted by seeing something not seen
heretofore, and my mind is stricken with fear. O Lord, show me that very form;
O supreme God, O Abode of the Universe, be gracious!

Here Arjuna expresses his
two fold emotions. I am in conflict. I am one of the few lucky one’s with a Divya
Chakshu that allowed me the Vishwa Rupa Darshanam.

At the same time from one
corner I see only Lord’s mouth where bodies are being crushed and devoured. My
mind is in grip of fear due to this. One part is happy while another part of
mind is fearful. Of the two, fear is more dominant.

Divya Chakshu has to come
to us through our own Sadhanas; Arjuna got his from God’s blessing; he did not get
it from his sadhanas; he was not mature enough to get it, hence he is fearful.

So, I request you to
withdraw Vishwa Rupa; I can’t withstand it. To withstand Vishwa Rupa darshanam
one’s Raga Dvesha must be carefully reduced; my Ahamkara, Mamakara must reduce
in me.

I have seen something
unique, Vishwa Rupa; seeing it I am extremely elated, but internally I am
frightened as well.

Citing an example, swamiji
said in his village during a temple festival they had a few elephants and he
got on top of one of them. Now, elephant has big backbone; it also has hair
that is very rough. Both of them make one miserable but yet one keeps smiling.

Of the two, fear is the one
that dominates. O Lord, I would like to see you as good old Sri Krishna, the
Eka Rupa Ishwara. Graduating to aneka rupa Ishwara is not easy; only after
being in aneka rupa for some time can one go to arupa ishwara.

Be gracious to me; O lord
abode of universe.

Citing a story, when Krishna
ate mud, Yashoda scolded and said; open the mouth. She thought that she will
see only mud inside the mouth but instead of mud, the whole cosmos was there;
and just as Arjuna could not withstand the Vishva rupa; even Yashoda
could not. Therefore instead of saying; I am not able to; she commanded Krishna
to Shut Up. Shut Up seems to be a command, but inside it is all fear; It is not
to be taken literally; how can all the cosmos would be inside the Krishna’s
mouth; even the Tirupati Laddu we are not able to put inside as a whole into
our mouth; so, do not take it literally. This symbolizes the Lord as the vishvadharam gagana sadrsham.

Shloka # 46:

I want to see You just as before, wearing a
crown, wielding a mace, and holding a disc in hand. O You with thousand arms, O
You of Cosmic form, appear with that very form with four hands.

So Arjuna concludes his prayer. That is the third stage of appreciation. No.1 Ascharyam; No.2 bhayam; No.3 bhakthihi; the third stage of bhakthi expression is being concluded here; with Arjuna’s request to the Lord to get back to his own ekarupa.

He says he wants to see the
Lord with his Chakra, Gadha and his four hands.

Some ask if Sri Krishna had
four hands? Sri Krishna had only two hands. We can conclude that Arjuna was
probably confused due to his changing emotions. So he says, May you appear as
Sri Krishna rupam and not as Vishwa Rupam.

So
with this Arjuna’s response to Vishva rupa

darshanam is over;
the last phase is from shloka No.35 up to this shloka. Now the ball is in Lord
Krishna’s court; so, there is some silence; because Arjuna has made his request
and Sri Krishna has to do respond; What is the Lord going to do is given in the
next shloka; which we will see in the next class.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka 11.34: You destroy Drona and Bhisma,
and Jayadratha and Karna as also the other heroic warriors who have been killed
by Me. Do not be afraid. Fight! You shall conquer the enemies in battle.

Continuing his teaching
Swamiji said, Sri Krishna gave an important advice to Arjuna: whenever an
individual acts according to Dharma, then he is considered as having
surrendered his will to Dharma. Dharma is Lord’s teaching. So, surrendering to
Dharma is surrendering to will of Lord and when you do this, you still have
free will. With freewill when you act along with your Raga and Dvesha, it is
not aligned with God. Thus while you have freewill, you have to choose the path
of Raga Dvesha or Dharma. Thus, Arjuna’s freewill has two paths:

Raga Dvesha says, don’t
kill Drona, Bhishma and other kith and kin.

Dharma freewill tells him
to take up the dharmic fight.

Sri Krishna says, when you
are going with Raga Dvesha, it is abusing your freewill and it will result in
your downfall. So, Arjuna, do you want to choose free will that will result in
your downfall or will you take the dharmic path without attachments. When you
choose to use freewill with your intellectual convictions and choose the
painful path; that path involves surrendering your freewill to the will of God
and this will lead to spiritual growth. Using freewill is dharmic while abusing
freewill is going with Raga dvesha. Thus where freewill is dharmic in nature; there
Karma Yoga and Bhakti merge. Forced surrender is suppression, but surrender
done with freewill, voluntary surrender, is real bhakti.

