Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 5 to 6

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Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 5 to 6

 

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha: (The Blessed Lord said)

 

Pashya me paartha roopaani shatasho'tha sahasrashah;

Naanaavidhaani divyaani naanaavarnaakriteeni cha. Verse 5

 

The Blessed Lord said:

 

5. Behold, O Partha, forms of Me, by hundreds and thousands, of

different sorts Divine, of various colors and shapes.

 

O son of Prtha, pasya, behold

me, My

rupani, forms

satasah, in (their) hundreds

atha, and

sahasrasah, in thousands, i.e. in large numbers. And they are nana-

vidhani, of different kinds

divyani, celestial, supernatural

and nana-varna-akrtini, of various colours and shapes-forms which

have different (nana) colours (varna) such as blue, yellow, etc. as

also (different) shapes (akrtayah), having their parts differently

arranged.

 

Swami Chinmayanda's Commentary

 

If gold is the essential stuff in all the ornaments, every ornament

in the world must be available in the total gold. To see the gold in

the ornaments is relatively easy, it being a PHYSICAL PERCEPTION. But

to detect the presence of all ornaments of different shapes and

colors in the total gold is comparatively difficult, inasmuch as it

is the VISION OF THE INTELLECT.

Keeping this idea in mind, when you read the opening lines of the

Lord's words, it becomes strikingly significant. " BEHOLD, BY HUNDREDS

AND THOUSANDS, MY DIFFERENT FORMS CELESTIAL, VARIED IN COLORS AND

SHAPES. " It was not necessary for Krishna to change His form to that

of the Cosmic-Man; all that Arjuna had to do was to BEHOLD THE FORM

right in front of him. But, unfortunately, the instrument-of-

perception was not tuned up for the object of his investigation, and

therefore, Arjuna could not perceive that which was already in

Krishna.

 

That which is lying beyond the focal length of a telescope, cannot be

viewed by the observer even though the object may be present in line

with the axis of the instrument. In order to bring the farther object

within the span of vision, the observer will have to make the

required adjustments in the telescope. Similarly, Krishna did not

TRANSFORM Himself into His Cosmic-Form, but He only helped Arjuna to

make the necessary inward adjustments so that he could perceive what

was there evidently in Krishna. Naturally, the Lord says, " BEHOLD. "

The total world of perceivable beings of all shapes and colors is

indicated in the enumeration made by the Lord in the stanza.

 

Pashyaadityaan vasoon rudraan ashwinau marutastathaa;

Bahoonyadrishtapoorvaani pashyaashcharyaani bhaarata. Verse 6

 

6. Behold the ADITYAS, the VASUS, the RUDRAS, the (two) ASHWINS and

also the MARUTS; behold many wonders never seen before, O Bharata.

 

Pasya, see

adityan, the twelve Adityas

vasun, the eight Vasus

rudran, the eleven Rudras

asvinau, the two Asvins

and amarutah, the Maruts, who are divided into seven groups of seven

each. Bharata, O scion of the Bharata dynasty

pasya, behold

tatha, also

bahuni, the many other

ascaryani, wonders

adrstapurvani, not seen before-by you or anyone else in the human

world.

 

 

Swami Chinmayanda's Commentary

 

 

In enumerating the items that are to be seen in Krishna's Cosmic-

Form, the Lord hints at the most important and striking of them. This

is generally done when we try to describe a crowd of people or things

by using a short representative term. Mention is made on all such

occasions of the most important items or personalities --- the few

who represent the whole crowd.

With a note of despair ringing through his words, the Lord

concludes " BEHOLD MANY MORE SUCH WONDERS AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE. " The

various items enumerated have all been already explained in the

previous chapter. Of them the only new term used here is the Ashwini

Kumaras, the Horsemen-Twins. It is not very clear in literature as to

what exactly is the identity of these twins with heads of horses. It

is not very easy to decide what they represent. In some places they

are described as the Dawn and the Dusk, and in other places there are

sufficient evidences to make us suspect that they represent the

Morning-Star and the Evening-Star. Anyway, they are Angels that go to

serve their devotees in times of utter need and despair.

BY GIVING A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF THE THINGS TO BE EXPECTED IN THE

COSMIC-VISION, KRISHNA HAS INCREASED THE INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY OF

HIS DISCIPLE. WHERE EXACTLY IS HE TO LOOK FOR THESE THINGS? ...

LISTEN:

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Namaste:

 

In these verses, Bhagawan Sri Krishna, prepares Arjuna to witness the

Visvarupa Darshanam. The words `Satasah, and `Sahasrasah' here are

indicative of an infinite number and forms. The Lord calls upon

Arjuna to see all the innumerable forms jumbled together within His

Cosmic Body.

 

The word `Nanavidhani' indicates that the forms comprised in the

Cosmic Body were heterogeneous in character – that is, they belonged

to different species, such as gods, human beings and other lower

forms of both animate and inanimate beings. The use of the word

`Divyani' indicates that the multitudinous forms seen in the Cosmic

Body were all marvelous and transcendent in character, having been

brought forth by His wonderful power of Yoga. He implicitly tells

Arjuna that he should discriminate between what is transcendent and

what is transient.

 

The words `Adityan' etc, denote the principal assortments of gods

residing in heaven. By naming these selections in particular, the

Lord intends to convey that all the gods of heaven were to be soon in

His Cosmic Body. For those who want to get the individual names of

the Gods and other particulars about them should refer to verses 21

and 23 of Chapter X. Once again, Bhagawan wants to inform us that

all the names and forms are contained within and they don't have a

separate existence! Mother Yasoda (God mother of Krishna) with His

Grace was able to witness the Visvarupam when she tried to look

inside BabyKrishna's mouth for the dirt from the Earth. Instead of

the dirt, she actually saw the entire universe! For Yasoda the

incident appeared as transient and she was able to recognize the

Divine Grace.

