Bhakti Shastri (109) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Text 38 to Chapter 11 Text 04

Podcast

Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastri course.
We are in the last part of the 10th chapter now. We completed verse 27. So, let us have a quick overview of the 10th chapter before we move ahead.
This 9th chapter is titled as Vibhuti Yoga. So, first Krishna says how it is difficult to know him in verses 1 to 7. Then 8 to 12, he says, 8 to 11, he states how he can be known through bhakti, that is the Chittu Shloka Gita. Then 13 to 18, Arjuna acknowledges Krishna’s glories and then asks to know about them more, especially about how he has pervaded material existence.
So, then 19 to 42 is the concept of Vibhuti Yoga that is being described. So, how to know Krishna through his Vibhutis? So, let us look at 10.38. We stopped at 37 earlier. dandodamayatamasmi nitirasmi jigeshatam maunam jayvasmi guhyanam jnanam jnanavatamaham So, dandodamayatamasmi, that damayatam is to suppress, to control, to bring on the right track.
So, there are many ways of bringing people on the right track. So, the most powerful among them, in the sense that the strongest, is danda. So, it is good if you could convince people by good advice and counsel and warning, but sometimes when that does not work, then the last resort often has to be punishment.
And that is why in all cultures all over the world, there have been some strong means of punishment, maybe some jails or some other places for punishment and reformation. So, dandodamayatamasmi, that danda, these people are given that danda is the strongest, is the last resort for punishing people. And Krishna says, I am danda.
So, this does not mean that Krishna wants to give danda to everyone. That is not the point of this verse. Here, the vibhuti of Krishna is being talked about, and that which is the most powerful, the most attractive, the most influential among various manifestations is being emphasised.
So, danda is a forceful way of making a point, especially when the point is not made by any other way. Nithirasmi Jigishatam. So, among the Jigishatam, Jigishatam means those who seek victory.
I am morality. Nithirasmi Jigishatam. So, now, sometimes it is said that in war and love, everything is fair.
So, that is a common saying in the Western literature. And the idea is that actually what we want, once we want victory, whatever it takes, we will do to get victory. Now, that attitude might be there, but Krishna does not recommend that attitude.
He says, yes, we want victory, but we should seek victory by virtues means, that is the best. Now, there are, it said to be the three kinds of Nitis. There is Brihaspati Niti, there is Shukra Niti and there is Kanika Niti.
So, what are these? Brihaspati, as we know, is the priest of the Devatas. So, Brihaspati Niti is choose good means and choose good ends. So, strive for good ends by good means, that is Brihaspati Niti.
Then there is Shukra Niti. Shukra Niti is that as long as the ends are good, then the means do not matter. One can use bad means also for good ends.
And then Kanika Niti is do not care about ends, do not care about goods, about means, just strive for your own protection and pleasure and power. That is all. So, Kanika was a Brahmana friend of Shakuni and Shakuni was using his devious tactics against the Pandavas.
So, at that time Dhritarashtra was feeling some pangs of conscience. He says, this is not proper, we should not be doing like this. So, at that time, Shakuni brought Kanika and Kanika gave some advice.
He says, do not worry about all these things. Ultimately, our survival and our prosperity is what is all important. And for that purpose, whatever is required can be taken.
Now, among these three, Kanika is, you know, that means one, even the ends are good, neither the ends are good nor the means are good, but just one concerns only one’s self-interest. That is all. So, that is a very bad thing.
And that should be definitely avoided. Preferable always is Brihaspati Niti, that seek good means, good ends by good means. And that is what Krishna tries to do in the Mahabharata also.
First of all, he tries his best to avoid war and he is ready to even accept five kingdoms, five villages. That is all that is required. He says, if that is all that you give me, that is how you can avoid the war.
When Kauravas refuse that and the Kauravas start using devious tricks even in the war field, then Krishna also uses to use those devious tricks. And therefore, he goes and checks. He uses sometimes.
That is why some of the principal warriors on the Kaurava side, they are killed by what seems to be a devious means. So, that is actually the point of the Shukra Niti. So, Shukra Niti is used because the Shukra Niti is required at times.
So, the means are, the ends are good. So, the Yudhishthira Maharaj is Dharmaraj and for the sake of bringing about Dharma, his victory is important. So, how that victory is to be achieved, that may vary according to time, place, circumstance.
And that is what is talked about over here. So, that is what is shown in the Mahabharata. Sometimes, some seemingly unethical means may have to be used if the ends are ethical.
Now, this is of course exceptional. This is not the standard. And especially Shatho Shatyam.
When the enemy is doing that, then one may have no alternative. One may have to do that. But in general, that is not what is recommended.
So, here the focus is on, the best way would be that if you want victory, strive for victory, but by ethical means. That means the Brihaspati Niti is the best. And Krishna says that those who achieve victory by virtues means, they are the most, their power represents me.
Their power is my Vibhuti. Then after that, Maunam chaivasmi guhyanam. So, Maunam chaivasmi guhyanam.
So, guhya, guhya means secret. So, those who want to maintain secrets, the best way to maintain the secret is to keep silent. Many people think, you know, see, I know a secret.
I’ll tell only to you, don’t tell anyone. Okay. So, when we speak like that, many times when people come to know a secret, their pleasure comes not from knowing the secret, but from telling others that I know the secret.
And then what happens? Then it becomes a parampara of people who tell, don’t tell this to anyone. And then what happens? The secret becomes public news. So, if you want to maintain a secret, then Maunam chaivasmi guhyanam.
Maunam. Be confidential. Don’t speak only.
