Bg 11.5
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ
nānā-vidhāni divyāni nānā-varṇākṛtīni ca
Bg 11.6
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutas tathā
bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata
Bg 11.7
ihaika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ paśyādya sa-carācaram
mama dehe guḍākeśa yac cānyad draṣṭum icchasi
Bg 11.8
na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā
divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ paśya me yogam aiśvaram
Translation
The Blessed Lord said: 5. Behold, O Partha, forms of Me, by hundreds and thousands, of different sorts Divine, of various colours and shapes.
6. Behold the ADITYAS, the VASUS, the RUDRAS, the (two) ASHWINS and also the MARUTS; behold many wonders never seen before, O Bharata.
7. Now behold, O Gudakesha, in this Body, that the whole universe centres in One --- including, the moving and the unmoving --- and whatever else you desire to see.
8. But You are not able to behold Me with these Your own eyes; I give You the divine-eye; behold My lordly YOGA.
Commentary
If gold is the essential stuff in all the ornaments, every ornament in the world must be available in the total gold. To see the gold in the ornaments is relatively easy, it being a PHYSICAL PERCEPTION. But to detect the presence of all ornaments of different shapes and colours in the total gold is comparatively difficult, inasmuch as it is the VISION OF THE INTELLECT.
Keeping this idea in mind, when you read the opening lines of the Lord's words, it becomes strikingly significant. "BEHOLD, BY HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS, MY DIFFERENT FORMS CELESTIAL, VARIED IN COLOURS AND SHAPES." It was not necessary for Krishna to change His form to that of the Cosmic-Man; all that Arjuna had to do was to BEHOLD THE FORM right in front of him. But, unfortunately, the instrument-of-perception was not tuned up for the object of his investigation, and therefore, Arjuna could not perceive that which was already in Krishna.
That which is lying beyond the focal length of a telescope, cannot be viewed by the observer even though the object may be present in line with the axis of the instrument. In order to bring the farther object within the span of vision, the observer will have to make the required adjustments in the telescope. Similarly, Krishna did not TRANSFORM Himself into His Cosmic-Form, but He only helped Arjuna to make the necessary inward adjustments so that he could perceive what was there evidently in Krishna. Naturally, the Lord says, "BEHOLD." The total world of perceivable beings of all shapes and colours is indicated in the enumeration made by the Lord in the stanza.
WHAT ARE THOSE?
In enumerating the items that are to be seen in Krishna's Cosmic-Form, the Lord hints at the most important and striking of them. This is generally done when we try to describe a crowd of people or things by using a short representative term. Mention is made on all such occasions of the most important items or personalities --- the few who represent the whole crowd.
With a note of despair ringing through his words, the Lord concludes "BEHOLD MANY MORE SUCH WONDERS AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE." The various items enumerated have all been already explained in the previous chapter* Of them the only new term used here is the Ashwini Kumaras, the Horsemen-Twins. It is not very clear in literature as to what exactly is the identity of these twins with heads of horses. It is not very easy to decide what they represent. In some places they are described as the Dawn and the Dusk, and in other places there are sufficient evidences to make us suspect that they represent the Morning-Star and the Evening-Star. Anyway, they are Angels that go to serve their devotees in times of utter need and despair.
BY GIVING A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF THE THINGS TO BE EXPECTED IN THE COSMIC-VISION, KRISHNA HAS INCREASED THE INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY OF HIS DISCIPLE. WHERE EXACTLY IS HE TO LOOK FOR THESE THINGS? ... LISTEN:
The enthusiastic seeker's adventurous mind having been sufficiently educated so far to develop an unending wealth of 'eagerness to know,' Krishna further educates, sharpening in the student, the 'anxiety to know' in this mind, with sufficient details on what he may expect in the Divine Vision that is to follow. This secret technique then makes the student ardently converge all this attention towards one given Form Divine. This is achieved by his verse. If we follow the technique, developed through the expressed words, we shall find that Vyasa has here explained the entire Science of Love as adumbrated in the Cult of Bhakti, or 'Devotion to the Supreme.'
The entire Universe, constituted both of the moving and the unmoving --- of the sentient and the insentient --- is being shown by Krishna on his own physical structure as described by the effective intimate term, "Here, concentrated" (Iha-ekastham). And this term has been annotated in the same stanza as "In this, My Body" (mama dehe). The entire Universe of gross forms, both movable and immovable, is to be compressed within the framework of Krishna's girth and height. As we explained earlier* the concept of space has not been completely sponged out of Arjuna's mind but a total space-concept equivalent to Krishna's own mortal dimensions is left in him. With this mind, when Arjuna looks out, he must necessarily see framed in Krishna all at once, the entire Universe compressed and miniatured with all its multiple details intact.
