Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 31 to 32

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Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 31 to 32

(Verse Translation by Swami Gambirananda, Gita Bhasya and commentary

by Swami Chinmayanandaji)

 

Aakhyaahi me ko bhavaanugraroopo Namo'stu te devavara praseeda;

Vijnaatumicchaami bhavantamaadyam Na hi prajaanaami tava pravrittim.

Verse 31

 

31. Tell me who You are, fierce in form. Salutation be to you, O

supreme God be gracious. I desire to fully know You who are the Prima

One. For I do not understand Your actions!

 

Akhyahi, tell me

kah, who

bhavan, You are

ugrarupah, fierce in form. Namah, salutation

astu, be te, to You

deva-vara, O supreme God, foremost among the gods. Prasida, be

gracious. Icchami, I desire

vijnatum, to fully know

bhavantam, You

adyam, who are the Primal One, who exist in the beginning. Hi, for

na prajanami, I do not understand

tava, Your

pravrttim, actions!

 

Arjuna realises suddenly the sanctity and the divinity of the Lord's

Power, and so, in a inspired rush of veneration, he bows down to Him

whom till now he took to be but a cowherd boy of Vrindavana.

Intellectual though he may be, here is an experience too big for him

to observe fully, analyse carefully, and digest completely. The only

thing he can do is to surrender himself at the very feet of the Lord,

requesting Him, " TELL ME WHO YOU ARE. "

 

To reinforce the solidity of the query, Arjuna indicates that his

question deserves an answer, for, " I DESIRE TO KNOW THEE, O PRIMEVAL

ONE. " It is very well known in the textbooks of spirituality, that " a

burning aspiration to know " is the motive force behind every seeker's

mind and intellect. But here Arjuna is preoccupied with the problem

of challenge that is facing him, and therefore, he is not, in fact,

directly seeking the Divine Truth behind the Vision. His enquiry is

highly coloured by the emotion of fear in him and his anxiety to know

what would be the outcome of the war. This is clear from the last

line wherein he himself explains: Indeed I know not " YOUR PURPOSE. "

The enquiry made here is " What is the mission of the Lord in taking

such a terrible form, and in presenting Himself in front of Arjuna,

exhibiting how the Kaurava forces are marching in all hurry towards

the burning Mouth-of-Death? " When he intensely longs for a thing to

happen and when sure signs, forecasting his success, present

themselves, he needs a confirmation from others. Here Arjuna is

witnessing what he exactly wishes should happen. But the Prince wants

to get a confirmation of the same from Krishna Himself. Hence this

question.

 

INTRODUCING HIMSELF AS THE MANIFESTATION OF TRUTH IN ITS ASPECT OF

DESTRUCTION, THE LORD IN THE UNIVERSAL FROM DECLARES:

 

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha: (The Blessed Lord said)

Kaalo'smi lokakshayakrit pravriddho Lokaan samaahartumiha pravrittah;

Rite'pi twaam na bhavishyanti sarve Ye'wasthitaah pratyaneekeshu

yodhaah. Verse 32

 

32. I am the world-destroying Time, [Time: The supreme God with His

limiting adjunct of the power of action.] grown in stature

[Pravrddhah, mighty-according to S.-Tr.] and now engaged in

annihilating the creatures. Even without you, all the warriors who

are arrayed in the confronting armies will cease to exist!

 

Asmi, I am

the loka-ksaya-krt, world-destroying

kalah, Time

pravrddhah, grown in stature. Hear the purpose for which I have

grown in stature: I am iha, now

pravrttah, engaged

samahartum, in annihilating

lokan, the creatures. Api, even

rte tva, without you

sarve, all-from whom your apprehension had arisen

the yodhah, warriors-Bhisma, Drona, Karna and others

ye, who are

avasthitah, arrayed

pratyanikesu, in the connfronting armies-in every unit of the army

confronting the other

na bhavisyanti, will cease to exist.

 

No construction of a thing is possible without a corresponding

destruction of its own previous condition. The world is created by a

continuous process of destruction. Today has arisen from the graves

of yesterday. Childhood dies before youth appears. And when youth

passes away, old age takes its birth. The power visibly playing

behind constructive destruction is the fundamental Power that rules

over and governs the life of beings. Krishna introduces Himself here

as " I AM MIGHTY WORLD-DESTROYING TIME, " who has manifested to wipe

out the generation that has suffered decay in its own false sense-of-

values and wrong assumptions about life and its purpose.

The world-destroying attitude of the Lord is not at all against His

all-merciful concept. Sometimes there is mercy in destruction. A

broken bridge, a dilapidated dam, and an ancient building are

instances in point. To pull them down is the most merciful act of

charity that any considerate government can do to the community; so

too here.