That is the best way to maintain secrets. And then ghyanam ghyanavatamaham. So, among knowledgeable people, knowledge is the most important virtue.
So, ghyanam ghyanavatamaham. Now of the wise and wisdom. So, what distinguishes the wise people is their wisdom.
If a person who is known to be very wise and suddenly starts speaking foolishly, then that person will not have so much value. So, that wisdom that attracts people to the wise, that wisdom is the opulence of Krishna. And after describing this, Krishna moves forward and then he starts giving the conclusion of the whole section.
So, the last four verses are summary sort of verses. So, that for all living beings, I am the beeja. I am the seed for all living beings.
That without me, actually nothing can exist. So, we’ve discussed earlier how Krishna is the source of everything. Krishna is the sustainer of everything.
That has been discussed in 7th chapter, 9th chapter again. And now Krishna is reiterating that. So, actually speaking, yes, Krishna has identified himself with some opulences in this world.
And right in the beginning only he has said that, I am going to speak pradhanita, only a few of the opulences. Now, when Krishna says that, say, among the fish, I am the shark. That means that only the shark come from Krishna and others don’t come from Krishna? Or is it that Krishna has some special affection for shark and no affection for anyone else? No, nothing like that.
What it simply means is that that particular fish attracts attention because of its speed, its power, its ferocity. So, that attention which is there, which is attracting people, which is that power, that opulence is a manifestation of Krishna. So, lest one start identifying, restricting Krishna to specific manifestations alone and not seeing his connection with everything, Krishna clarifies in this verse saying that actually everything is sustained by me.
The existence of nothing is possible without me. Not only am I the source of everything, but I am also the sustainer of everything. So, after that, Krishna will now say that, okay, everything comes from me, but within that there are certain specific things which are my vibhutis.
But even the vibhutis are endless. That’s what he said in this verse. There is no end.
End to what? My divine opulences. That my divine opulences, there is no end to them. एशतुद्धेशतः प्रोक्तो.
Of that, उद्धेशत. उद्धेशत means, as an example, I have spoken a few things. विभूतेर विस्तरो मया.
विभूतेर विस्तरो मया. My vibhuti is expanded immensely. The vibhuti is very, very vast and I have spoken just a few samples of it.
So, what Krishna has said at the start of the now, not at the start of the chapter, at the start of the section, प्राधानितः क्रुषेष्ठ, similarly, उद्धेशतुद्धेशतः प्रोक्तो. So, whatever Arjuna has spoken to you, this is a sample. So, Krishna gives a sample to help us to understand the broad principle.
So, now in this world also, we will find certain things which attract us. So, according to our culture, according to our time, place, circumstance, when certain things are attractive, we need to understand that that attraction is a manifestation of Krishna’s opulence. So, now here we have to understand an important principle.
See, there is a cultural and there is a spiritual. The cultural can be specific, the spiritual is universal. And the spiritual can manifest in different ways culturally.
What does that mean? That means, Krishna is talking about the spiritual principle that God’s opulence is manifest in this world through the extraordinary manifestations of this world. So, he is giving those extraordinary manifestations as per the cultural and cosmological understanding of his times. Now, of course, the Vedic understanding is not just of his times.
That means it is not that Indra is just a God who existed 5000 years ago and does not exist now. Or that any of the other people who are there, Garuda and all those, they are not existing now. No, they exist even now, and they are still a part of the cosmology.
But they may not be a part of our conceptual framework right now, because we have been educated in a different way. Now, as we keep studying the Vedic scriptures, gradually our conceptual framework will change. And then we will be able to relate with all these.
And then we will be able to understand how these are the opulences of Krishna. Right now, every example has a particular purpose. Sometimes, if we are, if say we have never heard about, if there are some remote people who live in some part of India, who have never heard of, say some game like tennis.
And then they hear about some player, you know, Nadal or Federer, who are, you know, 15-16 times they have won grand slams. And they hear some commentator saying, now this player has as much a fighting spirit like Nadal. Like who? It makes no sense to them.
So, the purpose of an example is to make the unfamiliar familiar. The purpose of a concept is unfamiliar. To make it familiar, an example is given.
But if the example itself is unfamiliar, then the concept doesn’t become familiar to the example. Then actually, the work increases double. That means, firstly, we have to understand, we have to come to know what is the example.
Okay, and then I will understand what is the concept. And then the work becomes double that way. So, the work was made meant to decrease, but the work can increase sometimes.
If the examples that we are giving are unfamiliar, and that’s why Sri Prabhupada would often give examples that people would understand. So, for example, he would say that yajna, how do you understand the concept of yajna? You know, for western people, for western audience, the idea of a fire sacrifice was very exotic. The idea that, oh, you lit a fire and appease some gods, there’s not much of that sort of thing which they were familiar with.
So, when Prabhupada familiarised, he was saying, this is basically like tax. This is universal government. And we have to pay tribute to the universal government, just as we pay tax to our governments.
Prabhupada gives the example of a tax. So, similarly, now, what is the ecstasy of Vaikuntha? So, what is the ecstasy of chanting Hare Krishna and ecstasy of returning back to Vaikuntha? Now, the scriptures may say that the ecstasy of Vaikuntha is a thousand times more than the ecstasy of Brahmananda. What is Brahmananda? So, what was told to be explained, so, the Vaikuntha ananda is unfamiliar.
And if we say that is thousand times Brahmananda. Brahmananda is all unfamiliar to people. So, when we explain one unfamiliar concept with another unfamiliar concept, then we don’t make the unfamiliar familiar, we double the unfamiliarity.
