Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 - Lesson 1

INTRODUCTION

This text was machine-transcribed from the printed book and may contain errors. Select the words and choose “Report a mistake”.

In the minds of many, Krsna is considered an incarnation. It is in this chapter that Krsna reveals Himself as not just an incarnation, but as also the very source from which everything flows. He is the source of all sources, the cause of all causes, the source of all the worlds and universes. Arjuna has already heard from Krsna about everything that he needs to do. Arjuna’s questions have all disappeared; his doubts and delusions have dissolved.In the previous chapter, Krsna explains to Arjuna who He really is.

Despite the faith that Arjuna has in Krsna, he has doubts, too. Doubts and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. At the intellectual level, Arjuna had shed his doubts. At the emotional level, he had shed his doubts. But at the being level, at the very core of his being, Arjuna was still troubled by what he was about to do. Arjuna has no one else to ask but Krsna. Intuitively, Arjuna sees his own Self in Krsna. Nara, the man, meets Narayana, the Divine. Arjuna knows at the depths of his being that Krsna, and Krsna alone, can provide the answers to the doubts that have risen within him.

Step by step, Krsna clears Arjuna's doubts. First, Krsna addresses Arjuna's doubts of the intellect. Krsna explains to him the misconceptions that Arjuna has from the literal reading of the scriptures and what he has understood to be right and wrong. 'All the people in front of you are already dead,' says the Lord, 'I eliminated them long ago; why are you then worried? Do what you need to do.' And now, finally, the time has come for Arjuna to see Krsna as He truly is.

Arjuna is standing on the last step. He beseeches, ‘My delusion has been dispelled and I am now aware of Your divinity. Please show me now who You really are.’ And yet, Arjuna still hesitates. He wants to know, but he is not sure if he can bear to experience the truth. He says one phrase clearly, ‘If you think I can behold Your form,’ which indicates that there is already some fear in him.

When you have the
experience, have the courage
to go with it. With the Divine,
nothing is too much.
Ramakrsna asks Vivekananda,
‘If you see the amrtasagara,
the ocean of nectar, how will
you drink from it?’
Vivekananda says he would
become a fly, sit by the edge
of the ocean and begin to
drink it slowly. Ramakrsna
says, ‘Fool! Jump into it and
Drink!’ Vivekananda fears that
he would die if he did that.
Ramakrsna says beautifully, ‘It
is the ocean of nectar, how
will you die?’

Amrta means nectar, that
which guarantees
immortality. By drinking it
you cannot die. How would
you die by jumping into the
ocean of Immortality? Here,
Arjuna says, ‘If you think I
can behold your cosmic
form...’ Arjuna wants the
experience, but puts the
responsibility on Krsna. He
wants the sweet, but not
Diabetes! Of course, the
divine sweet can never make
you a Diabetic.