A real karma Yogi is always
a Bhakta. So, Arjuna, become a bhakta. So, fight your Guru, Bhishma, Jayadratha
and Karna and in the process you will lose many of your warriors as well; their
next Janma is ready, so don’t be depressed; may you fight this battle.

Saving society from adharma
is duty of a Kshatriya. You will defeat your enemies in the war as Dharma is on
your side.

Shloka 11.35:

Sanjaya said Hearing this utterance of Kesava,
Kiriti (Arjuna), with joined palms and trembling, protrating himself, said
again to Krsna with a faltering voice, bowing down overcome by fits of fear:

Sanjaya spoke:

When Sri Krishna answered
Arjuna’s question, how did Arjuna respond? He understands that Sri Krishna is
only karma phala datha;
exactly like a judge; judge is not responsible for the enjoyment or suffering
of the people; if a person suffers punishment in the jail; that suffering is
not caused by the judge; but the suffering is the result of his own action.
Bhagavan has only
worked for the karma phalam to reach him; just as the judge’s role is to make
the law of karma work properly. And therefore Lord’s compassion does not mean
he will alter the karma phalam; Lord’s compassion is
in the form of the maintenance of the law of karma; And therefore if a person
has to receive papa phalam; a
person has to certainly receive it; Bhagavan is compassionate
alright; but where papa
phalam has to go, Bhagavan
will have to do that. If out of compassion, Bhagavan does not give
out the karma phala, then the moral order of creation will be disturbed.
Imagine if Bhagavan
changes the law of karma; because a person has to suffer; then what will be the
problem? Then He will have to change the laws which maintains the orderliness
of the creation. Then a single individual may benefit alright; but the world at
large will have to suffer; and therefore when you look from short-sighted
angle; it is like when a person is fallingdown; he says let the law of
gravitation stop; because he is falling down; Then what will happen; OK; Bhagavan says OK for
10 minutes, the law of gravitation will not function, because this fellow is
falling; what will happen; We will all start flying; Remember, if the law of
gravitation stops, we will not be on the earth; like the cosmonauts and
astronauts; we will be floating all over suddenly; Somebody in T.Nagar is
falling down; and He prayed the Lord: Oh Lord for two minutes the law of gravitation
should stop. Bhagavan
comes and out of compassion, says that the law of gravitation should stop; You
will all hit the fan. Therefore, remember that it is shortsightedness to
complain to the Lord and ask him to change the course of the law, for the sake
of our personal benefit. The law of karma should go on for the survival of the
world.

So, Arjuna, understood
Lords job of maintenance of Karma; while it our job to accept it. Every time I
suffer, remember that our papam has been reduced and I am being purer;
Similarly when you are enjoying, your punyam bank is eroding.

Therefore, O Lord, Your
ways are inscrutable; your compassion expresses as maintenance of law and
karma.

This raises a question?
Does it mean that Prayaschita Karma is a waste? It is never a waste; it also
functions according to law of Karma. It produces a punyam that is capable of
neutralizing the prarabhda.

Say, I have taken food that
does not agree with me, so I take a medicine that can counter it. Thus
Prayaschita karma can produce Agami karma that neutralizes it.

Extent to which Prarabhda
karma is neutralized depends on Prarabhda; the prarabhda can be Prabalam,
Durbalam, or madhyamam. Citing example of disease

we can either cure it,
manage it or there is no remedy; it all depends on individual circumstances.

When prarabhdha comes, we
don’t know of which category it belongs to. So, you perform your prayaschita
anyway.

Here Bhishma, Drona and all,
can’t be saved, they are finished. So, Arjuna’s emotions change from: at first
astonishment, then fear, to now, surrender to the order of creation.

So, Sanjaya reports on what
he sees:

Arjuna understood Lord
clearly; that he is neither cruel nor compassionate. I can never escape the law
of karma, so better learn to like it or surrender to it. Surrender is
intellectual acceptance of law of karma. Arjuna bows down again and again in
great fear and the more he matures with bhakti he learns to go along with
problem. With a choked voice Arjuna addresses Sri Krishna.

Shloka # 36:

Arjuna said It is proper, O Hrsikesa, that the
world becomes delighted and attracted by Your praise; that the Raksasas, stricken
with fear, run in all directions; and that all the groups
of the Siddhas bow down (toYou).

This is the third stage of
Arjuna’s emotions. As long as we are
narrow-minded, creation will cause fear in us. With expansion of mind through
Vishwa Rupa darshanam, our fear goes down. To conquer fear and insecurity learn
to appreciate creation including our past janmas. This way Ahamkara should
grow, ripen and then fall after ripening; this happens with Vishwa rupa
darshanam.

Arjuna says, O Sri Krishna,
I now understand why great Mahatmas appreciate Viswa Rupam. I also see how
narrow-minded people are afraid of Viswa rupam. So even God and religion become
a source of fear.

