Gita summaries - chp 11

The Vedas present “God” depending on the stage of maturity of the seeker. In the beginning there is a “personal god”, ekkah rupa eshwara or Ishta Devata Ishwara (IDI). A personal god with attributes. This is valid and helps a seeker to grow. Every person faces a lot of emotional problems in the rigour of life; a devotee can tell the Lord all his problems; he is allowed to share all his troubles as no one would be available or each one so busy in their own problems or they are terribly busy. Nobody has the time to listen but a personal god has all the time!! My relations with my Ishta Devata is an ideal relation; a God is conceptualized with human attributes. A personal god is required in the initial stages.

Then the Vedas say that one must not stop with this stage only. One’s appreciation of the Lord must improve. It must change to accommodate not only one particular form but also all the other forms including human beings, animals, trees, animate and inanimate things. When I grow to appreciate my Isha Devata as samastirupa, then my vision of the Lord is Viswa Rupa Ishwara (hereafter VRI) or Anakkah Rupah Ishwara. Ishadevata becomes viswarupa in the second stage. This will expand the mind of the devotee to totality but even this is not sufficient.   

As long as you are seeing any rupa you are within the realm of time and space because you can exist only within time and space and any form is subject to vikara or change whether it is anekarupa or ekarupa. So a seeker has to go beyond IDI and VRI which is called arupa-ishwara-darshana. So the maturity of the devotee progresses from ekarupa to anekarupa and then finally to arupa.  

In Bhagawad Gita, Ekkah Rupa Ishwara is not emphasized too much. Krishna feels that students of Gita have crossed that stage! Gita emphasizes only on the second and third stages – visvarupa and arupa Ishwara. And for these stages Krishna has prepared the ground in the seventh, eighth, and ninth chapters in which we saw Bhagawan Himself appearing as the universe. Just as gold, the material cause, expresses itself in the form of many ornaments. Just as wood expresses itself in different forms of furniture, one Ishwara becomes all. Similarly, as one God HE is expressed in all beings; both the formless (like space, vayu, mind) and formed (fire, water, earth, physical body). Baghawan expresses HIMSELF as the world. Our Sadhana is to train the mind to appreciate the Lord in every form. First learn to appreciate the Lord in an idol and temple; and then graduate to appreciate Lord in creation. We don’t see the Lord “in” creation, but the Lord is creation HIMSELF.

            To appreciate the Lord thus, we need to go through two stages. Even the appreciation of the Lord as the universe involves two stages, because we have divided the world into good and evil. Everything has got its purpose. But we have divided the world as something wonderful and ugly and something favourable and unfavourable. We may love to see a cow as God but not a mosquito or a scorpion. Therefore in the tenth chapter, we learnt to see the positive aspects of the creation of lord. That is called vibhuti yoga. In this chapter we are going to consider everything in the creation, whether you call it positive or negative and good or evil. Everything should be appreciated as the Lord, which means I must develop the maturity for everything is valid and beautiful and it has its purpose in life. If I don’t like a particular part of creation then it is not because it is defective but because of my short sightedness. I have got a wrong appreciation. In Vedanta, we call it jiva drushti. When we have got a coloured selfish eye then we look upon the creation as evil, bad or disagreeable, dangerous, crooked or useless. But once jiva drushti goes (with learning and becoming more matured) I look at creation in totality. I find that creation does not have pairs of opposites but only complementary pairs. I understand that only by being together, they can make a whole. If one of them is removed, totality is not possible. Hence everything has a place and nothing is distasteful. Example: a devotee stands in a queue in Tirupathi and he finds the line moving very slowly. A supervisor asks; what do you want? The devotee feels that the line should move faster. It immediately moves very fast and when he has the darshan; then shoves him out in 5 seconds!!! “Jarugandi”. On the other hand we have to expand our minds to think: if the queue is moving slow or fast I will enjoy moving with it. If I want to see the Lord for five minutes, I will have to accept that everyone also should have five minutes. Accept one law for others and a different law for oneself is jiva drushti. It is the cause of samsara.  There visvarupa darshana is our aim – dropping our selfishness, dropping our short-sightedness and learning to see things in totality.  

The joy of totality is of a different order and Arjuna wants to enjoy this vision and Arjuna gets this vision also. But later Arjuna realizes he is not immature to even accept the vision; one has to drop one’s individuality. Though Krishna was willing to give it for free!!! As Arjuna was not yet ready and so he says,” Thanks but withdraw the VRI”.

