Bhakti from Gita

[Guest guest]

rupam mahat te bahu-vaktra-netram

maha-baho bahu-bahuru-padam

bahudaram bahu-damstra-karalam

drishtva lokah pravyathitas tathaham(Gita 11.23)

 

"(Arjuna says)Seeing this unimaginably great form of You with its

many faces and eyes, o mighty armed one; its many arms, thighs and

legs; its many bellies and many dreadful teeth, are all the worlds

perturbed just as I am."

 

When Arjuna sees the terrible form of the Lord and trembles, to me it

represents the fear that comes with the advance in spiritual

progress. When one comes to this point of God-realization, fear may

arise in him. When truth dawns on one, it is common in experience to

have fear of Truth, and a desire to have the ignorance again. This is

natural. Imagine seeing the great form of the Lord! This is a great

truth. To know the great power of a human being can be frightful, let

alone the form of the Lord Arjuna saw!

 

akhyahi me ko bhavan ugra-rupo

namo 'stu te deva-vara prasida

vijnatum icchami bhavantam adyam

na hi prajanami tava pravrttim(Gita 11.31)

 

"Please explain me who You, in this fearsome form, are. I offer You,

o great God, my obeisances, be so good to me; I wish to know the

original of You as I surely do not comprehend Your mission."

 

Arjuna in this verse is most humbled by the Lord. He wants to know

more of the Lord, he wants to know the Lord's great plan. He offers

the greatest obeisances. It is natural for one who has tasted the

sweet nectar of the Lord to be infused with desires to know the Lord

at all times. A devotee sees God in all places, in all hearts, and

more importantly in his own heart. Arjuna adores the Lord even though

he has appeared in a frightful form.

 

arjuna uvaca

sthane hrishikesha tava prakirtya

jagat prahrsyaty anurajyate ca

rakshamsi bhitani diso dravanti

sarve namasyanti ca siddha-sanghah(Gita 11.36)

 

"Arjuna said: ' Rightly, o master of the senses, by Your glories the

entire world rejoices and gets attached: the demoniac out of fear

flee in all directions, while the chores of the perfected offer their

respects. "

 

Arjuna indicates that men who know the Lord rejoice of him. Arjuna

knows that the Lord is the eternal refuge, the Lord is all that is

and is not, and even what is beyond that! The Lord is the universal

treasure. As one can see, with more knowledge of the Lord, Arjuna is

becoming more devoted.

 

namah purastad atha prsthatas te

namo 'stu te sarvata eva sarva

ananta-viryamita-vikramas tvam

sarvam samapnosi tato 'si sarvah(Gita 11.40)

 

"Heil to the front and to the back of You, unto You I offer my

respects indeed from all sides because You are everything, the

infinite power and the boundless might; everything is covered by You

and therefore You are everything. "

 

Arjuna is understanding the nature of the Lord. He knows that he is

inseprable from the Lord. A great Swami from Shri Lanka, Yogaswami,

said once,"The Lord can do everything except one thing: He cannot

separate Himself from me." The Lord is present at all times.

 

kiritinam gadinam cakra-hastam

icchami tvam drastum aham tathaiva

tenaiva rupena catur-bhujena

sahasra-baho bhava vishva-murte(Gita 11.46)

 

"I wish to see You in the position with helmet, club and disc in Your

hand; just take the fourhanded form [also holding the conch and

lotus], o thousandhanded One, o Universal Form. "

 

Who can blame Arjuna! After seeing the terrible universal form, he

wants to see the Lord in his gentler form once again. Krishna tells

Arjuna to fear not of his great power. When Arjuna sees the Lord's

gentler form his heart returns to peace. As I commented before the

Lord may seem frightful. The truth may seem frightful. But now

Arjuna's perspective is changing. He now sees the gentler Lord. And

he realizes that the Lord is both gentle and terrible at the same

time!

 

 

bhaktya tv ananyaya sakya

aham evam-vidho 'rjuna

jnatum drastum ca tattvena

pravestum ca parantapa(Gita 11.54)

 

"Only trough devotional service free from ulterior motives it is

possible to know and see Me like this Arjuna, and factually get

access, o mighty armed one."

 

Devotion is a means to come unto the Lord. Arjuna had faith, yes, his

faith was sometimes questioned, but he always had faith. He was a

great devotee, and because of this, perfect knowledge arose in him.

He sees the Lord everywhere. No longer is Arjuna and the Lord

separate: they are one.

 

ashaktir anabhisvangah

putra-dara-grhadisu

nityam ca sama-cittatvam

istanistopapattisu(Gita 13.10)

 

mayi cananya-yogena

bhaktir avyabhicarini

vivikta-desa-sevitvam

aratir jana-samsadi(Gita 13.11)

 

"A single oneness of pure love, of never-straying love for Me;

retiring to solitary places, and avoiding the noisy crowds;

A constant yearning to know the inner Spirit, and a vision of Truth

which gives liberation: this is true wisdom leading to vision. All

against this is ignorance."