So, Hrishikesha, by
glorifying you, the mature people revel; they are beyond normal attachments and
Narrow-minded-ness. Non-attachment
and Vishwa rupa darshnam provide far greater pleasure than anything else.

There
is a beautiful Malayalam composition called Harinama keerthanam; it is a very popular one
in Kerala; in that the author writes: Oh Lord; I should never have the idea of
individuality; as I related to a few people; this man’s uncle; this man’s
grandpa, this man’s son; etc. etc.  Even
if that “I” should rise in me; If I should develop an I, let that I be
identified with Either I should never have identification; zero identification
or total identification. Zero identification; you are brahman; total
identification, you are Ishvara;
in both you have no samsara;
but our problem; neither zero identification; nor total identification; a select
few; we suffer with them; so that few identification makes me a miserable
inbetween jeeva; Isvara has no samsara; Brahman has no samsara; jeeva has got maha samsara;

Either I have no identification or total
identification and in both cases there is no samsara. Our problem is we have a
few identifications that cause us all the misery.

All Rakshasas who do not
appreciate dharma become afraid of you and try to escape law of karma.

All
the siddha purushas; all the Gyanis;
who know what is what; they do namaskaram to you; they are willing to accept whatever comes
according to the law of karma; and if at all pray, their prayer is that; Oh
Lord; you need not change the law for my sake; but give me the attitude to
accept what cannot be changed; if things can be corrected through prayaschittam,
give me the knowledge and strength to do prayaschittam; nothing wrong; but whatever is choiceless; and
irremediable; let me accept the choiceless situation; So, groups of wise people
do namaskara to you.

Let me accept the choice-less
situation.

Shloka # 37

And why should they not bow down to You, O
exalted [i.e. not narrow-minded.] One, who are greater (than all) and who are
the first Creator even of Brahma! O infinite One, supreme God, Abode of the
Universe, You are the Immutable,being and non-being, (and) that which is
Transcendental.

Arjuna said, anyone who
appreciates Vishwa rupa and performs namaskara to it, is natural.  As Einstein said; the more I am
studying the creation; I cannot but surrender or appreciate the glory of Lord. In fact, more you see the totality; vinayaha; humility is
very natural. And therefore Arjuna asks; why won’t people do namaskara. So if they
are doing namaskara; there is no
ascharyam; if they do not do namaskara that alone is ascharyam; because so wonderful is the
totality and that is why to develop bhakthi; even studying any aspect of
creation; after Vishva
rupa reading; you
read any science; read biology;
read entomology, the study of insects; insects will make you wonder; astronomy
will make you wonder; any science you take and go in depth;

Thus, if I don’t love
music, it is just that I don’t have the faculty to appreciate music; Similarly
some people don’t have faculty to appreciate God.

You
are the creator of even Brahmaji;
you are the infinite one; because time and space exist in You; you do not exist
in time and space; You are one who is the Lord of all Gods; you are the abode of
the universe; you do not live in the universe; the universe lives in you.

Take away:

Either, I have no
identification or total identification and in both cases there is no samsara.
Our problem is we have a few identifications that cause us all the misery.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्।

मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव
निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्।।11.33।।

Therefore you rise up, (and) gain fame; and
defeating the enemies, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. These have been killed
verily by Me even earlier; be you merely an instrument, O Savyasacin (Arjuna).

Continuing his teaching
Swamiji said, appreciating Vishwarupa of Lord, Arjuna goes through two emotions;
one of wonder and another of fear. He saw Lord destroying everything; seeing the
destructive aspect, Arjuna had questions if Lord was had any compassion at all.
So, he asks, “Who are you and what do you do”?

And
there Lord Krishna said: That I am the kala tatvam; because kala or time is non-separate from the universe; if universe is
My body; time is also an integral aspect of Mine; And therefore from the
standpoint of time, I am called kala; I am called Yama; the one who controls the movement or
controls all the processes of the creation; Yama means, all controller.

Our sandhyavandanam also
has worship of Yama. Yama controls world according to universal laws.

Then Sri Krishna said, now
I am going to destroy warriors on both sides as per their Prarabhda karmas. God
himself does not kill anybody; rather he uses some, as instruments, to perform
this task. He tells Arjuna, you can also be an instrument of mine; and in the
process, you will get name and fame.

The sentence, Nimitha
Matram Bhava, you be my instrument, has been read as fatalism. There are two
points made here.

1. “ Everything is already
determined by God”; meaning death is pre-determined, is the message or
fatalism; We have no control on destiny.

2. Second idea here
is, You be my instrument. So, here, God is controller and we are just
instruments.

Swamiji says, we have
to read this sentence carefully. Shastras don’t accept fatalism. They don’t see
us as puppets without free will. In fact fatalism is rejected.

When we reject fatalism
we are not rejecting idea of fate. The difference between two can be explained
as follows:

Fate is accepted by
shastras. It is result of actions performed in past janmas or destiny also
known as prarabdham or Daivam, and it as seen in a horoscope. Our prarabhdam
influences our life, not the stars. Prarabhdas are indicated by planetary
positions. It is like a fuel gauge in a car that is an indicator alone and not
an inflencer. This is Prarabhda or fate.

