Gita Study Pune 2013 – 11.1-27 The Magnificent Virat Rupa

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, we will continue with question and answers a little later. we should be able to complete one chapter per day. So, after we complete that, we can continue the question answers.
So, 11 chapter, although there are many verses in it, but it is not a, there are not too many concepts in it. So, we should be able to move fast. So first, let us start with the overview.
So, the chapter 11 is among the longest chapter, so it has 55 verses and verses 1 to 4 are Arjuna’s request, please show me the universal form. Then the universal form is described three times. In verses 5 to 8, Krishna describes to Arjuna what he will see or what will be revealed to him, what Arjuna will see.
So, as Krishna reveals the universal form, Sanjaya tells Dhritarashtra what is being seen on the attribute. So, what is being revealed by Krishna. So, 9 to 14 is Sanjaya’s description of the universal form and then 15 to 31 is when Arjuna is beholding, describing and teaching.
So, that is Arjuna’s description of the universal form. So, 15 to 31 as per the classifications, we will discuss when we come to that afterwards. So, basically the universal form is described by three people, Krishna himself, Sanjaya and Arjuna.
And then after that, 31 actually ends with Arjuna’s question, he is asking, who are they? So, he sees the Kalarupa and his builder seeing the ferocity of that form. So, then Krishna responds by identifying himself and he starts instructing Arjuna. So, the Kalosvi and Smarthuni Krishna show that Arjuna has become an instrument.
So, 32 to 34 is Krishna instructing and after that, now when Arjuna understands that this is actually the Kalarupa, this is the Supreme Lord himself, then he offers prayers. So, we will look at the prayers more in detail when we come to the name, 35 to 46 are the prayers. And then after that, when his prayers get over, then there is, there are multiple things that happen, where first is that Krishna reveals his two-handed form.
He reveals first the form of Viratopayana in the four-handed and returns back to the two-handed form. And then Krishna speaks. When Krishna speaks, he describes how pure devotion is the means by which one gets all wishes, whether it be in the universal form or of the two-handed form.
So, essentially, this chapter may not seem to be directly devotional, because beholding the Viratropa, which is also having a ghastly feature to it, that may not seem to be devotion enhancing directly. But the enhancement of devotion happens because of the overall context. That means, it is a request of a devotee to the Lord by which the Viratropa is enhanced.
That means, devotion is important in getting the Arjuna’s form. And at the end of it, when Arjuna shows that I don’t want to see this devotion between Viratropa, I want to see the normal two-handed form. That means the two-handed form is more desirable, more palatable, more relishable.
That indicates that the two-handed form is higher. And Krishna himself will confirm that. Then he will say that, actually, it is by bhakti.
Bhaktya swaranya shakti aham. So, in this way, through the overall context, through the message conveyed by the narrative, the bhakti is glorified. Although the narrative of Viratropa itself may not directly glorify it.
So, in this way, we can analyse this chapter into seven sections. So, Arjuna’s request, Arjuna’s description, Sanjaya’s description, then Arjuna’s description, then Krishna’s instruction, Arjuna’s prayers, and then Krishna’s conclusion. Concluding, glorification of bhakti.
So, shall we move on? So, what was the end of the last chapter? It was ekam se nisthito jagat. By me, in one fragment, I pervade all of existence. So, Arjuna’s question basically will be, how do you pervade the all of existence? Please tell me that.
And that is, there is a direct link over there. Let us see how Arjuna explicitly phrases this. Arjuna, watch, mad-anugrahaya paramam bhuyam adhyatma-sangeetam, bhuyam adhyatma-sangeetam yathayopam luchas dhena, luchas dhena mohyam vigatomama, mohyam vigatomama So, mad-anugrahaya.
You have done your anugraha, you have done your mercy on me. What I did was, bhuyam adhyatma-sangeetam. So, you have given me adhyatma, the spiritual knowledge, and yathayopam luchas dhena.
And by this, mohyam vigatomama. So, it is very significant, and this 11.1b, is almost similar to 18.17, nashto mohos nityam labdha. So, nashto moho, mohyam vigatomama.
This also indicates to some extent, that the Bhagavad Gita, in a sense, ends by 10.11, where Jyotishloki ends. And after that, what is the extension, is primarily to Arjuna’s questions for Lokahitra, for Lokasangraha. So, Arjuna can see Krishna directly.
So, Arjuna doesn’t have to see Keshu, Keshu, Chibhaveshu. He doesn’t have to see Krishna through material manifestation. He is seeing Krishna directly.
It is asking, how to see in material manifestation, for Lokasangraha, for the benefit of others. And similarly, Sri Prabhupada will explain later, that even the request for the darshan of the Virat Rupa, is also for Lokasangraha, for the sake of other people’s education, that they will know how Krishna reveals the Virat Rupa. And therefore, Krishna is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So, now, what is the Adhyatma Sangita that you have told, we have already given this paramam gohyam, the very confidential knowledge, that he will indicate in the next verse. So, the most striking part of this verse is, the very intimate address of Krishna as Kamala Patraksha, lotus eyed one. This is the only place in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna is referred to by Arjuna as Kamala Patraksha, lotus eyed one.
Very intimate, because, as you know, nine chapters describe Bhakti, ten chapters describe Bhagavan. So, in Bhakti and Bhagavan are glorified, naturally the attraction to the Lord is very nicely awakened. He is the source of everything attractive in this world.
He is my friend. So, Kamala Patraksha, very intimate form of address. And, Shuddhau Mr. Ashomaya, I have heard elaborately from you.
What have I heard? Creation of this world and destruction, appearance and disappearance. So, where has this been talked about? First, the creation and destruction has been talked about from 8.17 to 8.20. 8.17-18-19 was Bhutah Bhutah Praliyate, Avyakta Praliyate, so how everything is unmanifest, it becomes manifest. So, actually there is an extension of thought.
In 8.17-18-19, Krishna just says that everything is created and everything is destroyed. But in 9.7-8-9, Krishna adds the maam part of it. Actually, it is under me that it is happening.
So, first in the 8th chapter, Krishna describes the cyclic process of total existence, creation and destruction, creation and destruction. And there the focus in the 8th chapter is on this is temporary, therefore get detached from it. But in 9th chapter, when the same thing is repeated, the focus is not on get detached, the focus is on understanding how everything is under my control, I am transcendental, therefore become attached to me.
So, immediately after that we will have, a little bit after that we will have, mahatmala-stha-mahatmala-bhagyam-prakruti-mahashtam, 8.13. So, this is 8.17-19 and then 9.7-10, here Krishna has described two things, what is this, bhagpayauhibhutana, the creation is all in me and mahatmala-stha-mahatmala-bhagyam-prakruti-mahashtam. So, everything in this world appears and disappears, but you are imperishable. So, this is what you have described.
