Gita 11.40 – Appreciate that the omnipresent is present in sacred sound

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

So, Arjuna offers obeisances again and again and yet again. Thank you.

Arjuna in the 11th chapter of Bhagavad Gita is offering obeisances to Krishna in his Vishvarupa manifestation. So, he is saying, that I am offering you obeisances from ahead and from behind. Namostu deva sarvandu.

Indeed, I offer obeisances from all directions. Your strength, your heroism is unlimited. Amitavic kramas and the astonishing activities that you perform are amitavic.

They are imperishable. They will stay forever. You pervade everything.

You are everything. So, here we see an important principle that God's omnipresence needs to be understood carefully. If we have, say, a picture of Krishna somewhere in our house, so we will try to avoid pointing our feet to it while we sleep.

Normally, we will place the picture somewhere else. Or we will sleep in some other direction. Someone may argue that actually, isn't Krishna everywhere? So, even if our feet are not pointed towards the picture, still whichever direction our feet are pointed, Krishna is present there.

So, aren't we always pointing our feet towards Krishna? In a sense, that is true. Yes, because our feet, Krishna is everywhere and we just cannot avoid pointing our feet towards Him. But still, there is a difference between the directly manifested form and the unmanifested form.

There is no difference at one level in the sense that both are Krishna only. And in some places, He is manifest to our vision and in other places, He is not manifest to our vision. But Krishna manifests for giving us the opportunity to love Him, to serve Him, to worship Him.

And in that sense, His manifestation, His manifested form is more accessible to us than His unmanifested form. So, by offering our, by taking proper precautions while respecting, while worshipping His manifested form, we tune ourselves, train ourselves to appreciate Krishna's presence at least where it is manifested to us. And thus we start worshipping Him more carefully.

So, at least by worshipping Him where it is manifested to us, we train ourselves to become more Krishna conscious gradually. Now, Arjuna faces a unique problem over here. Because Krishna has manifested in a form, but He has manifested in a form that is all pervasive.

Arjuna can see Krishna ahead and behind and in all directions. So, He offers obeisance in all directions. He says that I am offering obeisances.

But then He also gives us the underlying principle. He says, yes, you are all pervading, your prowess is infinite, your glory is inexhaustible. And you pervade everything and in that sense you are everything.

So, Arjuna understands that the Vishwaroopa is a revelation where one sees Krishna's omnipresence. And in one sense, not only that, Arjuna also gets omniscience in one sense. Omniscience in the sense of knowing absolutely everything.

But it was said earlier in the same 11th chapter that from one place Arjuna could see everything. Although situated in one place, Arjuna could see the whole universe. So, this kind of revelation was indeed very special.

And Arjuna was especially privileged to see this revelation. And he offers obeisances repeatedly. Subsequent verses ask for forgiveness.

And thereafter he will request Krishna, please manifest in your Saumbhiroopa, two-handed form. First the four-handed form He wants to see and then the two-handed form. So, the point is Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna in the Vishwaroopa and same talk.

While respecting the Vishwaroopa, Arjuna requests the action of the two-handed form. Now, in the Durga Peetha, it is said that there are visual manifestations of the divine. Similarly, there are sonic manifestations.

Manifestations in sound. And a sonic manifestation is a holy name. Now, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that I am sound meter.

This implies that Krishna is the sound of everything at one level. That is true. But while being the sound of everything, Krishna also manifests as special sounds.

So, now we will not be able to perceive Krishna through everything. When we hear the sound, it is very difficult for us to think of that as Krishna. But when he manifests the specific sounds that are directly connected with him, the sound of the holy name, the sound of the verses glorifying him, then we can have special reverence knowing that, oh, this is Krishna.

And thus, we can gradually train ourselves to become devotionally conscious more and more. To become Krishna conscious. And if we meditate that, that all-pervading Krishna has now made himself accessible to me through the sound of his holy names, we can feel more inspired to take shelter of him and to serve him in his sonic manifestation.