Fate verus Fatalism:

Fate is one of the
factors influencing life. If fate alone determines, it is fatalism. Shastra says
the other factor of influence is Free will or Purushartha.

Thus:

Fate + Free will=Our
Future

Let us discuss what
the problem is, if you accept fatalism? Then, God decides everything; we are
just his instruments.

Advantages of
Fatalism:

1. You need not take responsibility for your atrocities; we
   can always blame god when we look for a scapegoat.
2. When God does everything and since we worship god and
   god is just; we are able to accept suffering. So fatalism helps in accepting
   problems.

However shastras don’t
accept fatalism. Shankaracharya also says this is the correct position. Thus,
we identify six problems with fatalism.

1. If God is doing everything and we are his instruments then God is karta and we are Karanam. Whoever is karta, he alone is Bhokta as well, per shastras. Thus, God alone gets all papams and punyams. All Sanchita and Agami karmas go to God. Thus, Bhagavan becomes the Mahasamsari; which is absurd. Thus Maha Samsaritvam is first dosha.
2. Since we are instruments, we don’t get Karma phalam, we get only Karanam; thus, if a car hits somebody, you don’t arrest the car rather you arrest the driver. All my actions will not get Karma Phalam or punyam or papam; if so, we should all get moksha because Jiva becomes an A-samsari; which is also absurd. Thus, A-samsaritvam is a dosha.
3. If God does everything, God alone will cause the suffering of all people. If God is responsible for suffering, he must be a most cruel God; he cannot be a Karuna Murthy. This is known as Nairgrinnya dosham and it means God will be subject to the charge of cruelty.
4. While God has made people suffer; he has made people enjoy as well. All people are not uniformly enjoying; some are happy, some happier and some happiest; thus there are gradations of enjoyment. So God must be responsible for partiality. This is known as Vaishamya dosham, meaning partiality.
5. Since God does all actions, we are mere instruments, we don’t have to know what is right and what is wrong. So, we not hear Dharma shastras. God alone needs to learn them. This is known as Dharma shastra vaiyarthyam dosham.
6. If we don’t have free will, we are just instruments, we will never have a conflict in life. An Instrument need not choose a course of action; so we wont have conflict. All conflicts belong to God alone.    When do we have conflicts? Citing an example: Suppose there is only one road to your house; here there is no choice of another road. Now if there are two roads to your house and here you have to choose.

Thus Freewill, Choice and Conflict, all go together.
Even waking up to an alarm clock is a conflict. Human life is a series of
conflicts, indicating choice, using freewill.

Say you have a Driver.
Both of you get into car. Driver has no conflict, as he is just an instrument.
Conflict lies within the owner, as he has freewill.

If there is no free
will, there will be no conflicts in human beings.

Only animals are free
from free will, choice and conflicts. Human beings always have choice, conflict
and free will.

So, we have free will.
For human beings future is determined by both fate and free will. Animals don’t
have freewill.

In different contexts,
either freewill or fate will dominate. Sometimes they are even and may even end
up in a tie. So, by our prayer we try to influence the fate; and by our planning,
we try to contribute to our will.

Then
comes the final question. Then why did Krishna say nimittamatram bhava savyasachin; why did
He say be an instrument in the hand of the Lord.

What
do you mean by becoming an instrument? In the case of a human being, becoming
the instrument in the hands of the Lord is following a dharmic course of action,
because Bhagavan controls the
world through dharma. Bhagavan
harmonizes the world through dharma; and when I use my freewill to be in
alignment with dharma;

Because,
everytime I have to choose, I can go either by dharma or I can go by my raga dvesha. Raga dvesha tells you do
that or do not, do that; Pay tax or do not pay tax. Or violate the traffic
rules or do this. Therefore every time you have a choice;

We can go according to our Raga dvesha or we can go according to the dharma shastra; when my life is governed by dharma shastra; when my freewill is in alignment with dharma shastra, I become the instrument of the Lord. And therefore Arjuna himself is facing a conflict. Dharma shastra says Arjuna has to fight this war:

According
to dharma, Arjuna’s duty is fight the war, because Kshatriya has to
fight for the sake of dharma. And Duryodhana has explicitly taken to adharma;
therefore dharma tells Arjuna fight. In fact, because of that alone, Arjuna has
to take to battlefield.

But before he started the fight, his raga dvesha came. And raga dvesha tells after-all, Bhishma, Drona, etc. are my
kith and kin;

Thus, this statement
says, Arjuna, may you align your will with mine.

Shloka # 11.34:

You destroy Drona and Bhisma, and Jayadratha
and Karna as also the other heroic warriors who have been killed by Me. Do not
be afraid. Fight! You shall conquer the enemies in battle.

