THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER NUMBER 11, VERSE NUMBER 50, VISVARUPA DARSANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE VISION OF THE COSMIC FORM

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 11

 VERSE NUMBER 50

VISVARUPA DARSANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE VISION OF THE COSMIC FORM:

TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:

sanjaya uvaacha

ity arjunam vaasudevas tatho ‘ktvaa

     svakam roopam darsayaam aasa ‘bhooyah

aasvaasayaam aasa cha bheetam enam

     bhootvaa punah saumyavapur mahaatmaa

SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:

samjaya uvaacha = Sanjaya said:

iti = thus: arjunam = to Arjuna: vaasudevah = Vasudeva: tatha = so: uktvaa = having spoken: svakam = his own: roopam = form: darsayaamaasa = showed: bhooyah = again: aasvaasayaamaasa = consoled: cha = and: bheetam = who was terrified: enam = him: bhootvaa = having become: punah = again: saumya vapuh = os gentle form: mahaatmaa = the great-souled one.

TEXT IN ENGLISH:

Having spoken thus to Arjuna, Vasudeva showed again His own form; and the great-souled One assuming His gentle form consoled him who was terrified.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

Vaasudeva is the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. While being born as their son, He showed His benign and soul-captivation form to His parents, then in imprisonment. The Lord strikes terror only to the extent necessary to tame the strayed into the right path. He is Mahaatma because of this noble act of reclamation.  

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:

His own form: His form as the son of Vasudeva.

Comments by the blogger.

Sri Bhagavan has said that His Cosmic Form was exclusively for Arjuna and was never be seen by others. Now the question is whether Sanjaya witnessed the Cosmic Form of the Lord. Since the Lord has said His Cosmic Form was for the benefit of Arjuna alone, it must be held that Sanjaya only saw and heard Arjuna’s bewildered words and related the same to Dhridharashtra, the Blind Monarch. 

Even though the Lord knew that the Cosmic Form will frighten Arjuna when the latter requested the Lord He readily obliged. And when Arjuna becomes jittery and begs for the Lord to return back to his former form once again Sri Bhagavan obliges Arjuna once again. This speaks volume for the regard Sri Krishna has for his friend Arjuna.

If we see anything, we should do so standing apart from what is seen by us and we should look at it. Body and mind are not inseparable for ordinary beings. When we stand apart from ourselves having shed the conscious of mind and body we will see we are not the body and mind. Then we will come to have an Awareness and moreover we will realize we are nothing but that, the Awareness! When we have come up to that stage we will realize we are the  Cosmos and that is the real Visvarupam gained through Knowledge. This is possible when we stand apart from ourselves and see who the real we are. When we see and realize that we are nothing but Awareness it becomes the vision of the Cosmic Form. Arjuna has had this integral vision. Arjuna has seen in the Lord the whole creation. When we are born our Death accompanies us. Man gets the streak of pepper and salt in the hair on the head and the beard and mustache. This starts to happen when we attain 40 years of age. Every wrinkle and gray hair we have at 40 is the work of Death. Arjuna has had the vision of the Cosmic Form of the Lord and when he feels threatened by the inexorable sight he begs the Lord to kindly return to His former form.

The Lord takes once again the rupam or appearance of His former form. He appeared with discus and mace and four arms. The Lord was born with four arms. But when He saw that Vasudhevar was afraid of Kamsan, the Lord’s two arms disappeared. The Lord of Gita remained with two arms till He got the better of Kamsan. This is to assuage the anguish of Vasudhevar. Once Kamsan died the Lord once again appeared with His four arms. The Sanskrit word, “svakam roopam” means His appearance as Krishna. This does not mean that the Visvarupam or the Cosmic Form does not belong to Sri Krishna. We must hold that both the appearances belong to the Lord. While the Cosmic Form frightens Arjuna the Lord’s former form with discus, mace and four arms pacify Arjuna’s mind and consciousness.

Even when the Lord of Gita goes back and comes in His former form which is just an atom in comparison with the Cosmic Form the atomic Form of Sri Krishna too is a full darshan. What greatness is there in the Cosmic Form also enures to the former form of the Lord.