With this background let us enter into the eleventh chapter. Arjuna tells the Lord: bhavāpyayau hi bhūtānāṁ śrutau vistaraśo mayā tvattaḥ kamala-patrākṣa māhātmyam api cāvyayam. evam etad yathāttha tvam ātmānaṁ parameśvara draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśvaraṁ puruṣottama. Arjuna says,” I have understood that you are the material cause of the universe. You are srsti-sthiti-laya-karana. Therefore you are appearing in the form of the very vishwa, the creation. In fact there is no creation other than YOU as there is no ornament other than gold. I have clearly understood that. I have also understood that whatever glory belongs to creation, all the glories legitimately belong to you alone”. Therefore if the whole universe is “Ishwara” I should be able to see divinity everywhere; enjoy viswa rupa darshanam (VR darshanam) everywhere. But I am not able to enjoy that vishwarupa darshanam. Something must be lacking in me. Therefore Krishna please bless me to enjoy VRI. Is it possible for me?

Krishna replies,” Arjuna! Why should I withhold? I will certainly bless you with Vishwa Rupa darshanam. I will show you my viswarupa.  But you cannot appreciate it with ordinary eyes. You need a special eye, divya chakshuh, for that.” The Lord blesses Arjuna with divyachaksuh, and Sanjaya gives the description in verse-10. aneka-vaktra-nayanam anekādbhuta-darśanam aneka-divyābharaṇaṁ divyānekodyatāyudham. The viswarupa describes the Lord as having thousands of eyes, faces, legs, hands and thousands of ears. Arjuna enjoys VR darshanam. Generally, Viswa rupa is assumed as another form of the Lord that God created temporarily for Arjuna’s benefit. Such an interpretation is incorrect. The very word viswarupa means the Lord in the form of the very universe and it is already there. Whatever is in front of me is vishwam, the jagat, the prapancha. Space, Vayu are already there; The Lord’s form is in the form of the very universe. The universal form is already there. Bhagawan cannot be present at a particular ‘time’ and ‘space’. The universe only dissolves at the time of pralayam. Therefore, vishwarupa can never be taken as a particular form which appeared and disappeared. Even in the Upanishads, virat darshanam is described; sun and moon as eyes of the Lord; Vedas as mouth, earth as the feet of the Lord, 10 directions as the ears of the Lord, and Vayu the prana. The Viswa rupa form of the lord is always in front of us. ; all the time almost helplessly. So, one need not work for VR darshanam.

Then why should Arjuna ask for it and why should Krishna give a special darshan?

Even though we see the world all the time, we don’t have the attitude/reverence to the world as Bhagawan Himself. Take an idol at a temple; for a foreigner it is just a stone (granite or marble or 14th century sculpture) but for a devotee he will do namaskara and even talk to the stone. He sees divinity in that. Similarly, we see the world but we don’t have that reverence. Everything in creation must be respected and reverent; even a mosquito. We should learn to look at totality as Bhagawan where everyone is to be respected, everyone is to be revered; even a mosquito is a form of the Lord. Then we should become incapable of killing even an ant. A person becomes an embodiment of ahimsa. Therefore developing reverence towards the creation as the manifestation of the Lord needs attitudinal change; it is called divya chakshuh. It means removal of personal vision, removal of jiva drushti. The Bhakta learns to see everybody’s face as the Lord’s face.  That is “divya chakshuh” or divine eyes wherein my raga and dvesha is eliminated. Removal of R & D is to efface one individuality or private vision. Therefore learn to see every face as the face of the Lord including my own face. Respect pancha bootas as Lord and respect every aspect of creation; both animate and inanimate.

            Arjuna gets this vision and goes through three types of emotions on seeing the VR darshanam.

a) Ashcharyam (Surprise), wonderment: Ocean is a wonder; eg Nigara Falls though it is just water falling. Why? Sheer magnitude! So is Everest! In our daily life, we never get an opportunity to appreciate nature always bothered with problems of when gas cylinders will come after booking, water motor not being switched off etc. Busy and bothered with all the worries of daily life, we forget to appreciate the elements. We are leading such a fast life that there is no time to stand and stare. There is an ideology that states: most of our problems are because man has come away from nature. Learn to appreciate the beauty of blue sky; it is the neck of Shiva.

b) For Arjuna this wonderment soon gives way to fear as he sees Bhishma, Drona,- their prarabda karma is coming to an end – go into the mouth of the Lord. So kind and karunamaya Lord; how can HE be the worst cannibal and so cruel? The Lord presents this kalatattva. The whole world is governed by the time principle. Kala alone is responsible for shristi and laya. We appreciate the lord as Brahma, the shristikarta. Bhagawan says it is not sufficient if you appreciate the birth aspect of creation. If you are to have a holistic vision, you must learn to appreciate death as auspicious, wonderful ad complimentary action of the Lord. Kala has two sides – one is birth and another is death. A vishwarupa bhakti should never criticize old age and death.