Arjuna faces conflict because he has a freewill; he has a choice; he has to choose between what and what; His dharma knowledge tells that you have to fight the war; but his attachment tells: do not fight the war; His conscience tells fight the war; his attachment tells do not fight; Therefore there is a conflict; And what is becoming the instrument of the Lord; Krishna tells: do not go by your raga dvesha. Then what you go by: you go by dharma; and when you go by dharma, you are going by the Will of the Lord, because dharma is God’s will; so my freewill is now aligned to dharma; my freewill is not gone; my freewill is aligned with dharma; my freewill has aligned with God’s will; and when my freewill is in alignment with God’s will, I become an instrument in the hands of the Lord; Therefore this statement is not saying: you do not have will; this statement tells: Arjuna, May you align your will to my Will. In short, follow dharma. I hope you have no conflict now.

So here Krishna tells what is the course of the creation in keeping with the law of karma or the law of dharma, which Arjuna has to align with. He says all these people’s time has come. According to dharma or law of karma, they require disappearance from the earth; who are they; Drona; Bhishma; Jayadratha; karna; all these people as well as the others belonging to both sides of the army;

Sri Krishna says, they are already dead; which means the law of karma or the law of dharma has indicated their death but in the case of Arjuna, the Lord is here to come and tell what has to happen; what is according to the law of karma, the time of death has come; Bhagavan comes and tells.

Therefore here the difference is in the case of Arjuna, Bhagavan is here to come and tell what is the fate but in our case, our fate is not known or knowable. That is why it is called adrshtam; therefore we can never know clearly what is our fate; and therefore we know only what is the freewill or our capacity; Therefore do your action as though every thing is in your hands; receive the result as though everything is in God’s hands. This is the working approach. Because when you do the action, you do not know the power of fate.

That is why they try to read the fate through astrology; so astrology is supposed to indicate the direction of the fate and they give prayascitha as well. But an astrologer may read it properly, or it may be improper. So, the alternative is surrender to Lord; do your best and leave the rest to him.

Take away:

Thus Freewill, Choice
and Conflict, all go together. Human life is a series of conflicts, indicating
choice, using freewill.

Fate + Free will=Our
Future

Therefore
do your action as though every thing is in your hands; receive the result as
though everythingisin God’s hands. This is the working approach.
Because when you do the action, you do not know the power of fate.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka # 29:

यथा प्रदीप्तं ज्वलनं पतङ्गा
विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः।
तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका
स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः।।11.29।।

As moths enter with increased haste into a
glowing fire for destruction, in that very way do the creatures enter into Your
mouths too, with increased hurry for destruction.

Continuing his teaching Swamiji said, while appreciating the Vishwa Rupa of Lord, Arjuna initially expresses wonderment, seeing the magnitude of Vishva rupa; which consists of the whole creation along with time, which is an integral part of Vishva rupa.

Time and space is
integral part of creation. It is not that they existed before; they arise with
Creation and once creation is resolved we can’t have space and time. We see
this in the sleep state when objects go away, time and space goes away and upon
waking up objects come back. During his experience of Vishwa Rupa, Arjuna
experiences time via the mouth of Lord. Time is intrinsic in every object that
makes it arrive, grow old and then die. This integral kalatatvam is seen as
mouth of Lord. Kalatatvam has two powers: Creative and Destructive. Arjuna did
not see the creative side such as birth of children. Creative power helps the
boom of human beings, a mangala karma. But since Arjuna was in battlefield, he
saw destructive aspect of Kala swallowing many beings. If Arjuna had seen the Rupa
in totality (birth and death) he would have seen both as mangalam. Thus Union
and departure are both mangalam; growth and decay are also mangalam. Once I
accept both as mangalam, Vishwa Rupam is not frightening anymore.

Another choice is to see everything as amangalam. Vedanta sees both punar janmam and Punar maranam as amangalam. Even union is amangalam; heaven and hell is also amangalam.

Either accept everything
as mangalam or reject whole thing as amangalam. The problem is we want to
accept birth as mangalam but we don’t want to accept death as mangalam. So
totally accept or renounce the world. Arjuna does not want death of Bhishma,
Drona etc; but he also wants Karna to die; this is his dilemma.

Sri Krishna says this
is not the law of creation.

Shloka # 30:

लेलिह्यसे ग्रसमानः समन्ता
ल्लोकान्समग्रान्वदनैर्ज्वलद्भिः।
तेजोभिरापूर्य जगत्समग्रं
भासस्तवोग्राः प्रतपन्ति विष्णो।।11.30।।

You lick Your lips while devouring all the
creatures from every side with flaming mouths which are completely filling the
entire world with heat.

Arjuna sees bodies
rushing into Lord’s mouth.

What is Gods response
to all the death? Does he feel sympathy? God does not appear to have any
sympathy. He seems to say that if you cant accept law of universe; birth and
death; then it is your problem.