It is a contrasting vision. Krishna is eternal, I have understood it from you, you have revealed this to me. So, the first two verses are setting the scene for the request, basically.
First two verses are just thanking, just thanking Krishna, not Anupuraha, you have done this mercy, what is mercy? Expressing mercy. You have given me this knowledge. Let me describe it.
evam etad yatha dhatvam etad yatha dhatvam atmanam kare aishwaram krishnu kshante rupam aishwaram purushottamam evam etad So, etha dhatvam So, this is a very significant transformation, if you look at the Sanskrit, evam etad yatha dhatvam atmanam kare aishwaram So, as I see you now, so you actually are. evam etad yatha As I am seeing you, that is how you actually are. That means, he is not saying that there is some higher reality within Krishna.
As I see you, so you are. evam etad yatha dhatvam atmanam kare aishwaram This is actually your real nature. And, what he is saying, rishtu icchami, I desire to see.
What do I desire to see? rupam aishwaram So, in 9.5, Krishna has talked about yogam aishwaram. What is that? bhutabhavanam ujmatthani bhutani pasyame yogam aishwaram bhut vrnm chy bhutasto om atma bhutabhavanam So, 9.5 was yoga aishwaram. So, there, the word yoga basically means connection.
So, yoga aishwaram means Krishna’s mystical connection with the world. So, there, mysterious, cosmic connection of Krishna with the world, by which he sustains the world, and still he is not connected with the world. How is bhutthani sarva bhutthani? Ujmatthani sarva bhutthani.
So, that is there. So, that was described as rupa aishwaram. Now, rupa aishwaram means, what is this rupa aishwaram? By me, by a fragment of me, all of existence is pervaded in this rupa.
That’s what he told in 10.42. So, what is this form of yours? Please describe it. So, when Krishna said that, I pervade all of the universe, then I am fragment. What he was saying is actually, he says, we are souls, and we have a rupa.
The conception that there are two rupas is that the super soul is the soul of the universe, and the universe is the body of the super soul. Universe is the body of the super soul. So, Krishna is saying that, by a fragment of me, I have sustained all of universe.
That means, that actually the universe is my body. So, rupa refers to form. Now, which rupa does he want to see? There, from me.
So, that form, which is what, he is not exclusively stating which form it is. I am the rupa aishwaram, that ultimate form. But if you look at the overall context, in the previous chapter, he ended with the idea that you are pervading all of creation.
That is, how you pervade all of creation, how this creation is your form, your body, I want to see it. In the next verse, he will describe it. He will again be humble and he will say that it is a quest.
He will say, If you think it is possible, mayadrashtu, it is possible for me to see. Yogeshwaram. So, on one side, he is saying, if it is possible, please show it to me.
But on the other hand, he is also expressing faith in the lord. For the lord, everything is possible. Because he is Yogeshwaram.
For the Yogeshwar, everything is possible. So, please, Atma, please show me. Now, sometimes, Krishna will use the word Atma to refer to himself.
Now, the word Atma comes in connection with Krishna quite frequently. In the same verse, 9.5 chapter. I will read it.
What does this mind-soul refer to? Prabhupada is very emphatic that Krishna’s body and soul is the same. So, with respect to Krishna, what does it mean? I am just going back because it is related over here. 9.5. It comes elsewhere also.
First, I will take an example which I think Chakravarty Path gives. And then we will look at the principle. Chakravarty Path says that this is like Rahu’s head.
Actually, Rahu is nothing but the head. Rahu’s remaining body was cut off. So, all that of Rahu is the head only.
But when we say Rahu’s head appeared, it is a whole of Rahu appeared only. So, he says this is conventional usage. It is not necessarily indicating of a difference between the two.
So, normally we talk of a person’s head. But if that person is so special that he has nothing but the head only. Then we still will say that it is Rahu’s head.
But we understand Rahu’s head and Rahu is the same. Similarly, Krishna is not an ordinary person. Krishna’s soul, Krishna and his soul are non-different.
They are actually So, conventional usage continues in exceptional situations. So, we continue to use normal terms. For example, I understand I am not the body, I am the soul.
But still, when we deal with each other, we deal with each other as bodies. When we are talking with a woman, we will refer to that woman as matraji. So, we will refer to them as feminine gender.
So, conventional usage will continue in normal situations. Although the reality will be something different. So, similarly, conventional usage may continue in such situations.
So, sometimes Krishna will refer to him as mama atma in that sense also. Now, many places, we also know that the word atma is also used as a the word atma is a metaphorical reference to our intangible essence. That means, for example, the Bible may say that Love God with all thy heart, all thy might and all thy soul.
So, here, when it says Love God with all thy soul, actually, is it that the heart and the might are something different and soul is different? The heart and might, ultimately, everything emanates from the soul. But, in the Bible, or in the Abrahamic religions in general, the soul is not really referred to as a distinct entity. Most of the uses of the soul are metaphorical.
You may ask, put your heart and soul in doing service. Now, if I am going to refer to soul as an entity, how do I put the soul in the service? No, it is actually, so there, when we are saying the soul, we are referring to our spirit. Put your spirit, be enthusiastic.
So, put your heart and soul in doing service. Heart means put your emotion in doing service. Put your soul in doing service means put your spirit in doing service.
Put your spirit in, be enthusiastic. So, this word soul, when it is used in an analytical sense, for example, where the focus itself is on explanation of the soul. So, when that is the focus, then the soul is talked about as a distinct entity, which is different from the body.
But, quite often, the soul is also referred to as in a, as either a conventional usage or in a metaphorical reference. So, that’s why, when the word atma is used, in respect to Krishna, it’s not that his atma and his body is, his atma is his essence. And his essence is all that there is.
His body, his soul, his mind are all one. So, when he is saying that, show me your nature, atmanam parameshu, vasyatmanam ahudhinam. So, now, the Lord will say, Yes.
Now, these are words which Mayavadis try to use to say that Krishna’s atma and Krishna’s rupa is different. That’s why, I believe, they have given response to that. I’m sure they have given response to that.
So, there are other sections which, like Angani is a Kalendriya Bhakti Mantri, or even Advaya Gyan Tattva. Like, Gyanam Advayam. There are other sections which indicate that Krishna is non-different from his form.
So, those are also taken in consideration. Let me explain these things. Shri Radharan Raja Vashyami Parthar Rupam Shatashvote Sahasrasha Shatashvote Sahasrasha Nanavandimam Manavarakrpicham So, Vashyam, see, Partharupani You see these forms.
