Gita 11.52 Vision results not just from perception but also comprehension

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श्री भगवानुवाचः चुदूरधर्शमिदं रूपं दृश्टवानसियन्ममः देवाप्यस्यरूपस्यः नित्यं धर्शनकांचिनः श्री भगवानुवाचः श्री भगवान Krishna is speaking now चुदूरधर्शमिदं रूपं इदं रूपं this form of Arjuna which are seeing, that is the two-handed form, as you are perceiving me before you, that this form, even the devatas, even they are constantly eager to see this form. You constantly want to see the form.

So the point being made here is that Arjuna, you are very fortunate. So Arjuna might think that, oh, I was so fortunate that I got to see the virat rupa. So several times in the 11th chapter, the word adrishta purvam has come.

Adrishta purvam means never seen before. Krishna himself says right at the start that I will show you that which has never been seen before. And then Arjuna also says that Krishna, what he has shown me has never been seen before.

And then Krishna also reiterates that once again. So the first comes in the first 5 to 10 verse, 5th to 10th verse, then again it comes twice in between 40th to 50th verse. So now Arjuna may say, oh, I am so fortunate that I got to see the virat rupa.

Krishna is conveying to Arjuna that in seeing the saumya rupa, the two-handed form of Krishna, that is also a matter of great fortune. That should not be minimized anyway. And he says that this form is also so rare, drishtvanasi and mama.

That as you are seeing me, Arjuna, now Krishna gives two specialities of this, two ways to convey the rarity of this vision. So first he says, sudur darsham idam rupam. It is not easy to obtain.

It is very rarely obtained, sudur darsham idam rupam. This form is not at all easy to see, sudur darsham idam rupam, drishtvanasi and mama, as you are seeing me before you, devapyase rupasya. This form, what is the rarity of this form? First he says it is extremely rare, the darsham, sudur darsham.

Dur darsha is that which is difficult to see. Sudur darsha is that which is extremely difficult to see. So dur and su, they are both intensifiers.

They are prefixes which are meant to intensify. Now they intensify in different ways. Krishna has used this combination of su and du as intensifiers earlier also in the Bhagavad Gita, when he has said sudurlabha.

He has said sudurlabha, prashantatma, kotishvapi mahamune. That comes in the Bhagavatam of course. Right, the devotees are so rare that they are rare even among the mahamunis.

In the Bhagavad Gita, it comes in 7.19, when it says bahunam janmanam ante gyanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvamiti samahatma sudurlabhaha. Samahatma, such great souls are sudurlabhaha. They are extremely, extremely rare.

They are, they are very, very special. They are rarely seen. Durlabhaha, that itself is very difficult to attain and sudurlabha is the intensifier.

Similarly here, sudurdarshamidam roopam. So Arjuna, this form is extremely rare to see and devapyasya roopasya. This form, nityam darshanakamshinah.

The devatas themselves are constantly hankering to see this form and they, even they don't get to see this form, Arjuna. So, such is their fortune that you are able to see this form and thus it is, Krishna is stressing to Arjuna, don't think that you had a very special fortune which is lost now or which is, now what you have now is also a fortune. Of course, now we can say that everyone who was present at the time when Krishna was present, they also saw Krishna's form.

So are they all fortunate? Yes, they are definitely fortunate to be present at the same time on earth when the Lord manifests his pastimes here. That is definitely an extraordinary stroke of great fortune which those people got. At the same time, vision is not just a matter of perception, it is a matter of perception and comprehension.

So, that means those who see the Lord, just seeing with their eyes is not enough. They have to see with their eyes and then see with their head and heart. I think they have to appreciate the supreme position of the Lord.

That is when there is lasting benefit. Otherwise, the benefit is not all that much, even when one sees the Lord's form. So, those who truly understood Krishna's position, those who got the darshan of Krishna and also understood his position, they were very rare.

Even when Krishna appeared in this world, and one indication of that is given here, that even devatas, they are constantly desiring to see the form of the Lord. Now, it is true that when Krishna appeared in this world, at that time, the devatas, they all appeared. First, they beseeched Vishnu to appear and then he appeared in the womb of mother Devaki.

At that time, the devatas also came to offer their prayers to him. At that time also, they said, we are longing to have your darshan, Lord. So, the point is that actually, the Lord is, so, his vision is so rare that even devatas constantly desire to see him.

And that is the point that is being stressed over here. And now, devatas, when they go and pray to Vishnu, at that time, most of the time, they don't even get to see and even not all of them get to hear. The usual mode of communication is that Vishnu is such a great being that his darshan is not very common.

It is the devatas who go along with their leader Brahma and it is Brahma who hears within the heart the message of the Lord. The devatas are praying, please help us, please rescue us from this or that. And the Lord says, yes, I will rescue you.

And that message comes through the medium of Brahma. So, now, of course, sometimes in some major sacrifices, Vishnu does appear. But even at that time, what they see is Vishnu.

They don't see Krishna. So, in order to see Krishna, it is very rare that in order to see Krishna, because Krishna is, we could say, God at home, a very intimate manifestation of God. So, that form to see is very rare.

So, in general, it is important for us to remember that whatever situation we are in, that is also a fortune. You know, Krishna is stressing to Arjuna that it's not just seeing the Virat Rupa that is a fortune. Even seeing the Saumya Rupa is also a fortune.

And like that, sometimes we have the tendency to rhapsodize about the past. Oh, the past times were so good, now times are so bad. Well, we could say in some ways, this is Kali Yuga, this is bad, earlier times were good.

But ultimately, in every situation, we can serve Krishna and we are meant to serve Krishna. And the opportunity to serve Krishna is always a fortune. When we hear with the eyes of scripture, or rather when we hear from scripture and see with the eyes of scripture, then we can see fortune manifest in every situation.

Thank you.