Before discussing we
should know what is it? Scriptures describe all these in details. So in closing
our eyes to death principle, we are closing our opportunity to understand
death. So, God is not bothered with all this; rather he seems to enjoy
swallowing people.

“ So, like a good
eater he seems to be enjoying the meal. Every object seems to be a food object,
as god is swallowing them. Al people are devoured within his huge blazing mouth
and he is relishing it.”

The radiation of fire
from your mouth seems to spread all around. Kalatatvam affects every moment of life,
as we grow older.

Arjuna has begun to
doubt nature of God. He did not expect to see a violent aspect of God. Is God
compassionate? Is there even God? So now he raises a question to Sri Krishna.

Shloka # 31:

आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपो
नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद।
विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं
न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम्।।11.31।।

Tell me who You are, fierce in form. Salutation
be to you, O supreme God; be gracious. I desire to fully know You who are the
Prima One. For I do not understand Your actions!

Arjuna asks a
fundamental question, O God, who are you? Are you compassionate or the fierce
one? Why did you create suffering with Joy? I am not able to understand your
fierce form. May you cool down and show me a pleasant form of yours?

In effect Arjuna’s
question is: who are you; what are you? I would like to clearly know you as
Srishti Karta. I do not know your functions as well.

Now, Ishwara answers;
with this the second phase of Arjunas’s response is over. His first response
upon seeing Vishwa rupa was ascharya; the second response was fear upon seeing God’s
destructive aspect, his fiery mouth.

Shloka # 32:

श्री भगवानुवाच

कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो
लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः।
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे
येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः।।11.32।।

The Blessed Lord said I am the world-destroying
Time, [Time: The supreme God with His limiting adjunct of the power of action.]
grown in stature [Pravrddhah, mighty-according to S.-Tr.] and now engaged in
annihilating the creatures. Even without you, all the warriors who are arrayed
in the confronting armies will cease to exist!

Sri Krishna answered
Arjuna’s question as to, who are you? What is your function?

Answering first question of who are you; Sri Krishna says, I am Kalatatvam also; which is an integral part of the relative world; that is why in Vedanta; we talk about two planes of reality; one is called vyavahariha satyam; and other is called paramarthika satyam; vyavahariha satyam is a plane in which time principle is integral, intrinsic, inherent feature and therefore in vyavaharika plane everything will have a corresponding opposite. So arrival-departure, growth-decay; union-dissociation; birth-death; it is an integral part which is called vyavahari satyam. And Vedantins advice with regard to vyavaharika satyam is that we have only two options; either you accept it totally or you reject it totally;

Paramatrthika satyam has no
time and space; as such no pairs exist in it; there is no birth nor death; no
good nor bad. For total renunciation you need mental strength. Total acceptance
also requires inner strength. This strength comes from Atma Gyanam. So take sanyasa ashrama or
Grihasthashrama; In Sanyasahrama ,in which you renounce everything; but partial
acceptance is not acceptable; partial rejection is also not acceptable.

“ Sri Krishna says, I
am Kalatatvam; I have two fold functions; creation and destruction. Right now I
am in destructive principle, as a war is about to begin. I have come and
engaged in destroying the armies of Kauravas and Pandavas.”

Sri Krishna gives a
warning, “ Arjuna, this is going to happen whether you decide to fight or not,
all these people will die.”. Who are they? They are soldiers of both armies
who, even in this Dharma and Adharma war, will perish.

Shloka # 33:

तस्मात्त्वमुत्तिष्ठ यशो लभस्व
जित्वा शत्रून् भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यं समृद्धम्।

मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव
निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्।।11.33।।

Therefore you rise up, (and) gain fame; and
defeating the enemies, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. These have been killed
verily by Me even earlier; be you merely an instrument, O Savyasacin (Arjuna).

Arjuna, whether you
fight or not, time for all these people to perish has come. If you fight, you
will get name and fame for fighting for Dharma. If you run away, the people
will still perish; but you will get a bad name as a coward and incur papam. So,
Join and do your duty; win over your enemies. You can enjoy a prosperous
kingdom.

I have already
destroyed all these people. So O Arjuna (Ambidextrous bowman). So, may you
become a simple instrument in my hand for this destruction..

Nimitham Matra Bhava
meaning be a mere instrument in my hand; this line is often quoted; so we have
to understand it clearly. It appears as if Arjuna is a puppet of God’s hand. It
looks like God predetermines everything. Human beings don’t appear to have a
choice.

These two lines of Ch
# 11 give a boost to fatalistic people concluding that there is no freewill at
all. There is only God who is the doer.