Shatashvote Sahasrasha Hundreds and thousands are there. And they are all Divya. So, the word Divya can sometimes mean Transcendental, can mean Celestial.
You see the context. They are all extraordinary forms. These are not Transcendental.
Viratrupa is a form of the Universe. So, it is not Transcendental. It is made of material elements.
You see the heavenly planets, lower planets. So, Divya here refers to Celestial. Paranakati, different colours and different shapes.
So, Krishna, here he has not yet revealed the form. But he has described the form before it will be revealed. Because what Arjuna has noticed is so extraordinary that generally speaking, he makes sense of things by connecting the unfamiliar with the familiar.
When I see something new, then I try to make sense of it. Tomorrow, I suddenly, if I look out of the window, I see somebody flying in the sky. A normal human being flying in the sky.
This is completely unfamiliar to me. Then, how do I make sense of unfamiliar? Am I dreaming? Is this a hallucination? Or is this person some yogic siddhis? Or is this somebody who has some recreation somewhere with me? Basically, whenever we see something, we try to connect it to something familiar and try to understand it. And if I don’t have something familiar as a fabric in which to feel the unfamiliar that I see, then what results is we will dream.
So, now, what Arjuna is going to see is so extraordinary that it can possibly bewilder a person. That’s why there has to be some background fabric of the familiar within which that can be understood. That background fabric is being provided by Krishna.
You know, researchers who study perception and comprehension. How we see and how we understand. They have made a lot of interesting findings about human cognition.
About how we perceive things. So, one of the features is that there are some people when they are blind and by some surgical method they are given eyes. So, there are two kinds of blindness.
There is congenital blindness and there is advantageous blindness. So, I think I discussed this in our initial session. Congenital is people who have never seen in their life.
Advantageous means they had eyes but they lost the eyes. So, if by some surgical intervention, if congenitally blind people are given eyes and when they get the eyes there are descriptions of in journals and books. When they get the eyes, they see it they open their eyes and they see they can make sense of anything.
They see a chaotic procession of light and darkness all around them. And then suddenly they say are you able to see? He looks around and he sees a blur of dark and white patterns. And then this person because I knew voices came from faces, so I understood that the blur of dark and faint shade that I was seeing, that must be a face.
So, many times these people after they get their eyes they get bewildered. There was a carpenter. He was shown a line blind carpenter, but he used to do carpentry by touching things.
So, when he was showing his knife, this people didn’t understand any part of this. But when he put his hand and he touched it, then he immediately picked it up. So, the point is that actually speaking understanding doesn’t happen just by seeing.
Understanding happens by connecting the unfamiliar with the familiar. And for that we have to have some stockpile of the familiar. We have to have some pre-existing knowledge which makes things familiar to us.
And in that stockpile we add the unfamiliar in a proper integrated way. Then understanding happens. So, this is a good example for Jnana Chakshu.
We need Jnana Chakshu to understand things. We don’t just understand with eyes, we understand with knowledge. Similarly, here when Krishna is going to reveal the Virat Rupa to Arjuna, he knows that for Arjuna to understand it is going to be difficult.
And although Arjuna initially describes what he is seeing, we will see in the later verses, but afterwards Arjuna also gets revealed it. And then therefore he asks, he will ask at that time. So, Krishna prepares Arjuna for that reveal by telling, by describing briefly, what is he going to see.
Krishna in a sense provides Arjuna Jnana Chakshu before he will provide the eyes also. So, Jnana Chakshu for Arjuna. So, Pashya.
Actually, how many times the word Pashya is used earlier? We were previously Pashya. So, the emphasis is on seeing. Because that is what Arjuna wanted to know.
First there was once Pashya. Then in this there is twice Pashya. Pashya.
Aditya, Vasudha, Nidra. Pashya, Nidra. These are all celestial beings.
Adrishta Purvani. Adrishta Purvani never before seen. This reference comes twice.
It comes here in the sixth verse. Then later on it will come in in Krishna’s description for Arjuna. I forget.
Let’s look for the section. One aspect of analysing things is who is the writer. Pashya is coming for the fourth time now.
What he is saying? The amazing aspect is the In one place you have seen everything. So, in a sense Arjuna is being given a sort of spatial omniscience. Omniscience means to know everything.
So, to know everything can be in two ways. I can know everything that is happening everywhere. Or I can know everything that is happening at all times.
So, there is spatial omniscience and there is temporal omniscience. I hope these words are not too complicated. When I say I know everything, everything can mean all places and everything can mean all times.
So, what Krishna is giving to Arjuna is spatial omniscience. 11.7 I was talking about Pashya. Pashya comes 11.6 11.5 and 6 also.
Twice. We will keep track of this and we will see how it comes back afterwards. We will have it in 11.7 also.
Pashya, this is characharam. So, chara and chara. Everything.
In fact, later on in the Kala Rupa, he will get some sort of temporal expansion of temporal omniscience also. Not entirely, but somewhere. We will come to that.
So, mamadehe glavesha. In my body. So, my body means? I was talking about the Virata.
Nitya anja. Nitya anja means also other things. So, Arjuna is going, naturally he is on the battlefield.
Naturally, he is curious what is going to happen in the battlefield. So, that, although he is not asked explicitly. What is going to be the end result of the battle? Who is going to win? Who is going to lose? That also I will discuss.
Nitya anja. So, what we are not asked also, I will reveal to you. Really? You can’t see, so therefore I will make you ask.
So, actually speaking, Vastu Vyogam Aishwaram was there again in 9.5 also. But here Yogam Aishwaram is the ability to connect. Krishna is going to give Arjuna a vision by which he can connect.
He will be able to connect himself and see the Virata. So, Vastu comes once more over here in 11.5. With your own eyes you cannot see. Therefore, here in 11.8 Divya refers to what? Yeah, the word, now Srila Prabhupada generally translates Divya as divine.
But the divine is here, it is celestial. It is not transcendental. Because we don’t need a transcendental vision to see a material thing.
There are two parts. The form manifested of the single universe. The word divine basically refers to that which is connected with the Gods.
So, it can be referring to the Supreme God or to the other Gods also. So, this is called the Dharmite Chakshu. So, actually Chakravarti Parthi does a lot of analysis and he describes how this is not an upgrading but a downgrading of the organisation.
So, what does it mean? Upgrading. So, where all the other people are able to see the form of the Supreme God? Nobody else was able to see. Okay.
It is a material form but even material reality is multilevel. For example, when the Devatas come to the world, they cannot see the Devatas unless they grant the vision. So, Devatas have subtle bodies.