Even though "the entire Universe, including both the moving and the unmoving" is a term sufficiently elastic so as not to leave anything outside its implications, Krishna again sharpens the enthusiasm of Arjuna by stating that the Pandava could see anything "ELSE THAT YOU DESIRE TO SEE." As a typical mortal, Arjuna is preoccupied with the particular problem of life and his anxiety naturally grows to peep into the future and discover its solution rather than to realise the underlying oneness that embraces even the forms in the outer world-of-matter.
"THE ONE IN THE MANY" HAS BEEN DESCRIBED IN THE LAST CHAPTER, AND HERE WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE "THE MANY IN THE ONE."
We have already explained how it is relatively easy to see the essential stuff as the core of individual names and forms, but the reverse of it --- to discover the many in the one --- is the work of a subtle intellect functioning through right philosophical understanding. TO READ a poem, only a knowledge of the alphabet is necessary; but to understand its subtler beauties and to classify it in a comparative study with other similar poems, it needs a masterly mind that has been well soaked with the master-pieces in poetry. Similarly, to see "THE ONE IN THE MANY" is the work of a 'heart' soaked with faith; but to PERCEIVE "THE MANY IN THE ONE," we need, besides the 'heart,' an educated 'intellect' that has learnt to see for itself the logic of the philosophers. This peculiar capacity of an educated intellect to see the extraordinary is the vision of the intellect which is gained when we develop the faculty to perceive and to know.
This obvious fact is explained by the Lord in this stanza, "YOU CANNOT SEE ME WITH THESE EYES OF YOURS; I GIVE THEE THE VISION DIVINE." There are very many critics who try to explain this "Divine-eye" through fantastic suppositions and ridiculous theories. Such commentators are certainly men, not much educated in the style of the Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads. Expressly and tacitly, all through the Upanishads, it is repeatedly explained that the subtler cannot be brought within the scope and compass of the instruments-of-perception given to man. The external sense organs can play freely only in the outer world-of-objects. Even when we ordinarily "see an idea" it is not done with our outer pair of eyes. The intellectual comprehension is meant here by the term "seeing" and the capacity of the intellect to comprehend is the 'Divine-eye.'
This "special-vision" is given to the Pandava Prince so that he may see "MY SUPREME YOGA-POWER" by which the whole Universe of multiplicity is being supported by the Lord's own form. Earlier, this particular Yoga-Power of the Lord, has been already described at two different places, (VII-12 and IX-4) almost in identical terms.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ
nānā-vidhāni divyāni nānā-varṇākṛtīni ca
Bg 11.6
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutas tathā
bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata
Bg 11.7
ihaika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ paśyādya sa-carācaram
mama dehe guḍākeśa yac cānyad draṣṭum icchasi
Bg 11.8
na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā
divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ paśya me yogam aiśvaram
Translation
The Blessed Lord said: 5. Behold, O Partha, forms of Me, by hundreds and thousands, of different sorts Divine, of various colours and shapes.
6. Behold the ADITYAS, the VASUS, the RUDRAS, the (two) ASHWINS and also the MARUTS; behold many wonders never seen before, O Bharata.
7. Now behold, O Gudakesha, in this Body, that the whole universe centres in One --- including, the moving and the unmoving --- and whatever else you desire to see.
8. But You are not able to behold Me with these Your own eyes; I give You the divine-eye; behold My lordly YOGA.
Commentary
If gold is the essential stuff in all the ornaments, every ornament in the world must be available in the total gold. To see the gold in the ornaments is relatively easy, it being a PHYSICAL PERCEPTION. But to detect the presence of all ornaments of different shapes and colours in the total gold is comparatively difficult, inasmuch as it is the VISION OF THE INTELLECT.
Keeping this idea in mind, when you read the opening lines of the Lord's words, it becomes strikingly significant. "BEHOLD, BY HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS, MY DIFFERENT FORMS CELESTIAL, VARIED IN COLOURS AND SHAPES." It was not necessary for Krishna to change His form to that of the Cosmic-Man; all that Arjuna had to do was to BEHOLD THE FORM right in front of him. But, unfortunately, the instrument-of-perception was not tuned up for the object of his investigation, and therefore, Arjuna could not perceive that which was already in Krishna.
That which is lying beyond the focal length of a telescope, cannot be viewed by the observer even though the object may be present in line with the axis of the instrument. In order to bring the farther object within the span of vision, the observer will have to make the required adjustments in the telescope. Similarly, Krishna did not TRANSFORM Himself into His Cosmic-Form, but He only helped Arjuna to make the necessary inward adjustments so that he could perceive what was there evidently in Krishna. Naturally, the Lord says, "BEHOLD." The total world of perceivable beings of all shapes and colours is indicated in the enumeration made by the Lord in the stanza.
WHAT ARE THOSE?