Swamiji says this
conclusion is wrong. He says there is a freewill.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka 22:

रुद्रादित्या वसवो ये च साध्या
विश्वेऽश्िवनौ मरुतश्चोष्मपाश्च।
गन्धर्वयक्षासुरसिद्धसङ्घा
वीक्षन्ते त्वां विस्मिताश्चैव सर्वे।।11.22।।

Those who are the Rudras, the Adityas, the
Vasus and the Sadhyas [sadhyas: A particular class of celestial
beings.-V.S.A.], the Visve (-devas), the two Asvins, the Maruts and the
Usmapas, and hosts of Gandharvas, Yaksas, demons and Siddhas-all of those very
ones gaze at You, being indeed struck with wonder.

Continuing his
teaching swamiji said, Arjuna is blessed by Sri Krishna with a divya chakshu,
an appropriate mind that can appreciate the body of Lord or universe. After
seeing Vishwa rupam, Arjuna goes through three phases of transformations.

First transformation
is one of wonder. What you appreciate in totality is wonderful. Thus, water in
huge quantities like in Niagara falls is a wonder. Anything in a mass scale
produces wonder in us. In Vishwa rupa, everything is in a very large scale. Not
only am I appreciating Vishwa rupa, says Arjuna, but others such as Rudras,
Vasavahas,Sadhyas, Vishve, Asinau, marutaha, usmapaha, gandharvas etc; are also
appreciating the rupa. For this Vishwa Rupa darshanam you need not stand in a long
line; you can appreciate it without any difficulty. It is a uniform
appreciation by all who are wonder stuck.

Now
we are going to the next stage, where Arjuna’s response changes and that is going
to be described hereafter.

Shloka # 11.23:

रूपं महत्ते बहुवक्त्रनेत्रं
महाबाहो बहुबाहूरुपादम्।
बहूदरं बहुदंष्ट्राकरालं
दृष्ट्वा लोकाः प्रव्यथितास्तथाऽहम्।।11.23।।

O mighty-armed One, seeing Your immense form
with many mouths and eyes, having numerous arms, thighs and feet, with many
bellies, and fearful with many teeth, the creatures are struck with terror, and
so am I.

While appreciating
Vishwa rupa, Arjuna saw the Lord’s mouth. This was previously described in
Shloka # 19 as well as a huge mouth with a huge conflagration of fire. Mouth
represents time as destructive principle. Time is responsible for creation
(Brahma), maintenance (Vishnu) and destruction (Shiva). Now creation and maintenance,
one loves, but when it comes to destruction, one is afraid. So, Arjuna sees
kala as destructive principle and this srikes fear in Arjuna. We should note
that this just represents pairs of opposites. These pairs are present in Vishwa
rupa as well. One can’t accept one and reject the other. They are inseparable
and compliment each other. The most important pairs in life are:

Birth and Death; every
moment some one is born and some one dies. Even in our body, cells are born and
they die. We are happy to be born but don’t want to die. We don’t care if
others die unless they are close to us. However, reality is that both exist and
we should accept them both as mangalam.

Other pairs of
opposites include: Growth and decay: health and disease; union and separation;
night and day; thus everything is mangalam; all should be acceptable and this
is a sign of maturity. Without maturity we may see cruelty in God’s actions in
some cases. Arjuna is not fully mature and can’t understand this aspect. This
is described in shlokas # 20- 23.

O Lord, your Vishwa
rupa is infinite with countless faces and eyes; your hands are many; thighs are
many; feet are many; stomach are many; but only one part of you, I don’t want
to see; that is the mouth; it is frightening with many sharp teeth; when I see
it, it is a frightening aspect of yours; the whole world is frightened. Arjuna,
being a fearless Kshatriya does not openly admit to his own fear.

Shloka # 11.24:

नभःस्पृशं दीप्तमनेकवर्णं
व्यात्ताननं दीप्तविशालनेत्रम्।
दृष्ट्वा हि त्वां प्रव्यथितान्तरात्मा
धृतिं न विन्दामि शमं च विष्णो।।11.24।।

O Visnu, verily, seeing Your form touching
heaven, blazing, with many colors, open-mouthed, with fiery large eyes, I ,
becoming terrified in my mind, do not find steadiness and peace.

On one side Arjuna
appreciates the Vishwa Rupa, on the other side he sees the terrible mouth.
“Your form is touching the sky; you have manifold colors; I see the mouth with
fire and teeth; I see your eyes, large and shining; the sun and moon are your
eyes; seeing this form, especially the mouth, my innermost heart is tormented;
I have lost my steadiness; I have weakened; I have become restless.

Old age is
frightening, everything around us, such as disease will become stronger; my
immunities will go away. Kala causes all this as part of Vishwa rupa.

Shloka # 11.25:

दंष्ट्राकरालानि च ते मुखानि
दृष्ट्वैव कालानलसन्निभानि।
दिशो न जाने न लभे च शर्म
प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास।।11.25।।

Having merely seen Your mouths made terrible
with (their) teeth and resembling the fire of Dissolution, I have lost the
sense of direction and find no comfort. Be gracious, O Lord of gods, O Abode of
the Universe.