And although their bodies are material, they cannot see. So, you remember we discussed earlier the example of a mainframe computer with multiple levels of access. So, one user can have access to a small part of the work area.
Another user can have access to a greater part of the work area. The main administrator can have access to full work space. So, like that, the universe is like that mainframe computer.
And different lokas according to the adhikar of those lokas, people have different levels of access. So, the way we see the earth or the way we see Chandra, that is different from the way the residents of the moon sit in the loka. For us, it is just a lifeless body of lifeless mass of lifeless mass of substance.
Whereas, where it is a heaven, from the heavenly vision, it is a body, it is an area of heavenly pleasure. So, why is it down? Yes, actually it is very interesting. When we come to this, when Krishna reveals the Virat Loka, actually Arjuna is not able to see Krishna also.
Although in our picture, we see that here is Arjuna, here is Krishna, here is Virat Loka. But that is more like a pictorial description. That is why when we will see later on when Arjuna sees the Virat Loka and he gets bewildered that he is in a destructive form, he decides to ask Krishna, what is that? Because there is no Krishna over there.
He says, who are you? He is asking. Akhya eko bhavaduke rupa. Who are you? There is no Krishna over there.
Then actually, from the Vyasadeva’s point of view, the narration is going on. He knows that it is the same person. So, he doesn’t say Shri Vishwaroopa vahache.
He says Shri Bhagwa vahache. So, in that sense, Krishna is not saying this is the Vishwaroopa. He is not saying that is Kaala Roopa.
He is saying I am Kaala. Krishna has disappeared over there. So, what has happened is that Arjuna has seen a mystical vision but nobody else is able to see it.
And nobody else knows what is happening. So, everybody else is observing. Arjuna is talking and Arjuna suddenly falls on the ground and offers prayers, holds his hand and the whole thing is happening in such a mystical way.
No, but this is right now. After this, there is no Krishna speaking. See, this is, till now Krishna has not displayed the form only.
He is saying this is what I am going to display and now I am going to give rise. Now, once he gives rise, now you see Sanjay’s description also. There is no description that there are two forms.
Only one form exists. There are two forms that is there everywhere, pervading all of space. Now, of course, he said that there are the residents of the higher lokas who are able to see this.
Because it is a celestial form and celestial beings can see it. He will describe that there are two forms. Adityas and Basavas they are describing and some of them are offering prayers.
Bhavishya is offering prayers. Vishkaladhi. He described all that.
For the other soldiers in the battlefield and other warriors, there is confusion. They didn’t know what was happening over there. So, Sanjay could see because he had been given the blessings by Vyasadeva to be able to effectively describe whatever is happening on the battlefield.
So, let’s look at this upgrading and downgrading. So, if they had seen Vishnu, they would have left the battle only. Yes, quite likely.
Especially if they had seen the Kalarupa which is getting devoured in the mouth of Vishnu. So, that’s why Duryodhana, when Krishna receives the Viratrupa to Duryodhana, he does not reveal the Kalarupa over there. Because he wants, he has gone there not to fork Duryodhana but to persuade Duryodhana.
So, he tries to persuade him by good logic and reasoning based on scriptures. But he doesn’t accept, he doesn’t use, he doesn’t interfere with Duryodhana’s grievance. Okay.
So, what do we mean here by upgrading and downgrading? You see, there is a hint of this in Prabhupada’s purport also. I’ll come to that. So, the highest vision is that of Arjuna sees Krishna Arjuna sees Krishna as Bhagawan.
Then, celestial vision, Arjuna sees Viratrupa. So, although, in a sense, Arjuna and all the other warriors are in the same kind of vision. But they are not all in the same level of consciousness.
And although all of them have seen Krishna, but not all of them are seeing Krishna. Since they are not understanding Krishna’s position. So, Arjuna is seeing Krishna means also that we have the Bhagavad Gita’s question.
You see what you don’t see. Or rather, when you see like this, then you actually see. So, Arjuna is able to see Krishna’s form and see that form with understanding.
He has a happy vision. Ordinary people over there, they have the ordinary vision. So, they just think of Krishna as a very powerful being, as a strategist, as a diplomat, as a as a Shakyamuni.
Now, neither at this level, nor at this level, can the celestial form be seen. Viratrupa can be seen. Why? Because as devotees, devotees won’t flaunt their mystic mystics.
Devotees can have mystic siddhis, but they don’t want to flaunt their mystic siddhis or view their mystic siddhis. Normal siddhis. So, what is done is, Arjuna’s vision is brought from the transcendental level down to the celestial level.
By which, he can see the Viratrupa. Actually, Prabhupada will write in the Purpura something quite striking. He will say that a devotee is not interested in such a godless display of opulence.
11.8? Yeah. Devotees who have correctly studied Ramana Maharshi’s Krishna are attracted by loving features, not by a godless display of opulence. This is quite a bold statement.
God is displaying his opulence. And Prabhupada is calling it as a godless display of opulence. So, what does it mean? Actually, there is, when Prabhupada is using the word godless, he is saying that there is nothing lovable specifically about a universal being.
It’s not a vision that engenders love. It can interfere. Engender means foster, create.
It can engender fear rather than engender love. Devotee is interested in loving features. So, Krishna’s Parthasarathya Rupa that is a loving rupa, that is a feature which engenders love.
This is an engender love. So, the vision is being downgraded over here. So, that he can see the Viratrupa.
Is it that Sanjay got the vision after 10 days or something like that? No. Actually, before the battle of Kurukshetra, Vyasadeva came. Vyasadeva tried to persuade Duryodhana.
Duryodhana was not ready to listen. Then, finally, when the destruction was inevitable, Vyasadeva said to Dhritarashtra that if you want, I will give you the eyes. He said, I don’t want the eyes.
I have not seen my sons throughout my life. Why should I see their death now? So, he said, you know, Dhritarashtra was caught between despair and the inevitable destruction of his sons and the hope that somehow they will succeed. He was torn between.
On one side he knew that he can’t succeed. Somehow they will succeed. There was despair and hope that he was caught in.
So, there he said, Sanjay has been your faithful assistant. I will give him the vision which he will be able to see and he will be able to prove it. So, Sanjay had the vision right from the beginning.
But, initially Sanjay went to Kurukshetra and he was in Kurukshetra and from Kurukshetra he was also observing everything. Even if someone is in Kurukshetra, it is a huge battlefield. One person cannot see everything in Kurukshetra.
So, because he had the vision he was able to observe everything. When Bhishma fell, he came back. When he reported, Bhishma said, please report everything.
And then he starts reporting. So, he had the vision throughout. But the reporting happens from on the 10th day onwards, he goes backward and reports from 1st to 10th day and then onwards.
In Mahabharata, how is it described? No, the whole Bhagavad Gita comes in the Bhishma Parva. Because, the Bhishma Parva is the first 10 days and then Bhishma Parva is very large. So, what happens is Bhishma’s fall is described and then a backflash happens.
And the whole narrative goes forward. So, Vyasadeva describes the events from the framework of the conversation of Sanjaya and Dhritarashtra. So, that means he describes Dhritarashtra’s conversation and he says, he has fallen.
How is it possible? Describe it to me. Then he goes back and describes it. And then it’s gone.
So, let’s move forward now. Let’s see what Sanjaya says. Sanjaya, watch.
After Krishna spoke that, Arjuna has referred to Krishna as Yogeshwara. Sanjaya is just seeing what he is going to describe, what he is going to reveal. Mahayogeshwara.
He is describing Mahayogeshwara. Who is that? He is Hari. And Darshan.
Darshan and whatever the same phrase. Rupaishwara. That Rupaishwara Paramam.
That extraordinary Rupaishwara reveals it to you. So, let’s see what is the revelation. Aneka Divya Bharanam.
Aneka Divya Bharanam. Divyane Kodyata Yudham. Divyane Kodyata Yudham.
Divyamanyam Varadharam. Divyamanyam Varadharam. Divyagandhanulepanam.
Divyagandhanulepanam. Sarvasya Janayam Devam. Sarvasya Janayam Devam.
This gives broad description. When we look at somebody, first thing we see is the person. Aneka Vaktranaya.
Many faces. Many eyes. And then many wonderful things to see.
Darshan. Divyane. So, when you see a face of a person, you see the weapons.
Person is raising the weapon. The weapon is raised. It’s high up.
So, Aneka Divyane Kodyata Yudham. Kodyata means they are raised. Upper raised weapons are there.
Divyamanyam Varadharam. So, he is having garlands and he is having amber dress. They are all celestial.
Extraordinary. Divine. And there is also Gandhanulepanam.
There is Sanur Nandana. Sarvasya Janayam Devam. Everything is so extraordinary.
Anantam Vishwato Mukham. Anantam Vishwato Mukham. This is the face of the deity.
He gives a further description of that by a comparison. Divi Surya Sahasrasya Bhave Jyutapad Uthitha Devi Bhasa Krishna Sahasra Devi Bhasa Krishna Sahasra Bhasa Stasya Mahatmana Bhasa Stasya Mahatmana So, Divi Surya Sahasrasya When Sahasra is thousands of suns if they arise at the same time. And what kind of suns? Jyutapad Uthitha Actually, at the end of the universe, in the Bhagavad Gita, it is said that when the sun becomes extremely hot, everything can get burnt and everything becomes extinct.
So, he is saying, those extremely hot suns, which are billions, thousands of light years in length, each day the sun passes the same hour. There was this Robert Oppenheimer. He was a primary scientist to develop the atom bomb.
So, when he developed the atom bomb, and he tried it out in Nevada, in an American desert. So, when he tried it out, at that time, the bomb exploded. So, the circumstance that was created was that Oppenheimer quoted this verse, and the verse, Kaalos Nilo Dixit, Time I am the destroyer of all the worlds.
The sheer scale of the destruction was such that, as if all the human beings came out of the sun. God like power and destruction. It was such a devastation.
It was a secluded area, so nobody died over there. But, the shock was such that, males and males around, the echo reverberated. There was a woman who was cooking something in her kitchen, and the bomb was over, her face fell into the kitchen utensil, and the face got completely burnt up.
And then they were sued for damages over there. But the whole idea was that, it was very shocking. And I saw, when we see extraordinary displays of power from nature, we just realise how tiny we are.
And often many people, they think it’s something god like. When the earth breaks, or a giant tsunami comes up, this kind of power, means it’s beyond our own imagination. There’s something divine about it.
And then, he will describe again, repeat that point of spatial omnipresence. इहाई कस्तं जगत् कृष्ण, Krishna is there on the battlefield. So he says, इहाई कस्तं, here, in one place.
Sanjay is away from there. He says, तक्तराई कस्त, there at one place. तक्तराई कस्तं जगत् कृष्ण, तक्तराई कस्तं जगत् कृष्ण, प्रवी भक्तमने एक धा, प्रवी भक्तमने एक धा, अपश्य देवु धीनस्य, So, in that शरीर, Andhra was all, अपश्य, so पश्य has come once again.
In that, one place, जगत् कृष्ण, the whole universe was there. प्रवी भक्तमने एक धा, the whole universe was, there were many multiple visions, अनेक प्रवी भक्तम, they were divided into many many visions. So, now he is, after describing what he is saying, so, Krishna says, now I will reveal the form to you, then he, suddenly Krishna decides that there is extraordinary mystic, where our truth is manifesting.
He describes that, now he turns, what is Arjuna’s reaction? Then when he starts to describe Arjuna’s reaction, he can describe Arjuna’s spiritual side, suppose he describes Arjuna’s, physical reaction, इसमेयानिष्ठो॥ इसमेयानिष्ठो॥ गुष्ट्लोमाधनजय, गुष्ट्लोमाधनजय, शिवसाधेवं, शिवसाधेवं, दुधानजलिरभाषित, दुधानजलिरभाषित, tatahasat vismaya vishtu, vishnu is overcome by amazement, astonishment, wonder and vishtaroma is hair standing on him because of the amazement. At the start of the bhagavad-gita also there was hair standing on him, that was because of fear, fear of the inevitable. Here right now it is because of astonishment.
Pranam vishirasa devam, he is now, he offers the his hand and abhasha, he starts speaking. So, this is not directly a prayer, although it is done in a reverential way, it is more of a description. Something is happening in the mode of a prayer, but he is actually describing what is going on in his mind.
So, prashyami I see, so this is the sixth, seventh reference to prashyam, isn’t it? What was after 11.18, when was it? 11.13, and now it is 11.15, 16. So, prashyami devam, so I see O Lord, tava deva dehe, in your deha, devam, so I see the devatas, sarvam satha, all devatas, bhuta vishesh, sannan, all the special beings, every loka has special beings, so he is able to see all of them, and all of them from what extent, top of the universe to bottom of the universe, top of the universe is brahman, brahman, brahman is also ishi, he is also a controller, kamala sannasana, he is sitting on the lotus feet, and then rishis and sastras are one, so all the, now the first sastra is devas, I am going to see devas, and I am going to see rishis also, so namae vidusurgana, prashyamya maharasya, devas and rishis are the prominent among the residents of the universe, we will see all of them, and urugam sthitevyam, so urugam, so serpents, divine serpents, so this is actually referring to the bottom of the universe is anant vinata, so right from the top of the universe to the bottom of the universe, he sees everything, urugam sthitevyam, then he is describing further, first he describes the scope of this, ok, devatas are there from top to the bottom of the universe, then he will describe further, bahu dharvak pranetram, prashyamitam sarvatonam dharupam, naam tanna madhyamati nisthavavim, prashyami vishweshwara vishwaroopam, prashyami vishweshwara vishwaroopam, so this is the only verse in the whole chapter where the word vishwaroopam is explicitly used, so of course it is vishwaroopam that is being displayed, but within the chapter, vishwaroopam is used only once, just like in the whole bhagavad gita, the word bhakti yoga itself is used only once, the principle of bhakti is talked about lot of times, but the word bhakti yoga is used only once in 14.26, naam chino vichare na bhakti yoga in the same way, so like that, whole chapter is about vishwaroopam, the word vishwaroopam is used only once, so let me tell you that, before we go forward, overview of what is happening, so Arjuna describes the universal form, first he describes the vision of the universe from 15 to 20, bhatal is saying ok everywhere, ok the devatas are here and all these are there, that he will describe in 5 verses, in 6 verses rather, and And then from 20 onwards, in the four verses, he will describe the effect on the universe. Because when this Virat Rupa is revealed, the devatas are amazed, the rishis are offering prayers.
So they are all, slowly they become fear-stricken. And then 23-25, he describes the effect on himself. He says, I am becoming, I am becoming fear-stricken, I am seeing this.
And then, as I said, within the Virat Rupa, the universe has these two aspects, space and time. So first he is giving spatial omniscience, then he gives him sort of a temporal omniscience also. Not omniscience, but some vision of future.
So then, what he sees is, in that Virat Rupa, he sees the battlefield itself. And what is happening on the battlefield, all the warriors that were there from the battlefield, they are thinking about Virat Rupa. So first he gets a vision of the battlefield.
And in the vision of the battlefield, he says, Virat Rupa, I am a warrior. And then Arjuna sees that and he becomes overwhelmed and asks a question. So this happens in five sections.
Vision of the universe, effect on the universe, effect on Arjuna. And then, the vision shifts to the vision of the battlefield. And then, Arjuna becomes a builder, truly a builder of the universe.
Who are you? Ask the question. So right now we are in the section of the vision of the universe. So, let’s move forward.
And in the section of the vision of the universe, he says, Virat Rupa, I am a warrior. and discuss about about him. So, naantam na madhyam punastha vadem.
Actually, this is ekastham jagat purushanam. Universe, everything is there in one place. So, beginning, middle, end, he is not able to see anything.
naantam na madhyam punastha vadem, aneka ahudhar vathrame, many arms, many udhara, many abdomens, many mouths, many eyes, many faces, many eyes, sarvatho anantaroopam, everywhere it is there. Then he will describe further that, Arjuna being a warrior, he is a warrior. What is he saying within this verse? VINAMGA VINAMCHA VINAMCHA VINAMGA VINAMCHA VINAMCHA EJORASHIN SARVATO DITHIMANTHAM EJORASHIN SARVATO DITHIMANTHAM VASHYANATAM DURNIRIKSHAN SAMANTHAR VASHYANATAM DURNIRIKSHAN SAMANTHAR NITANALARKA DITHIMAPRAMEYAM NITANALARKA DITHIMAPRAMEYAM Dithimaprameyam means Durnirikshan Samantha Durnirikshan Samantha means Niriksha is to see Durnirikshan is to not be able to see This is so effulgent Sanjay has said earlier that There are thousand sanskrit chants which are so glaring Sanjay was saying the same thing Durnirikshan is very difficult to see Dithimaprameyam Nithi is like an effulgence, effulgence is immeasurable, I can’t see this properly, but he is able to discern some features, suppose we are in dark and suddenly a very bright light is switched on, we just can’t see, it takes a lot of time to see, so like that he is trying to discern the forms, so what is he saying actually, so kiriti dandadinam chakram ja, this actually in a sense refers to lord Vishnu, kiriti dandadam chakram, tejo rashim sarvato deepti, so that is actually tejo rashim, that is very effulgent, sarvato deepti, so basically this was trying to talk about effulgence, effulgence that is, so right now it is just effulgence, later on Krishna will describe actually, it is not only light that is coming out, but actually that is also drawing everything inside, everything is getting evolved, that will come later, right now the effulgence is what is blinding and overwhelming effulgence that is what he describes, when he sees this, now this is only one verse where he is sort of identifying, so first there is a description, this is what I am saying, then he has to put it, this must be the supreme lord, then he is identifying the supreme lord.
So this is a samprarthanatmika prayer, sort of prayer, samprarthanatmika means what, glorificate, there is no DCG, there is no lalsamayi, there is no request for anything, nor is there a dainavodika, there is no thought of expression of humility or brokenness of oneself, it is just a description, you are aksharam, you are karma, you are vedic audhya, you are aksharam, you are karma, you are vedic audhya, you are aksharam, you are karma, you are vedic audhya, you are aksharam, you are karma, you are vedic audhya, you are aksharam, you are vedic audhya, you are aksharam, you are karma, you are vedic audhya, you are vedic audhya, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, you are aksharam, So, here Arjuna is expressing the first hint of his fear and come later from twenty-fifth onwards that I am also Pravrata, I am also fearful of you. So, same thing, there are many faces, many forms, actually such an extraordinary vision that you look around and he is out of astonishment, some of the descriptions are being repeated. So many faces, so many forms.
Mahabahu, all forms are there and then Purupadam, there are legs there. Bahudanam bahudamishra karalam. So, this karalam, jaws coming out of the teeth, the teeth coming out.
This is the first description. This karalam will come much more in a ghastly way little later. So, there is teeth are coming out.
First it was, the mouth was described, fire is coming out from the mouth. But now, teeth are also like ferocious animals which have teeth coming out. So, it is described over here.
So, it was described. nabhasprisham dheetra manekavarnam yatananam dheetra vishalanetram vishvahitam pravittantaratma purnavinnam ishamam javishno So, nabhasprisham, nabha is sky. So, like we have skyscraper buildings.
So, ganchumbiman. So, there is nabhasprisham. It is so towering.
It is touching the sky. No skyscraper actually touches the sky. Virat Rupa is actually nabhasprisham.
