Vishwarupa Darshana Yoga
Vision of the Cosmic Being
Time the Destroyer!
Chapter 11 contains the most beautiful poetic and powerful passages of the Bhagavad Gita. Here, Arjuna sees the complete living image of the unseen Divine. The sections in Chapter 11 are:
- Arjuna declaring to Lord SriKrishna that he had imbibed fully the highest spiritual secret of existence given to him out of compassion and that all his confusion, doubt and illusion had passed.
- Arjuna endearingly telling SriKrishna that his heart was longing to see SriKrishna’s real form and asking SriKrishna to show HIMSELF as HE had described so far, if he was fit for the vision.
- SriKrishna reiterating the totality of HIS nature, assuming HIS full form, instilling the divine eye to Arjuna enabling him to view HIS Cosmic Form that HE reveals.
- Sanjaya’s description of the Cosmic form.
- Arjuna’s description of the Cosmic form, his reaction to the sight he witnessed and requesting SriKrishna to assume his usual, pleasant form again.
- SriKrishna assuming HIS pleasant human form.
- SriKrishna’s final summation of how any one can see and experience the same Cosmic Reality witnessed by Arjuna.
BACKGROUND
SriKrishna explained the Knowledge of the Supreme Reality (From Chapter 2 onwards) which is higher than objective knowledge gained by senses, mind and untrained will. In Chapter 6 SriKrishna described the strong Will one has to acquire to experience the reality – the Buddhi Yoga. In Chapters 7-10 SriKrishna explained exhaustively the proper understanding, which is the objective knowledge along with spiritual knowledge – Jnyana+Vigyana – Buddhi Yoga in order to live and participate in the world doing all the called for duties called upon enthusiastically, without fear, confusion, doubt, bewilderment or exhaustion. With this, there will be a convergence of purpose and harmony of senses, mind, body and intellect.
Arjuna understood the secret behind birth and death, recognized that all that exists can and does exist only because of the Divine’s presence in them. It was also clear to him that the ordered manifestation of the Supreme Being cannot be altered and influenced by individual turning away from the world of action because of fear and ignorance. With this understanding all his misgivings about his participation in the war also had disappeared and Arjuna was ready to do his part in the war without any fear or doubt.
In this Chapter Arjuna witnesses the grand vision of the Cosmic Being.
SUMMARY
Arjuna expresses that his mind has become peaceful by understanding all that he has been told so far. Arjuna asks SriKrishna to show him HIS imperishable form as HE has described Himself to be, if HE thought he was fit for the vision. BG:11:1-4.
SriKrishna says: “look at my innumerable forms, various in kind, shape and color. Behold the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aswins, and Maruts and all wonders. Behold the whole world moving and unmoving, unified in my body, seeing which you will have nothing that you need to see. I will give you the divine eye with which you can see this sight of mine”. BG:11:5-8.
Sanjaya says: “having spoken this, the great Lord of Yoga, showed Arjuna His Excellent Divine Cosmic form – Vishwarupa. This infinite Divine Being with faces everywhere, eyes everywhere, all wonders included in his body, innumerable mouths, armed with many weapons uplifted and ready for battle, glorious with divine ornaments, most beautiful, with garlands, divine flowers, fragrance, his brightness was as if thousand suns rose at once on the horizon. Arjuna saw all the separate entities of the whole world united in this body. Arjuna was overcome by wonder, joy and fear bowed down with folded hands at this marvelous sight and spoke thus”. BG:11:9-14.
Arjuna give a beautiful description of the divinities, varieties of beings unified in the cosmic form. Arjuna says: ” You are the supreme, immutable, to be known by all, foundation of the universe, imperishable, guardian of the eternal laws, Atman of all existence. I do not see the beginning, middle or end but a mass of blazing brightness, you are burning up the universe, I see many in the army racing eagerly into your mouth, many being crushed in your jaws, you are savoring and swallowing them, tell me who you are, I cannot find peace, tell me your intention, who you are”. BG:11:15-31.
SriKrishna says: ” I am Time the destroyer (death), I have taken to destroy those that need to be destroyed, even if you do not kill them in the battle they will not survive. Therefore get up, claim your glory, conquer the enemies, I have already killed them, you be only the instrumental cause. Do not be troubled”. BG:11:32-34.
Arjuna bowed down to SriKrishna, with clasped hands, trembling, spoke thus with choking voice: “Whole world is adoring and rejoicing in YOU, YOU are Infinite, Lord of all Divinities, YOU are the abode of the universe, YOU are Immutable, YOU are what is and what is not yet, YOU are Supreme, YOU are the Knower and that which is to be known, YOU have extended YOURSELF in the universe. YOU are Yama, Vayu, Agni, Soma, Varuna, Prajapati, YOU are each and all this, YOU pervade all. Salutations to YOU from all sides and every side. Please forgive me for my light talk or negligence or disrespect I might have shown to you, not knowing YOUR Infinite Reality. I am filled with delight having seen what has never been seen before. My mind is also troubled by fear. Show YOUR grace and show me YOUR other serene form, smiling, with your crown, mace and discuss and four arms”. BG:11:36-46.
SriKrishna says: “Dear Arjuna, do not allow your mind to suffer pain by seeing MY Infinite, Terrible Form. Give up fear, be pleased, see my serene form (SriKrishna assumes his serene, reassuring, human form again). MY original, universal form has not been seen by anybody before, but you. This form cannot be seen by performance of austerities, charity or sacrifices. One can understand ME this way (entirely), know ME and enter into ME only by unswerving, one pointed devotion to ME”. BG:11:47-49, 52-54.
In the last verse, SriKrishna gives final encompassing formula for reaching the highest and enjoying the life in this world. He says: “Therefore, Oh Arjuna, be immersed in doing MY work, accept ME as the Supreme Being and object, become MY devotee, be free from attachment, without enmity to all beings. Such a person comes to ME”. BG:11:55
The significant liberating lessons from this chapter are:
- Vision of ALL IN ONE and ONE IN ALL that gives comfort from all fear, pain and doubt.
- Human eye can only see separate, superficial appearances. Inner significance can be seen with a deeper understanding of the reality behind appearances.
- The Divine Being is expressed in matter, the father and mother of all creatures. Movement, Time and Change is the manifestation of this ONE, eternal, unchanging reality – referred to as Brahman, Purushottama, Paramatma, eternal consciousness, eternal Atman in all creatures, ever free from change.
- In the vision of the Divine as the Terrible, Time the Destroyer, there is also a comforting, reassuring embrace as the Protector.
- Divine is magnificent, is present in the beautiful and also the terrible. Life and death are not separate events. The Divine Being, the Universal reality, beyond Time and Change projects the visible changing universe subject to time and destruction and recreation. ONE Infinite being, is ever present but concealed in all the finite existences.
- The purpose of the Vishwarupa is to emphasize what SriKrishna has repeatedly insisted, that above and beyond the visible form of Vishwarupa, as the foundation or the root of the visible universe, is HIS supreme nature – Purushottama, the ONE, invariant, beyond Time and Space, beyond Name-ed and form-ed beings.
- SriKrishna gives the formula for how Human being can grow to his fullest nature of being one with the Universal Divine Being. Human being can achieve this by doing his duties without attachment to the fruit of his action, abiding in the knowledge of his whole reality, with vision of ONE IN ALL and ALL IN ONE. Thus he can live acting with a mind free from all doubts, dilemmas and denials. He can live and act rejoicing in love for ONE eternal Divine present in all beings.
Iswari's Gita Summaries 