The Divine Eye🔗

11.5 Bhagavan said:

O Partha, behold My hundreds and thousands of forms,

Of different divine sorts, of various colors and shapes.

Many wonders you have never seen before.

11.7 O Arjuna, now in My body, all the moving and the unmoving,

Whatever else you wish to see, everything integrated into this body.

11.8 But you cannot see Me with these your physical eyes.

Let Me give you the Divine Eye; behold My divine power!

In this shloka, this verse, Krishna summarizes the entire chapter as He explains the whole darshan. It needs to be read and understood as one verse.

Krishna says, ‘O Partha, behold the hundreds and thousands of my Divine forms. These are diverse Divine forms, of diverse colors, shapes and sizes. O Bharata, see the different manifestations of Aditya, Vasu, Rudra, Ashvini Kumara, Marut and many wonderful beings whom no one has ever seen before.’

But before He gives darshan of the Universal form, He mentions an important, yet beautiful word. He says, ‘O Arjuna! You cannot see my form with ordinary eyes. To behold this form, you would need divya netra, the third eye or the Divine Eye.

‘Divyam dadaami te chakshuhu...’ Let me give you the Divine Eye to enable you to see and experience Me.’ From this verse He starts giving the Vishwaroopa Darshana.

Krishna says, ‘O Arjuna, may you start seeing whatever exists, the sthaavara and the jangama (immovable and movable), the Universe that no ordinary man can see. Even the great sages, the rishi and the muni have not seen this sight and are not aware of it.’

Arjuna was a personal friend of Krishna and their attachment to each other as friends was deep. They had known each other from their early years and even though Krishna was close to all the Pandava brothers and also the Kaurava, His bond with Arjuna was special. Over and above their friendship, Arjuna was a very intelligent and learned man in his own right.

But neither the deep friendship nor his intelligence or wisdom could give Arjuna any idea of the real nature, the true nature of Krishna, and about His many facets. There are so many forms and manifestations of the different energies that humans have not even heard of. Krishna, in His infinite compassion and love for Arjuna, shows him all these wonderful forms.

Here is a wonderful phenomenon. With all the advancements made in science today, man can see what is happening even in the remote corners of the planet Earth. You know, there is a beautiful software available called Google Earth. With this, you can see your own house even if it is in some remote village of India. You can see Bidadi ashram. You can see everything. But there is no software, no telescope or equipment invented so far, by which man can see what is happening in other parts of the Universe.

Now Krishna gives Arjuna the power to see what is happening in the whole Universe, not only in the present, but in the past and the future also.

Here again are the three questions, which is the essence of the whole chapter.

Can the Divine Form be seen?

What is the qualification to see the Divine Form? What really happens when you see the Divine Form?

I tell you categorically - it is possible to see the Divine Form. There are many enlightened Masters who have experienced this Consciousness.

Let me give you an instance from my life.

After nine long years of tapas, I was completely frustrated at one point. I wondered if I was wasting my whole life reading books, following what they said and applying them to my life. Was there really something called enlightenment or was it a waste of my whole life? At one point I began to fear that I had wasted the very essence of my life, my youth, by pouring all of it into tapas or penance. Was it really worth the sacrifice?

All of a sudden at one point in time, I felt myself going into deep depression. Actually, I later realized that this was not depression. It was a desperate situation, a deep personal quest, and an urge to do or die. Now I know that one needs to reach this stage before one can realize the truth.

Whatever had to be done as spiritual sadhana, I had done and had not left even an inch untried. For example, at one point I created a firewall six feet in diameter, sat inside it and chanted continuously so that I would not fall asleep. In this way, I had tried hundreds of sadhana or techniques to the best of my ability. Since nothing was still happening to me, I concluded that there was either no such thing as enlightenment or it was something I could not achieve.

I strongly began to think that enlightenment was simply something that some people were cheating humanity with, for their own ego-fulfilment. I began to doubt and lose faith in the whole system. The photo of Ramakrishna, who had all along been my inspiration, the photo I used to worship everyday, I threw away in disgust, depression and anger and with such force that the glass frame broke.