It is so towering. dheetra manekavarnam And there are many many complexions, many colours in it. yatananam dheetra vishalanetram So, their eyes are also very very big.
yatananam is mouth is open. ananam is anan is mouth. yatra is open.
vishvahitam pravittantaratma Right? The whole soul is shaken. It is afflicted. vrityun vrindam ishamam And there is no peace for me.
There is no composure for me. Now, interestingly, actually, this chapter has only two references to the names Vishnu. One comes in 24th verse, and the other one comes in 30th verse.
They are all Bhagavad Gita. The word name Vishnu is not referred to too frequently. It comes only here.
So, now, afterwards, Arjuna will ask, Who are you? He is saying you are Vishnu. Then he is asking, Who are you? So, why is it like that? Actually, in a sense, Arjuna knows that. I asked Krishna to show the Virat Rupa.
And then, this is actually the same Lord. He knows Arjuna and Krishna and Vishnu are the same person. But still, he has never seen Vishnu in such a form.
So, you know this is Vishnu, but what form of Vishnu is this? Who are you means? What form is this? That’s what he is wondering. Therefore, he says, I am Kala Rupa. I am Kala Rupa.
So, actually speaking, you know it is the Virat Rupa. But he doesn’t say, I am the Virat Rupa. So, that is already known.
I am going to show the Virat Rupa. But within Virat Rupa, there is something which is very mysterious that is being seen. That’s why he says, Kala Rupa.
We know this is Vishnu, but this particular aspect of Vishnu, he has never seen. We don’t see Vishnu with teeth coming out, fire coming out, and devouring everything. Vishnu.
We know this is Vishnu, but what kind of Vishnu? That he will ask later. But right now, he is describing how he is himself becoming afflicted by fear. And what is so fearful? The focus now comes right now.
Vishwaiva Kaalanala Sannibhaani Vishwana Jaane Nallabhecha Sarma Vishwana Jaane Nallabhecha Sarma Prasida Devesha Jagannivasa Prasida Devesha Jagannivasa So, Dhamishtra Karalanjite Mukhaan Dhamishtra Karalanjite Fierce teeth are coming out. And then, Vishwaiva Kaalanala Sannibhaani And a fire of destruction is also all around him. So, the teeth themselves are part here too, and the fire is also coming out.
These two horrifying pictures are described in one verse over here. And then, Vishwana Jaane Nallabhecha Sarma Which direction should I go? If I have to move, if I have to go somewhere, which direction should I go? I am not able to make sense of anything. Nallabhecha Sarma So, actually, the two parts, Vishwana Jaane Nallabhecha Sarma they refer to external and internal disorientation.
I can’t make sense of any direction. What is the direction? That is external disorientation. Internal disorientation means one cannot make sense of one’s emotions.
You cannot get a handle on one’s emotions. You are just running pell-mell all around. Nallabhecha Sarma Therefore, what do you do? When you are completely disoriented, externally and internally, you just pray, Prasidhe Devesh Jagannivasa For the first time, actually Arjuna is asking for mercy in this chapter.
Till now it has been description, but now it is a prayer. Prasidhe Please have mercy. Please be peaceful.
Devesh Jagannivasa Both the names refer to Virat Rupa. You are the controller and you are the shelter of the whole. You are the controller of the gods and the shelter of the universe.
Now what is this? Now what has happened till now? Arjuna’s emotional reaction has been described. But now the vision is becoming more and more illicit. The vision now comes on the battlefield only.
Directly on the battlefield it becomes more ghastly. Because imagine, you know, it’s like sometimes somebody is watching the TV and suddenly sees a horror movie going on. And just for a few minutes curiosity you start seeing a horror movie.
And the horror movie starts becoming very horrible. And then just imagine that a horror movie is suddenly showing as if your own house is going to get destroyed. And the horror movie, whatever is happening is right in your house.
It will be all the more fearful. So ok, all this universe, everything is fearful, that is ok. But suddenly everything comes on the battlefield.
So Arjuna’s reaction becomes even more urgent and desperate. So he is going to describe what is happening on the battlefield as it is seen in the Virat Rupa. So, Amit here, from here in your form, Bhadrashtra Siddhanta, so the four of us, and Sarabdhi, Sahitya, Avanir, Sah means with themselves, along with them all, Avanipal, Avanipal is the taker, who will take care of the elephants, kids, they are all with them.
And Bhishma, who are all among them, three primary obstacles, three primary fears for the Kauravas are Bhishma, Drona, and Shambhu. They are mentioned here. So the idea is that your enemies are going to be destroyed.
As Krishna will tell us later. But he says, these are, this is the particular Sahas, Midhi, Yair, and Yodamukhi. Along with that, Yodamukhi, other warriors also.
And, Akhrante, Swarmanam, in your mouth, you are entering. And, Tamska, Karalani, Tej, Dhyana, so as they are entering into the mouth, all the warriors are, it is as if they are helpless foes, they are being pushed inside. And as they are being pushed inside, the mouth is wide open, but all the feet are protruding.
So, as they are going inside, they crash against the teeth. And as they crash against the teeth, Churnitair Uttamangai. What happens? Anga is the body.
Uttamangai is the best part of the body. That is the head. So, what is happening? The head crashes against the teeth.
Churnitair, it just breaks apart. The head is, the skull is breaking apart. It is quite a ghastly visual.
And then, there is even more ghastly. So, it will come later. So, later on, it will describe how Leliyase, Ratrupa is actually, as the head is cracking apart, and blood is going around, bleeding all the blood.
So, you may wonder, you know, what kind of vision of God is this? How can we think about God as the destroyer first of all, and that too in such a ghastly way? See, the Vedic scriptures describe that the reality of this world is that ultimately there is this destruction. And there is no point in turning a blind eye towards this reality. So, the Viratrupa, one aspect of it is the Kaalrupa.
And God is the destroyer. Everything that happens in the world happens ultimately by the strength of God. Of course, there are immediate causes and there are individual karma by which the reactions happen.
But the ultimate causal principle is gone. So, why would God destroy anything? So, actually, God as the destroyer destroys the temporary to make way for the eternal. I repeat this, God as the destroyer destroys the temporary to make way for the eternal.
How it makes way for the eternal, that we will discuss a little later. But, God as destroyer, so, the temporary is something which causes attraction and attachment and entanglement. So, when the temporary is destroyed, it naturally causes suffering.
However, when the temporary is destroyed, it also acts as a prompt for us to think of what is the eternal. So, Krishna doesn’t only act as the Kaalarupa, where he is destroying. He also comes as the avatar, he also comes as the sages and saints.