In enumerating the items that are to be seen in Krishna's Cosmic-Form, the Lord hints at the most important and striking of them. This is generally done when we try to describe a crowd of people or things by using a short representative term. Mention is made on all such occasions of the most important items or personalities --- the few who represent the whole crowd.
With a note of despair ringing through his words, the Lord concludes "BEHOLD MANY MORE SUCH WONDERS AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE." The various items enumerated have all been already explained in the previous chapter* Of them the only new term used here is the Ashwini Kumaras, the Horsemen-Twins. It is not very clear in literature as to what exactly is the identity of these twins with heads of horses. It is not very easy to decide what they represent. In some places they are described as the Dawn and the Dusk, and in other places there are sufficient evidences to make us suspect that they represent the Morning-Star and the Evening-Star. Anyway, they are Angels that go to serve their devotees in times of utter need and despair.
BY GIVING A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF THE THINGS TO BE EXPECTED IN THE COSMIC-VISION, KRISHNA HAS INCREASED THE INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY OF HIS DISCIPLE. WHERE EXACTLY IS HE TO LOOK FOR THESE THINGS? ... LISTEN:
The enthusiastic seeker's adventurous mind having been sufficiently educated so far to develop an unending wealth of 'eagerness to know,' Krishna further educates, sharpening in the student, the 'anxiety to know' in this mind, with sufficient details on what he may expect in the Divine Vision that is to follow. This secret technique then makes the student ardently converge all this attention towards one given Form Divine. This is achieved by his verse. If we follow the technique, developed through the expressed words, we shall find that Vyasa has here explained the entire Science of Love as adumbrated in the Cult of Bhakti, or 'Devotion to the Supreme.'
The entire Universe, constituted both of the moving and the unmoving --- of the sentient and the insentient --- is being shown by Krishna on his own physical structure as described by the effective intimate term, "Here, concentrated" (Iha-ekastham). And this term has been annotated in the same stanza as "In this, My Body" (mama dehe). The entire Universe of gross forms, both movable and immovable, is to be compressed within the framework of Krishna's girth and height. As we explained earlier* the concept of space has not been completely sponged out of Arjuna's mind but a total space-concept equivalent to Krishna's own mortal dimensions is left in him. With this mind, when Arjuna looks out, he must necessarily see framed in Krishna all at once, the entire Universe compressed and miniatured with all its multiple details intact.
Even though "the entire Universe, including both the moving and the unmoving" is a term sufficiently elastic so as not to leave anything outside its implications, Krishna again sharpens the enthusiasm of Arjuna by stating that the Pandava could see anything "ELSE THAT YOU DESIRE TO SEE." As a typical mortal, Arjuna is preoccupied with the particular problem of life and his anxiety naturally grows to peep into the future and discover its solution rather than to realise the underlying oneness that embraces even the forms in the outer world-of-matter.
"THE ONE IN THE MANY" HAS BEEN DESCRIBED IN THE LAST CHAPTER, AND HERE WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE "THE MANY IN THE ONE."
We have already explained how it is relatively easy to see the essential stuff as the core of individual names and forms, but the reverse of it --- to discover the many in the one --- is the work of a subtle intellect functioning through right philosophical understanding. TO READ a poem, only a knowledge of the alphabet is necessary; but to understand its subtler beauties and to classify it in a comparative study with other similar poems, it needs a masterly mind that has been well soaked with the master-pieces in poetry. Similarly, to see "THE ONE IN THE MANY" is the work of a 'heart' soaked with faith; but to PERCEIVE "THE MANY IN THE ONE," we need, besides the 'heart,' an educated 'intellect' that has learnt to see for itself the logic of the philosophers. This peculiar capacity of an educated intellect to see the extraordinary is the vision of the intellect which is gained when we develop the faculty to perceive and to know.
This obvious fact is explained by the Lord in this stanza, "YOU CANNOT SEE ME WITH THESE EYES OF YOURS; I GIVE THEE THE VISION DIVINE." There are very many critics who try to explain this "Divine-eye" through fantastic suppositions and ridiculous theories. Such commentators are certainly men, not much educated in the style of the Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads. Expressly and tacitly, all through the Upanishads, it is repeatedly explained that the subtler cannot be brought within the scope and compass of the instruments-of-perception given to man. The external sense organs can play freely only in the outer world-of-objects. Even when we ordinarily "see an idea" it is not done with our outer pair of eyes. The intellectual comprehension is meant here by the term "seeing" and the capacity of the intellect to comprehend is the 'Divine-eye.'
This "special-vision" is given to the Pandava Prince so that he may see "MY SUPREME YOGA-POWER" by which the whole Universe of multiplicity is being supported by the Lord's own form. Earlier, this particular Yoga-Power of the Lord, has been already described at two different places, (VII-12 and IX-4) almost in identical terms.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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