At that time I was staying in Omkareshwar, in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, on the banks of the holy river Narmada. I had a japamala, prayer beads, with which I used to say my prayers or penance for hours together. It was my constant companion and was something to which I had given utmost respect, almost like my life-line.

In my anger and depression, I threw the mala into the river Narmada and cast the mantra out of my mind. I decided, 'No more meditation, no more spirituality. Enough!' I had had enough of the game being played by the so-called enlightened Masters. I simply threw everything away, dropped everything.

I then walked into the river Narmada with my eyes closed. The river was some sixty feet deep at that point. I just walked, and when I opened my eyes, I was on the opposite bank of the river! I have to date no idea what happened. I have no idea whether there were rocks all along the path I walked on the river, or whether I floated or whether the river parted. But I did not have the resolve to walk back through the river again, that much I know! To return to the point I started from, I had to walk to the nearest bridge, many miles away!

The seventh day after this incident, I joined the Masters in their game! The experience of enlightenment and Cosmic Consciousness simply happened to me. It never left me afterwards.

So to answer this question, 'Can this be experienced?', the definitive answer is yes. As a person who was just like you, I tell you out of courtesy the simple truth, 'Yes, honestly, it can be experienced.'

This is the solid truth; a promise that this can be experienced. Please understand, I have no vested interest to convince you of this ideology. All I have is simple courtesy, like informing a friend of the traffic situation in a particular place and guiding him through a different route.

It is definitely possible to experience this truth, this Cosmic Form, in our lives. Never think, 'This is not for me.' It is for everybody! However, unless you are sure of the possibility of having this beautiful, intense experience, listening to all this is a waste of time. If you think this is one more story, do not waste your time here.

The first thing that you need to know is that it is possible. Only then what Krishna says will work on our being. I will be really happy if you go out after experiencing this Cosmic Form. At least go out with a glimpse of it. If these words of Krishna are to work on you, you must first be convinced of

the possibility of it happening to you and know that these are not just words. Let me tell you openly and directly, from my experience, ‘It is possible.’

These words of Krishna are not mere words; they are not mere shaastra, scriptural words. These words are sutra, techniques that go deep inside you and work on you with amazing results. All that you need is complete trust in the Master that what He says will happen. I promise you it will.

Next, what is the qualification?

Basically, by giving this experience to Arjuna, Krishna proves that there is no need for any qualification because Arjuna himself has no qualification. Arjuna neither took the responsibility nor understood fully the teachings of Krishna. He was simply fortunate to be in the presence of Krishna, that’s all. Likewise, you too should be fortunate to be here and not caught in some traffic jam! There were thousands of possibilities for you to be elsewhere; so many options were available to you. But out of all of them, you chose to be here. This is the only qualification required.

In fact, you are the Arjuna who missed Krishna in an earlier form. You are here now, listening or reading, not by any mere accident or divine coincidence. You are here and now for a reason. That is qualification enough. Make sure that you do not miss Krishna again this time!

By coming here every day your unconscious and subconscious mind has already accepted whatever is being said here. If this had not happened, you would not return here the following day. You would not be listening to or reading this chapter.

A person told me that when he woke up every day, he was waiting for 5:30 in the evening so that he could attend the discourse! If you are waiting, it means that all these words have already entered your being. So have the trust that you are ready for this experience.

One of the problems is that even if people are qualified, they do not have the trust or belief that they are qualified! This is because society and religious preachers have blamed you continuously for several wrongs and created a kind of guilt in you.

Because of this you have lost faith and confidence in yourself. Now, after having listened for all these days, your still being here is proof that your unconscious mind has accepted these ideas. Your conscious mind may struggle with the question of why you are here, but the fact that you are here shows that unconsciously you have begun enjoying these ideas.

You are fortunate to fall in tune with the great thought of Krishna. After the shloka let us enter into a meditation to have at least a glimpse of what Parabrahma Krishna gave Arjuna. Arjuna had no qualification to receive what he got from Krishna. When He could give it to Arjuna, why not to us?