And they give us knowledge that beyond this temporary there is the eternal. So, as long as the temporary were to go on forever and ever and ever, then we would never lift our vision to the eternal. The temporary of this world, it attracts us, but when it gets destroyed, we may become temporarily frustrated.
But, because our longing for happiness is eternal, our longing for life is eternal, so we want to have life eternal, we want happiness eternal, that pushes us to think of something beautiful. So, Krishna is not depicted as the destroyer of everything in this world. This material anyway is going to be destroyed.
So, there are two ways of looking at the destruction of this world. As in the Abrahamic traditions, in Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, actually this is an elaborate issue. But in Christianity, if you ask why are there tsunamis and earthquakes and rapes and things like that, they say actually God is not the author of everything.
So, they say that why is God allowing all this? God is allowing all this because God is not in control of the world. What do you mean God is not in control of the world? Their idea is that, I think we discussed this earlier, when originally man sinned against God, Adam and Eve, they ate the forbidden apple, that time, by obeying Satan, they came under the control of Satan. So, right now, the world is controlled by Satan.
And Satan causes suffering. And God will protect people from suffering sometimes, sometimes not. Satan and God are almost equally powerful.
God is more powerful, but still, they are almost equal. And eventually, finally, there will be confrontation. And then, at that time, God will destroy Satan completely.
And then, all those who have been faithful to God, they will be redeemed in heaven forever. That is their vision. So, the idea is, the problem of suffering in this world is disconnected from God by introduction of an agent who is malleable into God, that is Satan.
But then, this, to a large extent, compromises on the omnipotence of God. So, it is almost as if God doesn’t have control over Satan. He will have control eventually when he destroys.
But not till then. So, the Vedic understanding is that, actually, God is always omnipotent. But, this world is at a place where we have misdirected our desires.
And we have become attracted to temporary. So, when the temporary gets frustrated, when our attraction to temporary gets frustrated, because things here are temporary, then it is not that God is responsible. So, how the temporary things will get destroyed, that may happen differently in different people’s lives, that is because of their own karma.
So, the whole purpose of theology, theology is the study of God, you know, one of the central exercises of theology is to reconcile the evil of the world with the goodness of God. That is one of the primary problems of theology. And when theology fails to do that, then people lose faith in it.
So, the primary problem of theology is to reconcile the evil of the world with the goodness of God. So, now, evil is of two types. There is moral evil, people do bad things, and there is natural evil.
That means bad things happen in nature. So, why do these things happen? That means, tsunami is an example of a natural evil. And say, somebody doing a gang rape, that is an example of a moral evil.
So, both. So, you know, ultimately we understand that there are three triplos, Ishwar, Jeeva, and Prakriti. And God is the controller of all of them, all three.
So, if God is good, and he is controlling Jeeva as well as Prakriti, then why should Jeeva do evil, or why should Prakriti do evil? That is the fundamental question. So, the answer here is that the Jeeva has free will, and the material world is under the control of certain laws. So, if we use the free will properly, we get good results.
If we don’t get correct laws, we get bad results. Therefore, it is not that God is directly responsible for anything that happens in this world. If God were responsible, like in this movie, Oh My God, the idea is that they quote this 9.7 in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna says, I am the destroyer.
And they say, therefore, God is responsible for the earthquakes. But if God were responsible for the earthquakes, then God should be responsible for the earth not quaking also. Isn’t it? Is it that God is responsible for only the bad things? If you say that God is responsible when the earthquakes, then we should say God is responsible when the earth doesn’t quake also.
If God should pay and compensate when the earth quakes, then we should compensate when the earth doesn’t quake. How much will you have to do for that? So, when somebody asks, does God cause tsunamis? This question is not asked to seek an answer. It is, the question is asked to seek a debate.
So, you know, there is a, of course, not all people are like that, but often they are provocating one of the questions. Remember, I discussed about trap questions last time. Have you stopped beating your wife? If you ask somebody, if you say, no, she is not beating your wife, then it is a lie.
It means you admit that you are beating your wife in the past. Isn’t it? So, both way a person gets trapped. So, like that, if you say, does God cause earthquakes? No.
No, that means God is not in control. You say, yes, that means God is leaving. So, both way you get trapped.
So, the idea is that God is the ultimate cause of all problems. But, even in this case, yesterday also we had an example of vegetation. Rain is the cause of all vegetation.
There is intermittent causation also. So, like that, depending on how people act, they get their reactions. So, the evil of the world, the moral evil is there because we misuse our freedom.
And natural evil is there because nature gives us reactions to our misuse of freedom. So, that is our understanding. Right? Moral evil is caused by our misuse of freedom.
And we are not bound to misuse freedom. We misuse it because we choose to. And natural evil is the reaction to our moral evil.
So, the Bhagavad Gita, when it describes God as a destroyer, it is describing God in a generic way. Generic way means that, okay, ultimately everything in this world will be destroyed. And the purpose of the destruction is to redirect our attraction from the temporary to the eternal, from the material to the spiritual, from the world to the source of the world, that is God.
So, if we take this out of context, then we can say that, okay, this Hindu Bhagavad Gita talks about such a ghastly God, terrible God it talks about. But, if you take anything out of context, in the Bible itself, Old Testament is filled with so much description and destruction. When God turns against certain people, the whole city gets destroyed, all the people there are killed, and then the Old Testament vision of God that is there, if somebody wants to play the game of criticism, then actually those who teach the Bible or the Quran, they are much more vulnerable to that, because the idea is that there was a particular place when say Moses, he goes and gets the Ten Commandments, Moses was the founder of Judaism, so he gets the Ten Commandments, and when he is getting the Ten Commandments, while coming down, he comes down and he found all his followers, they have meditated all the gold that they have, and they have made a golden calf, and they are worshipping the golden calf, and when he sees that they are worshipping the golden calf, he gets so angry, he smashes the golden calf, he says this is idolatry, instead of worshipping the golden calf, worshipping the golden instead of worshipping the golden calf, worshipping instead of worshipping the golden you know, I think it was George Bernard Shaw, he said that the God of the old testament is one of the worst characters of fiction, you know, he is earthquake causing, disaster inducing, and murderers and malevolent and all that, actually there that aspect of destruction of God is described without a philosophical context.
Prabhupada did not criticise this conception of God, he said that the conception is incomplete. So the point here is that if people want to play games by selective cooping and misrepresentation, anybody can play games. Anybody can play games like that also, but that’s not our goal.
Our goal is not to play games, our goal is to be God conscious. So the Bhagavad Gita describes God’s connection with all of creation. So destructiveness in the world, destruction in the world is also a part of God’s overall plan.
And that plan is to destroy the temporary so that we can make way for temporary.