Arjuna’s mind goes back to the mouth. “ Your mouth
with protruding teeth (cause of pain) is comparable to Pralaya Kala Agni.

Because,
according to the scriptures, at the time of pralaya, the whole creation is gradually
dissolved; and there are five elements; these five elements are created in a
particular order; akasha; vayu; agni; jalam
and prithvi; at the time of pralayam; the resolution takes place in a reverse
order;

So
vipraryaya atha; that
means what everything is supposed to be in prithvitatvam; prithvi the earth
principle is dissolved in jala tatvam; that is the pralaya; and jalam is
supposed to be resolved in agni tatvam; and that agni and that agni is called
pralaya kala agni which
absorbs everything including the fourteen lokas;

When I see that mouth, I
have lost my sense of direction; I am greatly disturbed. I am not sure if you
are a compassionate god or a cruel god. Maturity is required to accept both
aspects. Oh
Lord: Be gracious to me: at least do not open the mouth; everything is fine, if
you close the mouth;

Shloka # 11.26:

अमी च त्वां धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्राः
सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसङ्घैः।
भीष्मो द्रोणः सूतपुत्रस्तथाऽसौ
सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः।।11.26।।

And into You (enter) all those sons of
Dhrtarastra along with multitudes of the rulers of the earth; (also) Bhisma,
Drona and that son of a Suta (Karna), together with even our prominent
warriors.

The irony of situation
is that what thought you want to avoid, the mouth, becomes more and more
prominent now. Arjuna gets a close up of Lords mouth. The mouth keeps
swallowing. How does he eat? Just as we eat food, all of us are edible to
Bhagavan. So, I see people being eaten by Lord. These are all an integral part
of life and we need to learn to accept it.

So many people are
entering mouth of Lord.

In the Mahabharata war
many soldiers died and they are seen entering God’s mouth. This is a symbolic
expression as the war is about to begin and Arjuna sees all this before the
war.

All kauravas are entering
your mouth; I see many soldiers also from my side entering; many kings and
their groups as well. Arjuna asked for Gita teaching because he could not face the
death of Bhishma, Drona etc. Now, he sees the death of Bhishma and Drona, Karna,
Abhimanyu and other warriors, all entering Lord’s mouth. O Sri Krishna, I can’t
accept this fact. We have to accept this fact says, Swamiji, otherwise life
will be unacceptable. We have to accept choice-less situations.

Shloka 11.27:

वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति
दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि।
केचिद्विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु
संदृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गैः।।11.27।।

They rapidly enter into Your terrible mouths
with cruel teeths! Some are seen sticking in the gaps between the teeth, with
their heads crushed!

Arjuna continues to see the
frightening mouth of God. All these people are rushing through your mouth
without knowing.  It is a mouth with
frightening teeth. When I look at your mouth and some of them are caught in
between teeth, partly crushed by Lord. This is

all
symbolic; again what do they symbolize; different kinds of diseases; taking
away different parts; kidney failure; heart attack; pancreas failure; what is

diabetics;
pancreas failure; kalam
has bitten kidney; kalam
has bitten pancreas; all these are happening and nobody can stop all these
things; in spite of medical

advances;
none of them can be stopped; therefore better learn to accept them as part of
life;

Shloka # 28:

यथा नदीनां बहवोऽम्बुवेगाः
समुद्रमेवाभिमुखाः द्रवन्ति।
तथा तवामी नरलोकवीरा
विशन्ति वक्त्राण्यभिविज्वलन्ति।।11.28।।

As the numerous currents of the waters of
rivers rush towards the sea alone so also do those heroes of the human world
enter into Your blazing mouths.

So
this is not the lot of the soldiers alone; but this is the lot of all the
living beings; because all of them will have to be ultimately resolved; because
life is nothing but

avyaktha
avastha and vyaktha avastha. We have all come; we have to go back to the Lord,
and again punarapi jananam and punarapi maranam.

Arjuna gives example
of countless rivers rushing and ultimately going back to ocean from which they
originated anyway. All of us have come from Lord and have to go back to him.

Shloka # 29:

यथा प्रदीप्तं ज्वलनं पतङ्गा
विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः।
तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका
स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः।।11.29।।

As moths enter with increased haste into a
glowing fire for destruction, in that very way do the creatures enter into Your
mouths too, with increased hurry for destruction.

Another example is
given of small insects and flies; when there is an oil lamp, they all rush to
flame and it will destroy them. Either they burn or fall in oil and die. Lords
mouth is the lamp with fire; we are all rushing to that flame with increased
speed. Similarly, all living beings are rushing towards you with increased
speed. Kala is an integral part of life. To get over kala, like markandeya,
embrace shiva (atma) whose desha and kala are absent. So, Atmatatvam alone is
place to surrender.

Take away:

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy