I Wish to See Your🔗

Divine Form

Also Your inexhaustible greatness.

I wish to see the Divine form of Yours.

11.4 If You think it is possible for me to see it, then please, O Lord of Yoga and all mystic power,

Show me Your Form of Eternal Universal Self.

In the minds of many, Krishna is considered an incarnation. It is in this chapter that Krishna reveals Himself as not just an incarnation but 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 Krishna about everything that he needs to do. Arjuna's questions have all disappeared; his doubts and delusions have dissolved. In the previous chapter, Krishna explains to Arjuna who He really is.

It is not that Arjuna is not aware of the greatness of Krishna and His divinity. It is based on his deep faith in Krishna that Arjuna chose to have the Master assist him unarmed as his charioteer, while Duryodhana chose Krishna's vast Yadava army.

Despite the faith that Arjuna has in Krishna, 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.

His chariot placed facing the Kaurava army, facing the teachers who had taught him all he knew, elders and

relatives whom he loved dearly, Arjuna was overcome with deep doubts. ‘What is the meaning of all this?’ he asks. ‘Why should I destroy all those whom I have so far revered and loved? What do I seek in return? What purpose will it serve even if I achieve what I seek?’

Arjuna has no one else to ask but Krishna. Intuitively Arjuna sees his own Self in Krishna. Nara, the man, meets Narayana, the Divine. Arjuna knows at the depths of his being that Krishna and Krishna alone can provide the answers to the doubts that have risen within him.

Arjuna is the quintessential thinking man. Unlike his brother Bhima and cousin Duryodhana, Arjuna is deeply troubled by what he perceives as right and wrong. His responses are those of intelligence, not animal instinct. Arjuna is able to see that what his senses tell him need not be true. He realizes that he needs discrimination, viveka, in sensory inputs to separate facts from truth.

Step by step, Krishna clears Arjuna’s doubts. First, Krishna addresses Arjuna’s doubts of the intellect. Krishna 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.’

Krishna then clears any lingering emotional doubts that Arjuna may have by explaining to him what He, the Master of the Universe, is all about. He tells Arjuna who He really is. After detailing all His glories, Krishna says that there is no end to His divine manifestations. Wherever there is something glorious, powerful and prosperous, Krishna is in existence. Krishna concludes, saying that there is no need for detailed knowledge, and that He supports all of Existence within a fragment of His Divine Self.

And now, finally, the time has come for Arjuna to see Krishna 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.

He also has doubts. Yes, Krishna said that He had already destroyed all of Arjuna's enemies. But physically they are in front of Arjuna. He believes what Krishna says. But his senses tell him a different tale.

It is not important what others think; what is important is what we think. We should be ready to take the responsibility and face whatever comes. Even simple truths or experiences cannot be given so easily, since the receiver must have the maturity to hold what he has received.

In one of our publications titled, 'Swamiji as We Know Him,' there is a chapter, 'In the Arms of the Master.' It tells the story of how one of the devotees was constantly nagging me for an experience, much like Arjuna asks here. I advised the person to meditate but the person insisted on a personal experience. The experience is not like a coconut to be given away! The receiver had to have the maturity to hold it. This went on for six months and she would not listen; she kept on asking. Then I eventually decided it was time.

In the narration of the account, she says that she felt her base itself being shaken, she felt herself being without boundary and cried out to me to stop because she could not take it anymore. For two days she was bedridden and she went on to say that I was thoughtless to have given her what I did!

In 2005, during the pilgrimage to the char dham (sacred sites) in the Himalayas, a devotee from the USA kept asking me for a darshan of Mahavatar Baba. Mahavatar Baba, the parama guru of Paramahamsa Yogananda, lives eternally in these parts. He blessed me with my name before my Self Realization, so He is, in fact, the parama guru of my lineage. I said to her that there was nothing I could do but if she had faith He would appear. When she was riding a pony on the way from Gaurikund to Kedar, she saw Baba passing by. When she told me about this, I felt her hand and found that she had indeed had an experience. I told her that she would be experiencing the effects of that energy for quite some time. For six months her body was adjusting to that intense energy experience. She was healed when I visited the USA on my next trip, after about six months!

Here Arjuna says, 'If you think I can behold your Cosmic Form, My Lord, show me Your unmasked, manifested Universal Self.' Please understand, before entering into the experience you must have the courage to take whatever comes.

There are people I know, who after meditating for about a year, start experiencing the state of boundari-lessness. They get frightened and shaken and afraid of losing themselves. I tell them that the meditation itself was to give them the experience of boundarilessness. It is like taking all the trouble to invite a guest to your house and when he does arrive, you are surprised at his arrival! Invariably when they have the experience for the first time, they are shaken and try to escape.