So, that’s why Prabhupada gives the example. What is the ecstasy of going to Vaikuntha? So, Prabhupada said, it is like floating in an ocean of LSD. Yes, I want to go to Vaikuntha.
That’s what the audience said at that time. So, now, we know one of the offences against the holy name is to give some mundane interpretation of the holy name. So, he is comparing Vaikuntha to an ocean of LSD and a material interpretation.
No. Material interpretation is offensive when the material interpretation is reductive. Reductive means that the spiritual is reduced down to the material.
Then it becomes offensive. So, for example, if the concept of deity is reduced down to, oh, it’s just a stone representation which reminds us of the absolute truth. So, when the spiritual is brought down to the material, then it is reduced and said there is no higher reality.
Why do you feel good when you chant Hare Krishna? Oh, because there are certain ways, certain kind of chemicals that are fired in the brain and those chemicals make a person feel good. Now, that may be a part of the process, that may happen, but that’s not all that there is to it. Actually, beyond whatever is happening in the brain chemicals, beyond the bodily setup, there is the soul and the soul is being activated and its natural joyfulness is being aroused.
So, therefore, actually speaking, the important point is to be relevant. So, Prabhupada was remarkably relevant. Now, the principle that Krishna is talking about over here is that whatever attracts people, that manifests his opulence.
So, similarly, in today’s times, there may be different things that may attract people and when people are attracted, we have to be able to have our jnana chakshu, our eyes of knowledge clear enough to see that actually this is an opulence of Krishna and this opulence of Krishna is manifested in this person in this way. And then, say, for example, there may be a very famous musician who attracts thousands and thousands of millions of people with music. Now, that musician’s opulence is actually Krishna manifesting opulence through that person.
So, similarly, it may be sports stars, it may be business tycoon, business magnates, it may be different kinds of people. So, at one level, we could just say all this is just maya. And that’s okay.
That’s one way of looking at it. But that’s where people’s consciousness is. We can’t just dismiss the fact that most people are conscious of material things.
So, that if Arjuna had adopted such a dismissive attitude, as everything material is maya, it’s rejected. Then there would have been no need for the Vibhuti Yoga chapter. And if Krishna had wanted us to adopt that approach, then Krishna would also not have answered.
Arjuna is asking, how can I remember you? How can you be remembered through material manifestation? Actually, the material is illusion. Forget it. A thing beyond matter to spirit.
Krishna does not say like that. Krishna gives examples by which Arjuna can remember. So, for us also, when Prabhupada was travelling in a plane, and that time there was a Charlie Chaplin movie.
So, Prabhupada is laughing at the jokes over there. And then when devotees ask that, you know, Prabhupada, generally devotees’ idea is, anything that you can’t see exclusively connected with Krishna, that must be maya. So, why Prabhupada? They are bewildered.
Prabhupada is watching a Charlie Chaplin movie and laughing and laughing. Prabhupada is enjoying it. And then he asked, Prabhupada said, that actually Charlie Chaplin’s humour is a manifestation of Krishna.
You know, Krishna’s capacity for humour is manifested in a very small fragmental way through Charlie Chaplin. So, this is the view of connection. Prabhupada says, this humour is original.
And it is a spark of Krishna. Krishna’s qualities. So, that means the karmic way would be of looking at things would be, oh, this humour is so nice.
Let’s enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. And don’t think of anything else. Laugh so that you can just forget your sufferings.
Many people say that, you have to laugh to stop from crying. And whatever life makes us miserable and want to cry, forget that, just laugh, laugh, laugh away. And the other extreme, that is the karmic way of looking at things.
The jnani way of looking at things would be, this is all illusion. So, all place of suffering and this laughter is also a part of suffering, part of the illusion which will perpetuate our suffering. But the bhakta way is to see the connection between things and Krishna.
So, that is the vibhuti of Krishna that is manifesting through a particular person. Now, we don’t go and start watching Charlie Chaplin movies to think, oh, let me see the vibhuti of Krishna through that. No, that is not the only way to see Krishna’s vibhuti.
We can remember Krishna even by going to the temple and by seeing the deities and by reading about Krishna’s pastimes. That is a direct way and that is the primarily recommended way. But the point is that Krishna consciousness doesn’t have to be limited only to activities that are explicitly Krishna conscious.
Means going to the temple, studying the scriptures, chanting the holy names, associating with devotees, travelling to pilgrimages. These are explicitly devotional activities and they help us definitely in practising Krishna consciousness, in becoming Krishna conscious and they are vital. But we shouldn’t pigeonhole Krishna consciousness only into these activities.
Krishna consciousness extends everywhere. Jurisdiction of Krishna consciousness is everywhere as Prabhupada said in the seventh chapter. So now, how can we be Krishna conscious in what we are anyway conscious of? When we are in the world, at that time, there will be certain things that you will be conscious of just by the fact that we are in the world.
There are certain politicians, there are certain sports stars, there are certain movie stars, they are constantly in the news, people are talking about them. So it’s not that we have to delight in those things constantly, but it’s not that we have to reject all of them entirely as mundane gossip. If there are times when we are exposed to those, we are interacting with those things in some way or the other, then we try to see the Krishna factor.
So even in the material manifestations, whatever is extraordinary in our times, that would be a manifestation of Krishna. That would be a manifestation of Krishna. So how is it a manifestation of Krishna? Because in this particular generation, in this culture, that person or that object is attracting people’s attention.
And that capacity to attract people’s attention is ultimately coming from Krishna. So we don’t want to get specifically attracted to that manifestation. But whatever attraction is by any way there, either in our mind or in people’s mind, because of which our consciousness or attention also goes sometimes there, then we connect that to Krishna.