 

By declaring that the very purpose behind this manifestation is to

destroy totally the negative forces that strangle the cultural life

of the country, Krishna is confirming Arjuna's vague hope that there

is yet a chance of victory for his army. Reassuring the very same

idea, the Universal-Form here declares that in the great mission of

reconstruction, the Lord is not depending upon any individual or

individuals. It is Time that is going to bring the renaissance and

achieve the revival. In such a colossal movement of universal

rehabilitation, individuals are but mere creatures of destiny. In

spite of them, and with or without their co-operation, Time's plans

will be worked out. The country needs the revival; the world demands

man's rehabilitation. Krishna clearly says, " EVEN WITHOUT YOU " none

of the warriors manning the secular folly of sheer materialism shall

survive the war of the imminent cultural upheaval.

 

In the context of the Mahabharata story, it almost amounts to saying

that the Kaurava forces have all been killed already by Time, and

that Arjuna, by co-operating and servicing the Army of Renaissance,

is only backing the sure success.

THEREFORE, AS A REPRESENTATIVE MAN OF ALL TIMES, ARJUNA IS ADVISED TO

PERFORM FEARLESS ACTION IN LIFE:

[Guest guest]

Swami Dayananda's Explanations from his Gita Homestudy Notes:

 

Seeing all this destruction and seeing the future, Arjuna is a little

confused. Therefore he says, " For my sake, please tell me who you are

with this terrible form. " Imploring him, he says, " Unto you, my

salutations, " te namah astu. " O exalted among the gods, be

gracious. " This time, Arjuna asks to know Krishna specifically as the

cause of the creation. " I want to clearly know you who are adyam, at

the beginning of everything, vijnatum icchami bhavantam adyam. "

Why? " Because I do not at all understand your actions. " The

prefix `pra' enhances the meaning of janami. " You seem to be intent

on destroying all these people. Who are you? I thought you were

Visnu, the one who protects everybody. Now I find you destroying

everything. Are you Visnu. the protector or Siva, the destroyer. I do

not know. Therefore please tell me. "

 

Bhagavan says this is another aspect of himself, not the sustaining

aspect which is very beautiful but the destroying aspect. He calls

himself time, kalah (the time of death) the one who brings about the

destruction of people, loka-ksaya-krt. Here loka means people. " I am

the time that brings an end to people, the Lord of death. " Here he is

expanded, pravrddhah, into this cosmic form. So Arjuna sees in the

cosmic form nothing but destruction. Arjuna wanted to know about his

activity, pravrttih. Here Bhagavan answers direcly, " My activity is

to destroy people here. Here means at this time and place. " Here and

now I am occupied with destroying all these people. " Therefore,

Arjuna is seeing him here as Rudrah, the one whose task it is to

destroy.

 

What is pointed out here is that the Lord is everything. He is not

only the creator and sustainer, but also the one who destroys. He is

the very law that brings about creation, sustenance, and destruction.

Therefore, " Even without you, all these people are not going to be

here, na bhavisyanti Bhima, Drona, Karna, all those warriors, sarve

yodhah, who are standing here, ye avasthitah, in opposing forces,

pratyanikesu, will not be here, na bhavisyanti. On both sides, those

who are now standing poised for battle are not going to be there when

this is all over. They are destined for destruction. It is all part

of a karmic plan. No one can stop it. " So even without you, Arjuna,

they will be destroyed. " Even if there is a truce, they will be

destroyed in some other way by Bhagavan in the form of time, kala,

and the law of karma. Then they will take another birth. This being

so,

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

The first nuclear explosion in history took place in New Mexico, at

the Alamogordo Test Range, on the Jornada del Muerto (Journey of

Death) desert, in the test named Trinity. The origin of the name

Trinity for this event is provided by Robert Oppenheimer, the nuclear

physicist supervised this project. Oppenheimer selected the name

Trinity with reference to the divine Hindu trinity of Brahma (the

Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer).

Oppenheimer had an avid interest in Sanskrit literature (which he had

taught himself to read), and following the Trinity test is reported

to have recited several verses from chapter 11. The often referred

quotation due to Oppenheimer is derived from verses 12 and 32 of this

chapter: " If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once

into the sky that would be like the splendor of the Mighty one. I am

become Death, the shatterer of Worlds. It should be pointed out that

verses 31 and 32 also probably inspired him to coin the name of the

project as Trinity.

 

It should be pointed out that both Oppenheimer and Arjuna had

experienced fear and the thought came to their mind that will be

regarded responsible for the destruction of world beings. But they

both got clarifications through the Visvarupadarshana that the fate

of the beings have already been decided by the nature and they have

no control whatsoever over the events. Oppenheimer needed the Gita

to reconcile his sorrow over his own creation (an illusion) of the

nuclear bomb and for Arjuna, the Lord was with him for guidance and

support!

 

With my warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran