Gita 11.13 – The universal form reconciles the one and the many

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.

the significance of this particular revelation. Thank you. In that one place, Jagat Krishna, the whole universe, divided in various ways, in various forms.

Apashyadeva Devasya, Apashyadeva Devasya, and to that being who is the God of the Gods, Sharire Pandavasthada, in that body. So, here the reconciliation of opposites in the absolute is demonstrated in this visual epiphany. Epiphany, visual theophany actually.

Epiphany is a realization. I got an epiphany, means I got a realization. Theophany refers to the revelation, a divine revelation which is manifested in this world, which is perceivable to the senses, but which is not necessarily material.

So, here this theophany is there and the theophany of the universal form that Krishna is manifesting. It is said over here. What is it? How does it reconcile contradictory things here? In one place, Jagat Krishna, the whole universe was seen.

Now, earlier also Krishna has talked about a similar theme. Arjuna, in one place you will see the whole universe. Here, that similar point is made here, but there is some further stress.

Pravibhaktam anekadha. So, this idea of one and many together. It will come again in 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita also.

Avibhaktam vibhakteshu. Avibhaktam vibhakteshu. So, it is separated or not separated.

So, there is one form, but from one place the whole universe is seen. It is one form, but within that there are many, many forms also. Pravibhaktam anekadha.

So, again the word aneka comes, which had come earlier in the 11th and 12th verses of the chapter where the word aneka came thrice. anekavaktranyanam anekadbuddharishinam anekadivyabharanam divyane kodita yudham It also came many times, four times. So, here also this word aneka is coming for the fifth time now.

Eka means one, aneka means many. And by using the word aneka so many times, aneka actually simply means plural. How many is not mentioned, specified, but it is just many.

And here, by using the word aneka, they say that there are not just many in the sense of seven, ten, but multitudinous. It is almost infinite. So, in the previous verse also Krishna in 11.7 had also used a similar word.

Ihaikastam jagatkritsnam vashadhyasacharacharam mummadehe gudakesha yacchanyagrishtum icchasi So, here it is said that Iha and there in this verse it is tatraikastam. So, the Iha is here and tatra is there. So, this description in geographical indicator comes because Krishna and Arjuna are speaking at the same venue where the universal form is being revealed, whereas Dhritarashtra and Sanjay are far away from that venue of the universal form revelation.

That revelation is happening in Kurukshetra where Dhritarashtra and Sanjay are situated in Hastinapur in the palace. So, therefore, it is tatra over here. Tatraikastam jagatkritsnam, the same word kamjagatkritsnam, the whole universe.

Vashadhyasacharacharam that was there, the emphasis on characharam, that moving and non-moving, all living beings are there. That was what was the stress over there. tatraikastam jagatkritsnam pravibhaktam anekadha apashyat deva devasyam So, Sanjay, when he is described, he stresses that there is, that this person revealing is deva deva.

He is the supreme being. He is not an ordinary person. He is the topmost of all beings and be the topmost of all beings, there is no match.

to him. He is actually greater than all beings. And further he says, there it was, deha comes in both places, sharire pandavastada, so whereas here mamadehe gudakesa, so deha and sharire basically mean the same thing.

So, in the body you can see all this. Sometimes in spiritual circles, there is demonization of the body. We think of the body as a source of entanglement, source of misery, which is true at one level, but another level, at a higher level actually, when we just see the body's connectedness with Krishna rather than its doomed and distressing connection with us, then we can appreciate it as a gift from Krishna, meant to take us closer to him.

So, our body is material. Krishna also has a body. Krishna's body is of course transcendental.

The universal form is also Krishna's body, but the universe is made of material elements and when Krishna manifests the universal form, the universal form is not exactly considered transcendental. We could say at one level that anything connected with Krishna is transcendental. At another level, we understand that something which is manifested in the material world and something which exists constantly in the material world is going to be material, in the sense that the universal form is not always there in the material world.

The universal form which Krishna is giving is a revelation. It's showing over here, but within that revelation, what Krishna is showing, it's made up of material elements. We will see later that the heavens and heavenly beings are described and the subterranean beings are also described.

Arjuna will describe this universal form in detail soon. And thus, the focus in such descriptions is on recognizing that this is a visual demonstration of a timeless truth, that God pervades all of existence, God contains all of existence, God subsumes all of existence. Consume means when something is taken in and then that thing doesn't remain at all.

Subsume means that thing continues to exist beyond whatever it is that exists and that gets integrated into something higher. That is what has happened here in this majestic revelation. And through this majestic revelation, Krishna is going to give Arjuna, he's not only going to oblige to Arjuna's request, but he's also going to expand Arjuna's consciousness and thus make him a willing and eager instrument.