So often, we have to illustrate eternal principles with contextual examples. So the examples that are given in the Bhagavad Gita of Krishna’s Vibhuti, they are also factual. That means there’s a part of the Vedic cosmology, which is always true, but they are not what people are familiar with right now.
So we can give examples of Krishna’s Vibhuti based on what is familiar and through that help people to come closer to Krishna. And that way, they can gradually become Krishna conscious. So this is the principle of Vibhuti.
So whatever attracts us, whatever attracts people, we connect that with Krishna. And by connecting that with Krishna, we become Krishna conscious through the things of which we are anyway conscious. So if we are students and we are in a class, and there’s a student who is brilliant, that student answers all the questions.
Now, naturally that person will be attracted to others, will be attracted to others. So then that excellent student, we can see that this student’s intelligence is actually manifestation of Krishna. So if this student can attract so many people, then how much more can Krishna attract? And when I develop my relationship with Krishna, how much joy will be there in that relationship? Like that we can contemplate and we can move closer to Krishna through that.
So the whole process of Bhakti Yoga is the process of not rejection, but connection. And that connection of matter with spirit is revealed in a beautiful way through this chapter of Vibhuti Yoga. So now Krishna will tell in the last verse, in second, in the last but one verse of this chapter, of how he will be, how actually everything is but a spark of his splendour.
Let’s look at this verse. yad yad vibhuti mat sattvam shreemad urjitame vava tattva devavagacchatvam mamate jyomsha sambhava yad yad vibhuti mat sattvam shreemad yad yad vibhuti mat sattvam. So wherever one sees Vibhuti, shreemad urjitame vava.
So whatever existence is, wherever it is beautiful, shreemad is beautiful. Like we have the word shreemad bhagavatam. So the bhagavatam is the book about Bhagawan and shreemad is that which is filled with beauty, is the beauty of the intimate love of the Lord with His devotees.
Urjitame vava, that is beautiful, that is glorious and that all that is beautiful, all that is opulent, all that is beautiful, all that is glorious, that is mamate jyomsha sambhavam. It is manifesting mamate jyomsha, my effulgence, a spark, a fragment, a spark. So it is but a spark of my splendour.
So a devotee, if we are attracted only to the sparks, the sparks will give us a little pleasure, but that pleasure will soon end and then we will be left with nothing. So instead of being attracted to the sparks, we let the sparks remind us of the whole and then redirect our attraction to the whole. If we keep being attracted to the sparks separate from the whole, then we will have infinite longings.
I want this, I want this, this attract, this attract, this attract, this attract. We can have infinite longings, but instead of that, we can be longing for the infinite. Instead of infinite longings, one thing, second thing, third thing, fourth thing, it will go on forever.
A devotee instead chooses longing for the infinite. The infinite has all attractive things that are present in different people. In one place, all of them are present.
So let us long for the infinite. And that is the essential message of this chapter. So we are anyway attracted to things of this world.
So rise from infinite longings to longing for the infinite. And in this way, we can redirect our consciousness towards Krishna through gradual purification. Now after this, Krishna will describe.
Actually, what is the need for all this opulence description? अथवा भहु नैतेन किम ग्यातेन तवार्जुन विष्ठभ्याहमिदं कृत्सनम् एकामशेनस्तितो जगत् अथवा, however, otherwise, you know, or भहु नैतेन, भहु means many, एतेन this, you know, many like this, I can, many of these I can talk about. But किम ग्यातेन, what is the use of knowing all about Arjuna? Just understand one thing, विष्ठभ्याहमिदं कृत्सनम् विष्ठभ्याहमिदं means Parabheda विष्ठभ्याहमिदं कृत्सनम् इदं is this world, कृत्सनम् is completely. The word कृत्सनम् is different from कृत्सनम्.
The word कृत्सनम् has come many times in the Gita. In the fourth chapter, it has come. यष्टि सरवेसमारंभाखामसंकल्प वर्जिताः । ज्ञानाग्धितित्तं तकर्माणि। तमाहु पन्दितं पुठाः। No.
There are many other places. तक्रमाणितमात्य सर्वेसमारंभाः कामसंकल्प वर्जिताः। No, yeah. कर्मन्य … the verse before that.
That was 4.19, 4.18 is … akarmanyakarmayah pasyet, karmanyichyakarmayah sa buddhiman manushyeshu, sa yuktah krtsnakarmakret, krtsnakarmakret. krtsnakarma is all activity, the person engaged in all activity, that person will stay unbound if the person has proper understanding while acting. Similarly, that was in the 4th chapter, 7th chapter also krtsna, the word has been used.
So, etad yoni nibhutani sarvanitya upadharaya, aham krtsnase jagatah, prabhava pralaya sthatha. So, there also in the 7th chapter, after describing how he is also material and spiritual energy, 7.4 and 5. In 7.6, Krishna says that aham krtsnase jagatah, for the whole world, I am the prabhava and I am the pralaya. I am the source and I am the final destination, final shelter.
So, krtsna is different from krtsna. So, he is saying ekamshye, actually he is saying that ekamshye nastato jagat. So, mishthabhyaham idam krtsnam, the whole of existence is pervaded by just one fraction of mind, ekamshye, you know.
So, what does this refer to? Ekamshye nastato jagat. Let us look at this. I pervade all of existence with just one fragment of mind.
This has multiple meanings, but one specific meaning is how krtsna is pervading the universe through the super soul. We know there are many manifestations of Vishnu. There is Maha Vishnu, Garbhodakshaya Vishnu, so among all these, there is the manifestation of krtsna in the form of Shirodakshaya Vishnu, who is the greatest manifestation, who is the all pervading manifesting.