            The mouth of the Lord is the kala thattvam; it swallows everything….shuthi, sthithi, and laya. Never criticize old age and death. The moment individuality comes, death is seen as a great tragedy. But from totality, death is a blessing. It is only when one generation goes, another comes into being for life is a cyclic process. vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu sandṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ. Arjuna happens to see Kala swallow everything. All the people are rushing towards the mouth of the Lord, only difference is some are nearer and some are farther in the queue. Some have entered the mouth, some stuck between the teeth, and some people are swallowed. Arjuna loses his objectivity when he sees Lord crush and eat some people. The moment individuality comes in, death becomes bhaynkara. Imagine if death is abolished or Yamadharmaraja goes on strike. What will be the condition? The law of conservation of the universe does not allow this for everything in this world is cyclic. One generation has to go for the next generation to come. When a plant perishes it becomes a fertilizer for the next one. Death is not amangalam; rather it is auspicious as death paves the way for the next generation. Arjuna becomes sacred when he sees Bhishma and Drona are going in the mouth of Kala. He does not mind others dying but he is not able to accept the separation from Bhishma and Drona for whom he has a tremendous attachment. Therefore the wonderment gives place to fear.

            Arjuna raises a question,” Krishna! I thought of you as dayamurthi, karunasagara. You are so wonderful and so kind. But seeing this you seem to the worst cannibal. You seem to enjoy eating. You appear to be cruel. Who are you?”

            Krishna answers: śrī-bhagavān uvāca. kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ ṛte ’pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve ye ’vasthitāḥ praty-anīkeṣu yodhāḥ. Krishna says: I am the mighty world-destroying time, engaged here in annihilating all beings. Even without you, not one of all warriors arrayed here in these rival armies shall survive.” The Lord as is the Kala thattvam who is responsible for both birth and death. Learn to appreciate both of them as Ishwara mahima, learn to appreciate both day and night, birth and death, summer and winter; see everything as Ishwara Mahima. Never complain about anything.

Krishna says in verse-33: tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin. “Arjuna! The parabdhakarma of all the people are over. The time has come for the death of Drona, Bhishma, Karna and all the Kauravas. Therefore, the karma itself has removed their lives. Because I am Bhagawan I cannot directly do it.” The God requires some agent through which He can get the karma fulfilled. Krishna says,” You are the nimmittamatram. You are My instrument through whom I want to get their deaths accomplished.”

This can give arise to many misconceptions. Are we only puppets in the hands of the lord? Do we not have any free will at all? Is everything predestined? Do we have no choice at all? These can lead to fatalistic conclusions which our sastras never accept. Rather the whole scripture is based on free-will and hence all the human goals are called purusharthas. The very word purusharta means “goals accomplished by free will of human beings”. In the sixth chapter Krishna says uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥare. “Arjuna, you are responsible for your growth. You are responsible for your destruction. Therefore take responsibility of your life. Do not blame Me. My job is only to support you when you use your free-will.” In the 9^th chapter Krishna says: I am not responsible for anyone’s bondage or anyone’s liberation; I am sama. I am impartial to all. So if this purusharta is not accepted and if we say we are instruments of the Lord, then it would lead to a lot of fallacies and problems.

If Bhagawan alone is responsible for all our actions then He is kartha and we are not kartha at all for we are only karana or instrument. Then all the karmaphalla in the form of punya-paapa will go to the Lord. Then jivas will become asamsaris and Lord the mahasamsari!!! When there is an accident the driver is punished and not the scooter. Likewise if we are just instruments then the Lord alone must suffer all the punishments.

Then the second defect will be, if Bhagawan only makes everyone do his job then why are some people noble and some people are criminals. I cannot say this is my karma because I am no more kartha and not responsible to any karma (as instruments don’t have any karma). Then we have to conclude that the Lord is partial. Wherever there is suffering; who should remove the suffering? Bhagawan alone should be the remover. If HE does not then HE is open to the charge of being cruel and sadistic. For god alone is responsible for differences.

