Understand The Fear Of God
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THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM
अर्जुन उवाच । पश्यामि देवांस्तव देव देहे सर्वांस्तथा भूतविशेषसङ्घान् । ब्रह्माणमीशं कमलासनस्थ मृषींश्च सर्वानुरगांश्च दिव्यान् ॥११-१५॥
arjuna uvāca paśyāmi devāṁstava
deva dehe sarvāṁstathā bhūta-
viśeṣa-saṅghān | brahmāṇam īśaṁ
kamalāsana-sthaṁ ṛṣīṁś ca sarvān
uragāṁśca divyān
Arjuna says; O God, I see all the
gods in Your body and many
types of beings. Brahma, the Lord
of creation seated on the lotus, all
the sages and celestial serpents.
POWERFUL COGNITION
The Divine is the cosmic union of all living entities
अनेकबाहुदरवक्त्रनेत्रं पश्यामि त्वां सर्वतोऽनन्तरूपम् ।
नान्तं न मध्यं न पुनस्तवादिं पश्यामि विश्वेश्वर विश्वरूप
॥ ११-१६ ॥
aneka-bāhūdara-vaktranetraṁ paśyāmi
tvāṁ sarvato'nantarūpam | nāntaṁ na
madhyaṁ na punastavādiṁ paśyāmi
viśveśvara viśvarūpa
I see Your infinite form on every side,
with many arms, stomachs, mouths
and eyes; Neither the end, nor the
middle nor the beginning do I see, O
Lord of the Universe, O cosmic form.
POWERFUL COGNITION
When you begin to see 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, there really is no beginning, middle, or end to see. It is a continuum
किरीटिनं गदिनं चक्रिणं च तेजोराशिं सर्वतो दीतिमन्तम् ।
पश्यामि त्वां दुर्निरीक्ष्यं समन्ताद् दीप्तानलार्कद्युतिमप्रमेयम्
॥११=१७॥
kirīṭinaṁ gadinaṁ cakriṇaṁ ca
tejorāśiṁ sarvato dīptimantam |
paśyāmi tvāṁ durnirīkṣyaṁ samantād
dīptānalārka-dyutim-aprameyam
I see You with crown, club and discus; a mass of radiance shining everywhere, difficult to look at, blazing all round like the burning fire and sun in infinite brilliance.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Some of what he sees is formless energy. He perceives radiance more powerful than a thousand suns, blazing and dazzling, impossible to look at even with his newly endowed divine eye.
त्वमक्षरं परमं वेदितव्यं त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम् ।
त्वमव्ययः शाश्वतधर्मगोप्ता सनातनस्त्वं पुरुषो मतो मे
॥ ११-१८ ॥
tvamakṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ
tvamasya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam |
tvamavyayaḥ śāśvata-dharma-goptā
sanātanastvaṁ puruṣo mato me
You are the imperishable; the supreme being worthy to be known. You are the great treasure house of this Universe. You are the imperishable protector of the eternal order. I believe You are the eternal being
POWERFUL COGNITION
What Arjuna sees is beyond any sensory perception, something that could be experienced in that moment in time, impossible to express
अनेकबाहूदरवक्त्रनेत्रं पश्यामि त्वां सर्वतोऽनन्तरूपम् ।
नान्तं न मध्यं न पुनस्तवादिं पश्यामि विश्वेश्वर विश्वरूप ॥ ११-१६ ॥
anādi-madhyāntam ananta-vīryam
ananta-bāhuṁ śaśisūrya netram |
paśyāmi tvāṁ dīpta-hutāśavaktraṁ
svatejasā viśvam idaṁ tapantam I see
you without a beginning, middle or
end, infinite in power and many arms,
The sun and the moon being Your
eyes, the blazing fire your mouth, the
whole universe scorched by Your
radiance
POWERFUL COGNITION
When you begin to see 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, there really is no beginning, middle, or end to see. It is a continuum
INTRODUCTiON
As Arjuna is in the same consciousness as the Lord, this verse should actually start with ‘Bhagavan uvāca’ meaning ‘the Lord said!’ These statements are said to come from Him for us to record. These are beautiful ways that he describes the form. You may wonder why he does so. Please understand, he does so to inspire us to work to achieve this form and this experience, to move in this path. Arjuna is showing us the way. He says, ‘O Lord! I can see all the gods and deities in Your body. I can see the special union of living entities. I can see Brahma seated on the lotus flower. I can see all the sages and divine serpents. O Lord of the universe, I see many arms, stomachs, faces, eyes, and your limitless form. O universal form, I cannot see your beginning, middle, or end.’
As a matter of fact, when you begin to see 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, there really is no beginning, middle, or end to see.
It is a continuum. It is like seeing one of these special movies on a circular screen.
Where would you describe the beginning to be, the end to be, or the middle to be?
It is an infinite circle. The Divine is an infinite circle, with no beginning, no end, and therefore no middle. Without a beginning and an end, to talk about the middle makes no sense.
Part of what Arjuna sees here is the traditional representation of Lord Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is always depicted with His weapons of mace and discus, the gadā and cakra, and wearing the jewel-studded crown. Viṣṇu is also depicted as resting on the ocean of milk, upon the giant serpent Ādiśeṣa, with Brahmā rising from Viṣṇu's navel upon a lotus flower.
Some of what he sees is formless energy. He perceives radiance more powerful than a thousand suns, blazing and dazzling, impossible to look at even with his newly endowed divine eye. What Arjuna sees is beyond any sensory perception, something that could be experienced in that moment in time, impossible to express.
GOALS:
To be able to understand the
unlimited attributes of the divine
cosmic form of Sri Visnu.
ASSESSMENTS
- What words were used to describe Śri Viṣṇu's cosmic form as formless?
- What do you envision based on Arjuna's detailed description?
- What is the meaning of 'Bhagavan uvāca' ?
ART OF THE DAY
ART OF THE DAY:
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Pencil
- Paper Colours
- Different examples of images of Lord Viṣṇu. For young children, have an outline drawing that they can colour in.
PROCEDURE
Encourage the children to connect to and draw Lord Viṣṇu.
INFERENCE
Part of what Arjuna sees here is the traditional representation of Lord Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is always depicted with His weapons of mace and discus, the gadā and cakra, and wearing the jewel-studded crown. Viṣṇu is also depicted resting on the ocean of milk upon the giant serpent Ādiśeṣa.
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
COMPLETE ACTIONS
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Chart paper
- Pictures or coloured paper for a collage
PROCEDURE:
et the child watch the videos of how Swamiji experienced seeing in 360 degrees. Alternative is to tell this story from his auto-biography
INFERENCE:
When you begin to see 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, there really is no beginning, middle, or end to see. It is a continuum. It is an infinite circle. The Divine is an infinite circle, with no beginning, no end.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
VAAKYARTHA SADHAS
Explanation:
Lord Visnu is known as the sustainer of the universe, when we take the universe for granted and abuse the natural resources, it can lead to natural calamities like floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. Let the kids come together in groups to discuss ways in which they can positively contribute to sustain the resources of Earth.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
VAAKYARTHA SADHAS
Conclusion:
In this chapter we see the cosmic form of Krsna through Arjuna's eyes. Krsna is complete fulfillment. His very life is a technique that leads you to enlightenment. His body language is a sutra for enlightenment. Understand that Rama will lead you to dharma, righteousness. If you follow what Rama did, you will have dharma, but with Krsna, you will straightaway have moksa, liberation! His very being is a technique. That is why there is a word in the Bhagavatam (ancient Indian epic) called ‘lila dhyana.’ Just remembering the lila , the playful pranks of Krsna, is Meditation..