So, let us look at this. This is a diagrammatic description about how krtsna pervades all of existence. So, here we will see that krtsna is the cause of all causes and sarvakarana karanam, from krtsna comes Balrami.
This is based on the Bhagavatam and also further elaborated in Chaitanya Tamrut. So, from Balramji, there are four expansions. They are called the Chaturviva, Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Anuruddha.
Now, from Sankarsana comes Narayana. And from Narayana comes the second quadruple expansion, second set of four expansions, that is the second Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Anuruddha. Now, all this is actually in the spiritual world and these are eternal manifestations.
Now, beyond that, there are the manifestations who are called the Purusha avataras. These are manifestations who interact with prakriti. They don’t get contaminated by prakriti.
They are still transcendental, but they interact with material nature. The other manifestations, Balramji, Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Anuruddha, they don’t directly interact with material nature. There is Maha Vishnu, then there is Garbhodakshaya Vishnu and then there is Shirodakshaya Vishnu.
So, Maha Vishnu is the person, Maha Vishnu is the super soul of, he is also called as Karanodakshaya Vishnu. Maha Vishnu is the super soul of all of existence. Now, not just of one universe, but all universes.
So, it is from him that everything comes along. And Garbhodakshaya Vishnu is the super soul of each universe. Now, from Maha Vishnu’s body, the four universes come out and then Maha Vishnu expands as the Garbhodakshaya Vishnu and is present in expanded form in each universe.
And then there is Shirodakshaya Vishnu. So, Shirodakshaya Vishnu is the Paramatma. So, he is present at the top, above Brahma Loka also, on the next bank of the Kshir Sagar.
But along with that, he is also present as the super soul in the heart of all living beings. So, that is Shirodakshaya Vishnu. So, now Krishna is saying this Shirodakshaya Vishnu is all-pervading.
How is he all-pervading? Because the super soul exists. Andantarastra paramana, Jayantarastra paramana. He is present in the heart of all living beings.
He is present in every atom. So, now we look back at this and Krishna will understand Ekamsha. Ekamsha.
Look at where Krishna is. When we look at where Krishna is and from there, we come down all the way to, Krishna has so many expansions out of it. Just one expansion is Shirodakshaya Vishnu.
So, Shirodakshaya Vishnu is one expansion. Krishna is saying Ekamshena Siddho Jagat. Now here, now Krishna is the cause of all causes.
Krishna has told that very clearly. Aham Sarvasya Prabho. And Yuga Swami uses this verse to establish how Krishna is the source of everyone means that Krishna is the source of Vishnu also.
Normal idea within Hindu culture is that Vishnu has 10 incarnations and one of them is Krishna. So, that is not an entirely incorrect understanding. That has to be understood in the proper context.
Let us try to understand that point of view. How actually is Krishna the source of Vishnu or is Vishnu the source of Krishna? So, we have to understand that there is the concept of Krishna as the avatari and Krishna as the avatar. So, Krishna, the avatari is the source who is present eternally in the spiritual world.
So, that Krishna is actually eternal and that Krishna is the source of all living beings and all manifestations of Vishnu also. He is eternal. He is existing in the spiritual world forever.
So, that Krishna is the avatari. He is manifesting the Madhurya Bhava. In the spiritual world, he does not manifest so much the Aishwarya Bhava.
He is the Supreme Lord and from that Krishna, what happens is, there is an expansion where there is Vishnu, there is Brahma and then there is Shiva. So, they are connected with the material existence. Now, of course, from Krishna, it is not that Vishnu comes directly.
We just now saw how from Krishna, Vishnu comes and actually there is not just one, but there are three Vishnus. So, now, in this diagram, in the previous diagram, the elaborate chain through which from Krishna, Vishnu manifests, that is talked about. And the three Vishnus are also talked about.
But here, we are not going into technical details. We are understanding the principle now. So, there is Krishna, who is Sarva Karana Karana.
From whom, through a chain, Vishnu manifests. Now, after Vishnu has manifested, after that what happens? Vishnu is in charge of maintaining this material world. So, whenever there is danger in this material world, at that time, the Devatas go to Vishnu for help.
And when they go to Vishnu for help, Vishnu seeks their help and gets, Vishnu says that I’ll help. And how will I help? He says, an incarnation will come. So, incarnation or avatar simply means that which descends from the spiritual world to the material world.
So, Vishnu in a sense is like, from some people’s perspective, Vishnu might be the source, because they think that we prayed to Vishnu and then an avatar came. So, their idea is that Vishnu is the source. So, Vishnu sends his various avatars.
But what is not understood is that Vishnu is not so much as a source as a gateway. You know, as a gateway means that actually the prayers go up from here to Vishnu. And then there are so many avatars up there in the spiritual world.
And then according to the specific pastime that is required, a specific avatar comes down. So, Vishnu is not the source, but is the root through which the various incarnations come. And from the point of view of people in this world, Vishnu was prayed to and then Krishna came.
So, in that sense, some people might think that Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu. So, from the point of view of limited perspective in this world, it might be true. But beyond the perspective of this world, there is the perspective, when we see all of the reality, and that perspective of the complete reality, what we understand is, beyond Vishnu, there is Krishna, who is eternally existing in the spiritual world.
And from that world, in that world, he is manifesting 64 qualities, unlike the Vishnu forms, which manifest 60 qualities. And he has all opulences. And he is the source of all.