In many instances, during the darkness meditations in the first-level LBP or in the second-level NSP courses, people come to the point of losing their body consciousness. They become scared and refuse to go along with the experience. After the meditation session is over, they tell me what happened. By then it is too late, they have missed the opportunity!

This is also the case with people who practice mantra intensely. When the Divine starts giving them the experience, they are shaken by fear and run away. When you are meditating on the Divine, a mantra or God, do not try to escape when you get the vision or darshan. Please understand that the Divine will never disturb you, only your fear disturbs you. When you have the experience, have the courage to go with it. With the Divine, nothing is too much.

Ramakrishna asks Vivekananda, 'If you see the amritasaagara, 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. Ramakrishna says, ‘Fool! Jump into it and drink!’

Vivekananda fears that he would die if he did that. Ramakrishna says beautifully, ‘It is the ocean of nectar, how will you die?’ Amrita means nectar, that which guarantees immortality. By drinking it you cannot die. How would you die by jumping into this ocean of immortality?

Therefore, don’t worry about overdoing it in spirituality. There is nothing called too much in spiritual energy and spiritual experience. There can never be too much of bhakti or devotion, too much of the Divine, too much of spirituality or bliss.

Here, Arjuna says ‘If you think I can behold your Cosmic Form…’ Arjuna wants the experience but puts the responsibility on Krishna. He wants the sweet but not diabetes! Of course, the Divine sweet can never make you a diabetic.

A small story:

I had occasion to visit Melkote, the place where Ramanujacharya had lived.

The sweetness of the prasadam was so tasty and so intense. Iyengars are good cooks. Vaishnavites love good food because Vishnu is a God who accepts everything. He is the Lord of Lakshmi, of all good things in life. He is unlike Shiva who sits in a burial ground, eats by begging, is covered with ash, has an old bull for a vehicle, and snakes for company! I feared that the devotees would have become diabetic but was surprised when I was told there was no diabetic in the entire village, although everyone consumed the prasadam daily! Understand, food offered to God gets energized and becomes amrita or nectar. The mantra that we chant cleanses and energizes the food that is offered as prasadam.

I would like to tell you about important research done on water. I have mentioned this before but it is so important that it is worth repeating here.

In the movie, ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?’ the recently released book, The Hidden Messages in Water, is discussed. A Japanese doctor experimented by chanting positive words like peace, bliss, happiness, etc. before some glasses of water labeled with these words. He then repeated the procedure before other glasses of water by chanting negative words like war, violence, anger, etc. He also chanted the Dhammapada, Buddha's teachings before some other glasses of water. He labeled all of them according to the messages given to each of them.

He then froze all these glasses of water and photographed the ice crystals as seen under a microscope; the results were startling. Those ice crystals from the water that received positive messages appeared as clear as jewels, as beautiful as diamonds. The ice crystals from the water that received negative messages were ugly to look at. Those crystals from the water that received Dhammapada chanting appeared to radiate calmness and peace.

Masaru Emoto repeated these experiments hundreds of times to prove that our thoughts affect the water we drink. This is why Masters from ancient times taught people to chant mantras standing in the Ganga. The whole river would be energized by the energy of millions of devotees chanting!

The water brought by the Englishmen from Britain in the days of East India Company would usually spoil within a month when they came to India. However, the water carried back with them from Calcutta (Ganga water) would stay fresh until they reached England and longer.

Research conducted by them showed that water from the Ganga had the ability to purify itself. This is why the Ganga is never polluted despite so much polluting material being dumped into it.

Likewise, when food is put before the deity in a temple where mantras are chanted constantly, the food absorbs the pure, spiritual energy. It starts radiating the energy of the Divine positive qualities. One cannot fall sick by eating prasad.

With Divine Energy, the effect is always positive, never negative. You cannot die in the amrita saagara, the ocean of nectar. When it comes to the Divine, all you need to do is jump into It with your whole being. All you need do is to relax into It for transformation.

Arjuna says:

'If You think I am able to behold, O My Lord, Master of all mystic power, please show me Your Cosmic Form.'

Many of you are like Arjuna. In fact, all of you are like Arjuna. You do not wish to take any risks. Master has to calculate all risks for you. You want the Master to make the experience risk-free, safe and pleasant. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Yes, the experience is bliss, it is liberating, but that blissful experience destroys your identity, kills the ego and recreates the Divine in you.

If you wish to be as you were, do not ask for the experience. The Master's job is to transform. The Master is a surgeon, the surgeon of egos. Once you come to Him, it is a point of no return. I tell my followers that once they enter the gates of my ashram, they have made a life-long, no-return commitment. Even if they go out, they cannot get Me out!

