On 5th July 2020, my dear Dad passed away and moved on to the next realm. The Bhagavad Gita, a book sacred to Hinduism, was by far his most cherished text and he studied it up to the very end. In his memory, I am committing to write 18 pieces - one for each chapter - and will attempt to capture the essence of this great text. No prior knowledge of Hinduism is necessary and I shall steer clear of jargon as much as possible. If you haven’t already, do subscribe below to get all the pieces straight to your inbox. Lastly if you are just joining and would like to start at the beginning, click here for Chapter 1
A quick recap
In Chapter 10 Krishna explained to Arjuna his various forms and how he manifests himself. He says that he is the origin of all; the source from which everything emanates. One who understands this will be freed from the cycle of birth and rebirth. He stresses that the examples given are merely that - a few examples and they are not to be considered exhaustive. We get to see the breadth of the Supreme.
Vision of the Cosmic Form
Arjuna says:
“Out of compassion for me you have taught me the Supreme Mastery of the Self. Through your words, my delusion is gone. You have explained to me in detail about the origin and dissolution of all beings and also of Your imperishable greatness. You have told me about your Supreme Glory.”
“I know wish to see Your Cosmic Manifestation. If you think you I am capable of seeing your Cosmic Manifestation, then reveal your Imperishable Self to me.”
Krishna says:
“Behold My opulences, with hundreds and thousands of varied, Divine and multicoloured forms. Behold the different manifestations of the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Ashvini, Kumaras and the Maruts. Behold the many marvels which noone has heard before.”
“Behold in Me, the whole universe of the moving and unmoving, standing together here in My body, along with the many marvels you desire to see. But you are not capable of seeing this Cosmic Form with your physical eyes. Therefore I grant you the Divine Sight to see my Divine opulence.”
Note: Human senses are meant only for the phenomenal world of sense impressions - seeing and perceiving the world around us. Therefore Krishna says he will give Arjuna the Divine Sight which will enable him to see beyond space, time, causation and the whole of the Cosmos in the body of the Lord.
Having spoken thus, Krishna the Supreme Lord of Yoga - Hari, revealed his Cosmic Form to Arjuna.
With innumerable mouths and eyes, with infinite marvellous sights, with many Divine ornaments and many Divine weapons lifted, wearing celestial garlands and clothed in celestial garments, anointed with Divine perfumes, the Cosmic Form was full of wonder, dazzling, boundless and facing all directions.
If a thousand suns were to rise at once in the Sky, even the brilliance of that light would hardly match the splendour of the Mighty One!
There in the body of the God of gods, Arjuna glimpsed the many divisions converging into one place. Overwhelmed with amazement, his hair on the body standing on end, Arjuna bowed before the Lord with folded hands and spoke…
“Oh God, I see all the Devas in your body, all the living entities assembled, Brahma seated on a lotus, Lord Shiva, all the Sages and the Celestial Snakes. I see your infinite forms on all sides with countless arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes. I see no beginning, middle or end in this form. I see you with the crown, mace and discus; a mass of blazing radiance that is difficult to see. Your radiance blazes like the fire and the Sun and is immeasurable.”
“You are imperishable, the Supreme Being to be known. You are the Ultimate resting place of all. You are the imperishable guardian of the eternal Dharma. In my opinion you are indeed the Everlasting Person. I see you without Beginning, Middle or End. Your power is infinite. You are endowed with infinite arms. The Sun and The Moon are Your eyes. Your mouth is the blazing fire. With Your own radiance, You burn the Universe. You alone pervade the space between heaven and earth and all directions. On seeing your marvellous and terrible form, the three worlds are trembling.”
“The host of Devas enter your being. Filled with fear, some praise You with folded hands. Great Sages and Seers sing and praise you with sublime hymns.
“The Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sadhyas, Vishwas, Ashvins, Maruts, Ushmapas, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Asuras and Siddhas all gaze at you in wonder and amazement. The worlds tremble on seeing Your immense form, with many mouths and eyes many thighs, feet and stomachs, and many terrible tusks. And so do I. When I see your form touching the sky, blazing with multiple colours with open mouths and large shining eyes, my heart trembles in fear and I find neither courage nor peace.”