In that sense, he manifests the sweetness of Roop Madhuri, Venu Madhuri, Leela Madhuri, and Bhakta Madhuri, these four special opulences. He has a special sweetness of form, Roop Madhuri, and that is not present in any other incarnation. The sweetness of Krishna’s threefold bending form.
Then the Leela Madhuri. Very intimate pastimes Krishna performed, especially the Madhuri Ras, then the Vatsalya Ras, and even the Sakhya Ras, they are not so much present with the other incarnations or other forms of Vishnu. And similarly, Leela Madhuri, Venu Madhuri, Krishna has this flute, and with the flute, he conquers the heart of his devotees and calls all of them.
And then there is Roop Madhuri. So, Roop Madhuri, Leela Madhuri, Venu Madhuri, and Bhakta Madhuri. So, he has devotees whose sweetness themselves are so great, even Lakshmi Devi aspires to have what the Gopis are getting.
So, the Gopis are simply cowherd girls, and Lakshmi is the Goddess of Fortune. But Lakshmi recognises that what the Gopis are getting is so special, and she wants to enter into Ras Leela. So, these special opulences which Krishna has, others don’t have.
And that’s why our Acharyas have described that, actually, Krishna is very special, as we are attracted to Krishna. Now, this doesn’t mean that we look down upon Vishnu. That is not the point.
Vishnu is also exalted, and worshipping Vishnu can also take us back to the spiritual world. And we have to understand this very clearly. Otherwise, we will unnecessarily minimise or deride Vishnu Bhaktas.
No, that will also take one to liberation. But from the Rasa point of view, there is some difference, and we have to recognise that difference. So, Krishna is saying, ekam shena, by a fragment of my opulence, I have pervaded all of existence.
So, here Prabhupada makes the point in the purport that some people say that all Gods are the same, and we can worship any God. But Krishna is making it very clear that, actually, He is, or everything else that is existing, that is just manifesting a spark of His splendour. So, it’s not that everything, worshipping the spark and worshipping the whole is the same.
No. They are having only a spark. And then Prabhupada quotes Baldevidya Bhushan that, ek shakti leshad suryadya bhavanty atyugra tejasaha, ek damshena dhritam vishvam sa krishnodashame archate.
So, he says that ek shakti leshad, that just by a part of His energy, suryadya, Surya gets His power, and bhavanty atyugra tejasaha, it’s formidable power, it’s effulgence comes from Krishna’s energy. And then further, ek amshena dhritam vishvam, by an amsha, He is sustaining the whole vishwa. So, krishnodashame archate, and therefore that Krishna is worshipable, that Krishna should be worshipped.
So, now let us move on to the 11th chapter. In the 11th chapter, Krishna speaks primarily about the virata rupa. So, what is the context here? Krishna has said that I pervade all of existence.
How do you pervade? That is what Arjuna will ask. Let’s have overview of the 11th chapter and then we’ll move forward. So, 11th chapter is among the longer chapters.
55 verses in this chapter. Third longest chapter in the Gita. 78 chapters is the 18th longest.
78 verses, 18 chapters. 72 verses, 2nd chapter. And 55 verses, 11th chapter.
So, 1 to 4 is Arjuna’s request. Please show me the universal form. Then 5 to 8 is Krishna’s description of the universal form.
So, what Arjuna is going to see is so extraordinary that Arjuna needs a context to understand. So, before Krishna gives a vision, he gives a description. This is what you are going to see.
And then after that, this is the only chapter in the Bhagavad Gita where Sanjay also comes in again. Sanjay doesn’t come in so much. Sanjay has come in the 1st chapter, 2nd chapter and then he will come in the 18th chapter.
In between, he comes in the 11th chapter. So, what Arjuna is seeing that the narrator takes a scene back and says, Krishna and Arjuna are discussing and that’s what is being reported by Sanjay Duttarastra. That is what is being discussed by Shiva Payan with Jinmayee.
So, that is the meta conversation that is happening in the Mahabharata. So, in that conversation, till now the focus was on what Krishna is speaking, what Arjuna is answering. Now, you take a step backward and then by this, Sanjay describes what overall is being seen over there.
Then when Krishna reveals universal form, then for 5 verses, 9 to 14, Sanjay describes what he is going to see. And then after that, Arjuna, when he sees the universal form, he becomes overwhelmed and he starts describing and the description soon turns into a prayer. So, 15 to 31 is the most detailed description of the Virat Rupa that comes in the form of what Arjuna is seeing he describes.
And there he also describes the Kaal Rupa when he sees that. Then after that at 31, when Arjuna is seeing the Kaal Rupa, he becomes overwhelmed and he asks, who are you? Please reveal yourself to me. So, in 30 to 34, Krishna’s instructions come in.
That is, Krishna is saying, become my instrument. That is the essence of his instructions. And 35 to 46 will be Arjuna’s prayers.
Arjuna will start offering prayers, expressing apology and also seeking the darshan of Chaturbhuja. So, that Chaturbhuja will be revealed in 47th verse. And then after that, Krishna will start speaking.
And there Arjuna also speaks one verse and Krishna speaks again. But the essence of that conversation is from 47 to 55, pure devotion alone grants all visions, whether of the universal form or of the four-handed form or of the two-handed form, all forms, like that. So, the chapter starts with the revelation of God in matter, not in the way of Vibhutis as was in the 10th chapter, but in the way of Virata Rupa.
So, both are manifestations of God in matter. But this chapter will talk about the Virata Rupa. And after talking about the Virata Rupa, then the chapter will move on to describe the manifestation of all forms coming due to pure devotion.
So, the chapter will culminate in pure devotion. So, let us look at the verses. So, Krishna, Arjuna will speak right in the beginning.