            Then there is another defect. Suppose I do not have freewill at all and Bhagawan is going to decide everything in life, the greatest advantage will be that we will never have any conflicts in life. Conflicts arises only when there is choice. Suppose we want admission for our son or daughter; we try all over and if you get admission only in one college then there is no conflict at all. But if all the five colleges are willing to admit, which one will you choose? Conflicts come only when you have a choice. But every day we have conflicts; and this indicates the presence of freewill. Animals on the other hand do not have conflicts. Cows are herbivores; lions are carnivores. They have no say at all in their choice of food. But since we have choice, we must conclude that we have a freewill.

Finally and most importantly, if you do not have a freewill (that is everything is predestined) then we would not require dharma sastra at all. A good person is destined to be a good person because he is going to be dharmic; and if a person is destined to be adharmic; he is not going to be dharmic. Then humanity will not need dharmasastra. So nimmittamatra does not mean that everything is predestined. It means that we have a choice in the way we live our life; either according to our raga-dvesha or according to dharma-adharma.

So, what does “nimitta matram” (instrument) mean? We can always lead our lives according to our will; through our Raga and Dvesha or lead a life according to Dharma or God’s will. There is always a choice between “my personal will” and “God’s will”. When I choose to live my life as per dharma, I am fulfilling God’s will. If Arjuna decides to fight, in keeping with dharma, Arjuna is fulfilling God’s will. When one is aligned to God’s will, then he becomes an instrument of the Lord. Even though you might not like to follow God’s will –like killing Bhishma and Drona - it is always better to go by God’s Ichcha. God’s will is called dharma and my will is called raga-dvesha. If my raga-dvesha is in keeping with dharma, I fulfill it. If R-D are against dharma then I should learn to vote for dharma.

Suppose you love getting up at 8 in the morning whereas Dharma says that you must wake up before sun rise; then learn to follow that by sleeping in early in the night. But if you naturally get up 5 in the evening then continue following your will!!! Then your R-D and dharma there is no conflict. But if there is a conflict between your R-D and dharma then go according to God’s will. That is called nimmittamatra.

The first emotion of Arjuna on seeing VR darshanam was wonder and next fear. The last emotion is “saranagati”. Krishna tells Arjuna,” You have to accept totality, which means you have to accept the Lord as kalathatvam. That means you have to learn to accept birth and death, growth and decay.”

Arjuna assimilates the idea a little and responds with devotion. Arjuna does namaskara to the Lord. namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṁ sarvaṁ samāpnoṣi tato ’si sarvaḥ. Salutations unto thee, the all-formed, from before and from behind and from all directions! Infinite in puissance and limitless in might, thou pervades everything and thou art verily the all.

Even if you see the Lord in the form of Yama; have reverence for HE is only doing God’s job. Arjuna finds the fear of death overwhelming – he can accept the deaths of everybody else except Bhishma and Drona. Fear of death can never be conquered as long as there is attachment to the body or to any body. (Body is common!!!). Arjuna does namaskara after having gone through these three emotions – surprise, fear and surrender.

Though Arjuna finds the vishwarupa darshanam wonderful , he pleads with the lord to remove the VR darshanam. adṛṣṭa-pūrvaṁ hṛṣito ’smi dṛṣṭvā bhayena ca pravyathitaṁ mano me tad eva me darśaya deva rūpaṁ prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa. Seeing this form unseen before, I am overjoyed but my mind is also perturbed with fear. Reveal to me the other familiar form of thine and be gracious unto me O thou god of all gods, and dwelling spirit of the worlds.

Then Krishna says,” I will withdraw the divya chakshuh.” By removal of divya chakshuh the objectivity is gone. Krishna says,” You had the unique vision of vishwarupa only because of your devotion. Even though you were immature, being a bundle of raga-dvesha, I showed you my Vishwa rupa form by setting aside your R-D temporarily.”

Then he concludes bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya aham evaṁ-vidho ’rjuna jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṁ ca paran-tapa. Continue in bhakti and grow in bhakti and then you will graduate to Arupa Ishwara darshanam. Then there is no sense of separation from the Lord for I am never away from the Lord. Therefore Arjuna! Continue to remain a bhakta.

Using bhakti as a tool, convert all your actions with God as the goal; pursue dharma, artha and kama; be subservient to the Lord. You will attain Him soon. With the glorification of bhakti the eleventh chapter is complete.