There is no such thing as partial surrender to a Master. There is no such thing as, 'Please give me what I can take. Let me take a sip and see if I like it. If I do I shall ask You for more. If not, I shall not take anymore.'

Of course, the Master knows your readiness far better than you do. That is why I work on you in stages. As long as you are not ready, what I give you is brain and eye candy, that's all. You can gaze in happiness and go away. The form is all that you can take. It is only when your seriousness of purpose is established that I can start working on you without fear that you will run away from the operating table.

Till then you only behave under the delusion that you have surrendered. It is one more fantasy, that is all.

On one of our Himalayan trips, I decided not to trek to Gomukh, the origin of Ganga, which is at over 13,000 feet altitude. We stopped at Gangotri. I told the group that I was not willing to go further since there could be snow slides. But I told them that if any one of them felt they must go and felt adventurous, they could carry on. My body language clearly indicated they should not go, as it was not safe. But I needed to give them their space and let them decide.

A dozen people trekked to Gomukh the next morning, without even informing the group leaders. This caused not only confusion but also concern, as there were in fact land and snow slides on the way. That evening, when asked by the group leaders why they went despite my cautions, one of the people who went said he had surrendered to me, and that I would take care!

This is not surrender. This is ego, negative ego! You make the Master responsible for your idiotic behavior. If there were a true spirit of surrender, these people would have listened when I warned them not to go.

The brahmacharis who train at the ashram understand the power of the Master's words. They listen and listen completely. They listen without applying logic and reason. Logic and reason come with ego. To be egoless, you need to be mindless and shed logic.

Arjuna is not like all my devotees! Arjuna is an evolved disciple. What he says only seems to reflect what an ordinary person would have said. In fact, what Arjuna implies here is far more. ‘Please give me Your cosmic vision,’ Arjuna pleads, ‘if it may please You. I am keen to have it, but the decision is Yours. Let whatever You decide happen!’

This is what my initiated disciples do when they heal. They drop my form, they drop their ego and they also drop the intention to heal. All they say is, ‘Let whatever good may happen, happen.’ The healing energy of the Cosmos is intelligent and it flows where it should, when it should, and does what it needs to do.

Arjuna is in the same mood. ‘Let what happens be decided by You,’ he says to Krishna. What he implies is this: ‘I have heard all that You have said. My questions have disappeared and my delusions have evaporated. I truly understand Your greatness. May I see You in Your true form?

‘I have no right to ask all this of You. It is not any penance I may have done that makes me deserve this. It is not that I have reached a level of intellectual understanding of You that makes me deserve this. It is not that I have reached the peak of devotion that makes me deserve Your vision. I have no right to demand.

However, in all humility, as Your devotee, as one who surrenders to You, I ask of You to show me who You really are. Please show me Your entire splendor, Your valor, Your wisdom, Your truth and all that You really are!’

Q: Master, I am confused. Surrender itself means that you leave the decision to the Master. But I hear you say that when someone leaves that decision to You, they do it out of ego. I do not understand.

Please understand this. If you have truly surrendered yourself to me, as Arjuna does to Krishna when he asks for the Cosmic Vision, you will not complain later if you lose your eyes!

That is the difference.

All disciples claim that they have surrendered. When I tell them to come and stay at the ashram, they will find a hundred excuses. I am telling them to stay at the ashram for their benefit, not because living with these people makes my life any better. All talk about surrender is theoretical. All that surrender evaporates the moment some material benefit is being violated, or even thought to be violated.

I do know where each one of my disciples is and how far they can go, how far they can be pushed to realize their potential. When many of them want to be ashramites or want to wear saffron, that is why I decline. I decline out of compassion because they are not ready. But some keep insisting. They insist they have what it takes. Ultimately you have to decide upon your destiny. So, I relent and oblige.

Some of you grasp that little finger and swim ashore. You have that courage, that determination to make it happen. That is your miracle; I am only a guide. But many of you ask to be carried. That is not possible.

Unless you make it on your own steam, the path becomes worthless. Of course, even what you think is your effort is not your effort. But what you think is what matters.

You may have read this story before, ‘Footprints on the Sand,’ a truly beautiful tale.

A man was stranded in the desert and was desperate. He cried to Jesus for help: ‘Please carry me out of this desert!’ There was no answer. He plodded on and on. Finally he reached the end of the desert.

He then complained to Jesus: ‘Master, you were so unkind. When I needed You most, You never responded. I hoped You would support me. I kept looking for Your footprints on the sand, beside mine. But I saw only one set of footprints. Where were You when I needed You?’

A voice rang out. ‘You fool! I was the one who carried you. The footprints you saw were Mine.’

God does not leave a visiting card for you. He does not want anything from you. He knows that you rarely express gratitude. You will complain if you don’t get what you want, but you will never remember to thank Him!