Arjuna vāca madhanugrahāya paramam guhyam ādhyātma-saṅgitaṁ itvayoktaṁ vachastena moho yam vigato mamā So, madhanugrahāya paramam. So, out of your great mercy on me, what have you done? Guhyam ādhyātma-saṅgitaṁ You have spoken about spiritual knowledge to me, which is very guhya, which is not easy to understand. The word guhya has come in the 9th chapter.
rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam idam tÅ«te guhyatamam So, that 9th chapter and 10th chapter, which are ultimately focused on pure devotional service, on Krishna’s glories that lead to the glory of pure devotional service, they have been talked about. And Krishna, Arjuna says, yes, I have spoken this. What you have spoken is a great mercy to me.
And then itvayoktaṁ vachastena, that uptaṁ, toya uptaṁ, the word that you have spoken, which is, what has happened by that? Moho yam vigato mamā. My moha has gone away. Vigata, vigata means to go away.
So, my moha has gone away. It’s interesting that Arjuna is saying that now I have no moha. In fact, this is what Arjuna will say at the end of the Gita, when in 18.72, Arjuna will be asked, Krishna, have you heard properly? And then 18.73, Arjuna will say, naṣṭo moha smá¹›tir labdhā.
So, there also he is saying, naṣṭo moha. And here in 11.1 also, Arjuna is saying that, moho yam vigato mamā, my moha has gone. So, this statement of Arjuna also illustrates the point that at 10.11, when the Bhagavad Gita, Chatur Shloka is given, is concluded.
So, at that time, Arjuna has accepted Krishna’s glories and glorious position, param brahma param dhāma, he has stated. And that way he has established, he has shown that he’s established in true understanding. And thereafter, whatever questions are there, for lokasangraha, for the sake of benefiting others.
So, he is now thinking about how to benefit others and accordingly is asking questions. Mad-anugraha ye paramam. So, out of your great mercy, you have spoken all this to me.
And I’m grateful to you. And by what you have spoken, the moha has gone. So, when a teacher is teaching a student, the teacher also wants to know whether the student is understood or not.
So, the student is telling over here, Arjuna as a student, that yes, my illusion is gone now. And you have been very merciful to me. So, actually when Krishna speaks, it’s out of his kindness and that speech removes our illusion.
bhavāpyauhi bhūtānāṁ śrutau viṣṭaraśaumaya tattva-kamala-padrākṣa mahātmyam api ca vayam So, now what all have you spoken? bhavāpyauhi bhūtānāṁ bhava-apya bhava means creation, apya is destruction, bhūtānāṁ of all of existence. śrutau viṣṭaraśaumaya I have heard about it in detail. And tattva and about you also, oh, kamala-padrākṣa, oh, lotus-eyed one, mahātmyam api ca vayam, I have heard about your glories also.
So, this kamala-padrākṣa is a very surprising and sweet form of address. There have been many ways in which Krishna has been addressed by Arjuna. Varshneya, Purushottama, Madhava, Keshava, many names have been there.
But this is a very intimate, oh, lotus-eyed one. So, normally this sort of address comes in devotional prayers, where the Lord’s beauty is being talked about. So, this is surprising in the sense that soon after this, here Krishna is referred to as kamala-padrāká¹£a.
But soon after that, the virat-rÅ«pa will come and the virat-rÅ«pa, the eyes are blazing. And the eyes are so blazing that one cannot even look at the eyes. So, it’s the same God who is so attractive in one manifestation and so intolerably fearsome in another manifestation.
So, actually, the whole flow of the Gita is taking us towards the intimate understanding of God’s intimate personality, towards an intimate understanding of God. And Arjuna, his intimate relationship with Krishna is revealed through this address kamala-padrāká¹£a. Kamala-padrāká¹£a is lotus-eyed one.
tat taha kamala-padrāká¹£a mahātmyam api ca avyayam mahātmyam. Your glory, what is the nature of your glory? It is avyayam. Avyayam means it’s imperishable.
So, now, what is Arjuna referring to over here? We know that the Guhyam Adhyatma was talking about nineteen chapters. But what is he saying? bhāpyau hi bhūtānāṁ śuddha-viṣṭa-viṣṭa-śaumāya. That the creation and destruction of all living beings has already been talked about.
What is he referring to? Seventh chapter, eighth chapter, ninth chapter. Seventh chapter Krishna has said that, you know, everything comes from me and everything is sustained by me and everything returns to me. That was 7.6. He mentioned it.
And again in eighth chapter, he talked about the sahasrayo-paryanta-mahariyat-brahmaṇa-vidu, 8.17 to 8.19. And then he introduced the spiritual world with 8.20. And especially ninth chapter, he has talked about from 9.6 to 9.9. So, the creation and destruction, how it happens as a cycle and how Krishna’s abode remains eternal and transcendental and how Krishna remains the controller of all this cycle of creation and destruction, that has been talked about by Krishna. And that is what Arjuna is referring to over here. So, on one side, yes, everything is temporary and how it is created, how it is destroyed, you explain that to me.
And then, along with that, your imperishable glories. You always remain udāsīna-vadāsīna. You remain detached.
You remain transcendental. 9.10 he has described also. So, you have described all this to me.
So, Arjuna is saying, yes, I accept this. Now, Arjuna is making a setting of a context for his request. He is saying, yes, there is this destructible material world and there are your indestructible glory position with your imperishable glories.
So, now, you have spoken this to me. Now, he is building up towards the request. So, what will be the request? So, as you have said, so you are manifest before me.