“When I see your fearsome mouths with tusks, that blaze like fire at the dissolution of the worlds, I am unable to see the directions and I am not comfortable. Please be gracious to me. All the sons of Dhritararashtra, many kings of the Earth, Bhishma, Drona, Karna and our warrior chiefs, enter into your fearful mouth which has fearsome pointed teeth. Some are caught between the gaps in Your teeth with their Heads crushed. Just as the gushing rivers flow towards the ocean the heros of this world enter into Your flaming mouths. Just as moths rush into a blazing fire and are destroyed, so also these men rush into Your mouths to meet their destruction.”
“Oh Supreme God! Tell me who You are, so fierce in form. I bow down to You, have mercy on me. I desire to know You, the Primal Being. I do not know your Purpose.”
Note: Having witnessed the Cosmic Form of the Lord, both in its peaceful and fierce aspects, Arjuna is overwhelmed with wonder and fear. He is bewildered because thus far he has only known Sri Krishna as a cousin and dear friend. Hence he requests Him, completely so that he may realise his limitless sovereignty.
Krishna says:
“I am the mighty time that destroys the worlds, now engaged in wiping out the world. Even without your participation none of the warriors arrayed in the opposite ranks will survive.”
“Therefore arise and win glory! Conquer your enemies and enjoy a prosperous kingdom. Your enemies have already been killed by Me. Therefore merely be an instrument (in the fight). Kill Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha and Karna as well as other mighty warriors who have already been killed by Me. Do not feel distressed. Fight! You shall conquer your rivals.”
Arjuna upon hearing these words trembles and says:
“It is indeed right that the world delights and rejoices in Your praise while the terrified demons flee in all directions and the host of perfected beings reverently bows down before You. And why should they not bow down before You? You are greater than all, even the primal cause of Brahma.”
“Unaware of Your greatness either carelessly or lovingly, I have rashly addressed you as “O Krishna! O Yadava! O Friend” and in whatever way I might have insulted You for the sake of fun, while we were resting, sleeping or eating - alone or with others, O Achutya! O Immeasurable One! Please forgive me.”
Krishna responds:
“O Arjuna, through my Grace I have manifested this Supreme Form by the influence of my spiritual power. This primal form of Mine is effulgent, universal and unlimited. It has never before been seen by anyone other than you.”
“You need not fear anymore or be puzzled looking at this horrifying form of Mine. Delightfully see again My human form.”
Note: Krishna resumes His gentle human form thus pacifying the terrified Arjuna.
Arjuna says:
“O Krishna! Having seen Your gentle human form I am now peaceful and have regained my original nature.”
Krishna concludes:
“It is impossible to see this Cosmic Form of Mine which you have just seen. Even the Devas are eager to see this.”
“Only by undivided Devotion it is possible to truly know, perceive and merge with Me, of this Cosmic Form! Whoever works for Me, looks as Me as the Supreme, is devoted to Me, free from attachment and has no enmity to anyone, such a person comes direct to Me.”
Parting Thoughts
This Chapter is more action packed than others - instead of revolving primarily around the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, it describes a scene in which Krishna transforms into a more divine manifestation and shows Arjuna some of his power. What dialogue might not have communicated fully until now is escalated by the visual experience of Krishna's divine form revealing the nature of the being to whom Arjuna is talking.
And what a scene it is.
This concludes Chapter 11 - as most of you know I started writing these summaries in memory of my beloved Dad. I am happy to announce that on 7th August 2021 these blog posts covering part one of the Gita (Chapters 1-11) will be made into a PDF, Paperback and Kindle versions titled The Bhagavad Gita - Commentary by Deepak Rao.
I am also a musician and am releasing a double album of instrumental guitar based music titled CATHARSIS also in his memory. This will be available on Spotify, Apple Music and all major platforms.
Do follow the usernames CATHARSIS1111 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates on all my creative projects and visit WWW.CATHARSIS1111.COM on the launch date of 7th August.
I appreciate you being part of the journey so far and hope that you will stay by me for the journey ahead. I shall leave you for now with some artwork that I commissioned for Gita book as well as the music album artwork. My direct contact details are below - do feel free do drop me a note and please do stay in touch.
Best,
Deepak Rao
CEO & Founder
CATHARSIS
deepak@catharsis.co
+91-9731801111
“I know wish to see Your Cosmic Manifestation. If you think you I am capable of seeing your Cosmic Manifestation, then reveal your Imperishable Self to me.”
Now instead of know. And there’s an extra “you” in the second sentence. Not sure if typos, or intentional, but I figured I’d point it out since you’re making it into a book haha ;).
Look forward to owning the book one day as well as hearing your music! Best of luck in all your future endeavors, and thank you for writing all this out!