 

Harih Om!

 

Ram Chandran

[Guest guest]

Sri Ramji writes :

 

( Mother Yasoda (God mother of Krishna) with His Grace was able to

witness the Visvarupam when she tried to look inside BabyKrishna's

mouth for the dirt from the Earth. Instead of the dirt, she

actually saw the entire universe! For Yasoda the incident appeared

as transient and she was able to recognize the Divine Grace. )

 

This the beauty of Hari Katha ! No matter HOWEVER MANY TIMES THIS

SAME TALE IS REPEATED, IT GIVES KRISHNA BHAKTAS THE SAME AMOUNT OF

JOY, THRILL AND ECSTASY!

 

Mother Yasodha knew very well that her Balagopala was no ordinary

child but she always pretended He was an ordinary child and she an

ordinary mother ! Yasodhananda also took great delight in playing

pranks just like an ordinary child and teased his mother and other

gopis in this playful mode! Although Yasodha saw the 'uNIVERSE' IN

HER nANDALALA'S TINY MOUTH, SHE PRETENDED NOT TO NOTICE and

reprimanded Him ! She even tied her Damodara to a mortar with a

rope ! Vatsalya bhava at its best!

 

on Hearing these tales during the course of this Gita satsangha , i

am reminded of the following verse from Srimad Bhagvat Gita :

 

mac-citta mad-gata-prana

bodhayantah parasparam

kathayantas ca mam nityam

tusyanti ca ramanti ca ( ch 10, verse 9)

 

With minds fixed on Me, with lives dedicated to Me, enlightening

each other, and always speaking of Me, they derive satisfaction and

rejoice.

 

The key phrases are

 

1) bodhyantah parasparam- discussing with one another

 

2) tushyanti ca ramanti ca - satisfied and rejoicing

 

Yes! This is not a coffee shop where we discuss who wore what to the

Emmys or monday night football ! This is a holy satsangha where we

discuss and talk about the divine pasttimes of the Lord of the

Universe - Hrishikesa! YOU WILL NEVER GET BORED! you will be

eternally happy ( Ramanti)

 

Earlier, shastriji mentioned in another context about gopi's

devotion !

 

narada bhakti sutra 21 says

 

yathâ vraja-gopikânâm ( verse 21)

 

The cowherd women of Vraja are an example of pure bhakti.

 

Compared to all of Lord Krishna's bhaktas such as Uddhava ,

Prahlada ,Arjuna , even Mother Yasodha , the Gopi's love for Sri

Krishna is the supreme form of Devotion .

 

Narada bhakti sutra alsio says in verses 51 to 54

 

anirvacanIyaM premasvarUpam

mUkAsvAdanavat

 

prakAzyate kvApi pAtre

 

guNa rahitaM kAmanA rahitaM

prati kSaNa vardha mAnaM

 

avicchinnaM sUkSmataraM

anubhava rUpam

 

(Narada Bhakti Sutra 51-54)

 

The intrinsic nature of Paraa Bhakti " defies exact and precise

analysis, definition, or description. " ( anirvacaniyam)

 

It is like the experience of delightful taste, and joy which a dumb

man has when he tastes something sweet.( mukasvadanavat)

 

The Divine Love, neverthless, manifests itself, in one - whosoever it

be - when one has made oneself fit for such manifestation (being

blessed by His Divine Grace).( as Ramji says)

 

The self-less Love for Lord is unmotivated,free from all

chracteristic tendencies to selfish action, it is of the nature of

an integral subjective experience,subtler than the subtlest,

manifesting itself spontaneously and expanding every moment

effortlessly!

 

Enjoy the MADHURYA RASA of Krishna prema/katha!

[Guest guest]

Swami Dayananda's commentary: Swamiji brings out some new insights on

how the teacher prepares the student for the big event in his

commentary.

 

Bhagavan says pasya, see. But he does not show his form immediately

so this is only an introduction to the topic. When he says " see " here

he means, " You are going to see. " There are two types of injunctions,

called lot in Sanskrit grammar. One directly asks you to do something

like kuru, do; patya, see. The other indicates the qualification to

do it. That is the sense in which it is used here. " You are qualified

and you are now going to see. " Therefore, " Patya, please look, "

Bhagavan says, arresting Arjuna's attention. And he addresses him as

Kunti's son, Partha. What should he see?

 

Me rupani, my forms which are hundreds, satasah, and thousands

sahasrasah, in number. The words " hundred " and " thousand " have the

meaning of amita, countless. And not only are they numerous in terms

of quantity, they are of infinite variety, nanavidhani, forms with

all different features. Then again they include not only what you can

know here but what you can never imagine, divyani, things that are in

heaven and other lokas. Not only are they of all different features

but different colors also, nanavarna, blue, yellow etc. Then there

are forms of many different types of physiques, akrtani. 'You have

seen only the animals and human beings which exist on this planet.

Even on this planet there are so many tribes of people and species of

animals which you have not seen. You will see varieties of forms in

me right now. Don't think that you are going to see only local

things. You will see all sorts of other things that you have never

seen, " Bhagavan says, arresting Arjuna's attention.

 

See the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, two Asvins as well as the Maruts.

See, Arjuna, many (other) wondrous (forms) never seen before. See

now, Arjuna, these twelve aditya devatas, the eight vasus, eleven

rudras, two asvini devatas, and the seven groups of marut devatas.

All of them, never before seen by you or by any one else, purvam

adrstani. And many other, bahuni, wondrous forms, aticaryani, which

you could never see otherwise much less see in a single form.,