So, as you have spoken, so you are. So, Krishna is telling here, actually, it’s not that there is some higher reality beyond you. As you have told me, so you actually are.
I accept that. So, it is a repetition of, in one sense, of what Arjuna has spoken in 10.15, where he says, I accept what you say. So, as you have spoken, so you are manifest before me.
And then, at the same time, I desire to see something. What? He says, rūpam aishwaram, your aishwarya rūpa. So, when Krishna is manifest as Arjuna, this is the mādhurya rūpa.
It is an intimate form. Krishna is describing the knowledge of his aishwarya, how he pervades all of existence, how he controls all of existence. But now, he also wants to, he says that I want to see, I want to know more about this form.
So, tashtamicchāmite rūpam aishwaram puruṣottama, you are puruṣottama. So, in the previous verse only, it was kamalapatraksha. Yes, you are my intimate lord, lotus-eyed lord.
But I also know your position. You are the supreme being, puruṣottama. So, I desire to see your rūpa aishwarya.
So, now, if you remember, in 9.5, Krishna had said, vasyame yogam aishwaram. So, there he had talked about the yoga-aishwarya. So, yoga-aishwarya refers to the opulence of Krishna as is manifest through the creation and by which we can come to know about Krishna and we can connect with Krishna.
That was yoga-aishwarya. Now, Arjuna is saying, I want to see a rūpa-aishwarya. So, I want to see that form by which you pervade all of existence.
He says, ekāṁ śhenas te I pervade and sustain all of existence by just one spark of myself. So, what is that one spark? How do you do that? I want to see this. So, rūpa-aishwarya.
I want to see your virāṭ-rūpa. So, let us see now what he says in the next verse. We will understand this further.
Then Arjuna phrases the request very humbly. My dear lord, if you think it is possible for me, if you think it is possible for me to see this form, my dear lord, yoga-aishwarya, oh lord, you are yoga-aishwarya. So, he is saying, if it is possible for you to show it to me, but I know that it is possible because you are yoga-aishwarya.
So, your own glory is imperishable glory. He has told the word avyaya he has used in the second verse of this chapter also. Now, he is using it again.
And he is saying, darshaya darshaya. So, paśyāmi was there. I want to see.
Now, if I want to see, how will I be able to see? It is only when you give darshan. When you reveal. So, darshayātmānmavvayam.
It is possible for you. So, it is possible for you to do it, my dear lord. What is the question? Whether it is possible for me to see.
So, if you think it is possible for me to see, then please reveal this form to me. So, here Arjuna exhibits humility. The difference between humility and pride is that humility begs and waits.
Pride demands and complains. When we are proud, we think we already deserve something and we don’t get it. Demand, why is it not coming? Why is it not coming? So, pride demands and the demand is not fulfilled, the pride complains.
Whereas, humility doesn’t do that. What is the nature of humility? Begs and waits. Yes, this is what I desire.
But then I know I am not qualified. So, whenever I become qualified, you can reveal this to me, my dear lord. Humility begs and waits.
That is the difference between humility and pride. So, here Arjuna is making a bold request in terms of asking that please show me the Virata Rupa. But how is he phrasing that request? He is saying very humbly, my dear lord, if you think I am unqualified, then please reveal it to me.
Therefore, please reveal it to me. Now, in the early days of our movement, devotees when they came, for them, especially western devotees, it was a radical lifestyle change. They just gave up everything of their past life in order to take to Krishna Consciousness.
And they all had the expectation that results would come soon. In fact, many devotees in the 1970s, they think that within by next week or next month, we are going to take over the world and the whole world is going to chant Hare Krishna. Devotees had that kind of euphoria, their exhilaration in their outreach.
There were remarkable results which came out through that outreach. But another idea was that not only that Krishna Consciousness will spread very rapidly, but the idea was we will also become advanced devotees very quickly. So, Hare Grave Prabhu, once he went to Prabhupada and he said, Prabhupada, you know, I have been following the four religious principles strictly for six full months, hand chanting 16 rounds also.
Still I have not had darshan of Krishna. So, Prabhupada looked at him and became grave. Still I have not had darshan of Krishna.
Prabhupada was working on his Bhagavad Gita at that time. So, Prabhupada opened the Bhagavad Gita and he showed him to read this. So, he looked at it and he read it out.
So, it was actually this verse that Prabhupada showed him. If you think I am qualified, then please you reveal yourself to me. So, he read it again.
He couldn’t understand. What is this, Prabhupada said? And he said, Prabhupada said, read it again. And he read it aloud.
If you think I am qualified. And they understood, Prabhupada, yes. If you think I am qualified, that is what Arjuna is saying.
Prabhupada said, yes. You know, our qualification is not decided by us. Our qualification is decided by Krishna.
So, it is good that you are desiring to be advanced. It is good that you are desiring to have darshan of Krishna. That desire is good.
But a devotee’s attitude of humility makes sure the devotee doesn’t demand. A devotee desires but does not demand anything from Krishna. We are servants.
And naturally because we love Krishna, we want more and more reciprocation with Him. We would like to have His darshan. We are very grateful, delighted, ecstatic if we get that.
But that’s not a demand that a devotee makes. Service means that we don’t make demands. We want to serve.
And at the same time, because it’s a personal relation, that doesn’t mean that we can’t have desire. The desire to have darshan of Krishna is not sahajiyaic. But the demand for that darshan is inappropriate from the point of your bhakti.
So, Arjuna is phrasing the request humbly. My dear Lord, if you think I am qualified, please grant me darshan. Now, how Krishna reveals His darshan, we’ll discuss in our next class.