First, we acknowledge the possibility of having the experience. We have all understood that it is possible to have it. Next, the qualification: we have all understood

that simply by being here we are qualified for the experience.

Somebody once asked Ramana Maharishi what was the qualification for enlightenment. Bhagavan replied that merely being alive, simply existing, was the only qualification required!

At the most, the only qualification can be said to be openness. If you did not have it, you would not come here every day. We never allow the belief that we have the qualification to enter into our being. I tell you, drop everything! You are qualified by your very presence here!

Next, what happens when you have the experience?

Krishna's words –

‘Arjuna, you cannot see Me with these ordinary eyes. You need the Divine Eye, the Third Eye, divyachakshu. To see My Cosmic Form, I give you the Divine Eye.’

What is this Divine Eye?

Let me tell you my experience that happened when I was twelve years old.

During that age, I used to do a particular meditation, or rather, I used to play with a technique given to me by a Master. When I was about ten years old the great Master Annamalai Swamigal, disciple of Ramana Maharishi, first taught me the technique of exploring to see where thoughts originated.

Once when I visited him with my parents, he was addressing a group of seekers and was saying, 'We are not the body, we are atman, the spirit. No pain or suffering touches us.'

I wondered how this could be, for if my mother beat me, I could feel the pain! (In India, if kids were mischievous, they would be roundly beaten, you could not call 911!) To experiment, I went home and cut my thigh with a knife to see if I had pain or not. I bled profusely.

Naturally, it not only hurt me, but I had to be taken to the hospital for the wound to be stitched, with more 'pooja' (scolding) from my mother! I had both pain and suffering. I wondered why this Swami had taught us such a thing as 'no suffering or pain'!

Experimenting on others was easy. Arjuna was intelligent. After understanding everything, he started killing others and never experimented on himself!

I approached the Swami and related what had happened to me.

First he asked me, 'Did I ask you to go and cut yourself?'

He then made a profound statement that transformed my life. He said, 'You may have pain and suffering now, but do not worry. Your attitude of analyzing and searching for the truth, your courage to experiment with truth, will liberate you from all pains, so go ahead!'

He then advised me to start searching for the source of my thoughts. Of course, at that age I was only irritated by his comments and my attention was on the fruits and sweets that devotees had brought him. I was hoping he would give me some in consolation! Honestly, I neither understood nor was convinced of what he said.

However, after a few days I began to playfully and casually try out the technique of trying to see the origin of my thoughts. I did not do this with any expectation or idea. All I knew was what the Swami had told me - that I would go beyond pain or suffering if I did this technique. I had no concept of God, Brahman, Atman or Gnana.

One evening, at the foothills of Arunachala, I was sitting on a rock known locally as the Coral Rock, trying out the same technique with eyes closed. I had fallen into deep meditation. Suddenly something opened, something seemed to happen inside my being, a feeling of being pulled or sucked inside.

The next moment it was as if a door had opened inside me, and I had complete 360-degree vision, both laterally and vertically. I could see on all four sides – the temple that was behind me, the hill that was in front of me, and the city that was on my left and right. I could see vertically too – the sky, the rock on which I was sitting, again the temple behind me.

For normal people who have only a maximum of 120- degree vision, I know this is very difficult to comprehend. All I can do is promise solemnly that it did happen! No other intellectual explanation is possible. Not only was I able to see all around, I was also able to feel that whatever I was seeing was Me. Whether they were plants or rocks or the city or the hill, whatever I could see, I felt they were all just Me. The experience was so intense and ecstatic that it was more than three or four hours before I opened my eyes. I felt feverish with bliss and this mood continued for three days.

But after this I was overtaken by a fear that there was something wrong with me. I thought a ghost had possessed me and I decided never to go to that rock again. I even began to avoid that route, which I normally took to go to school. I related my experience to an elderly sanyasini who was my mentor. She held my hand and seeing the energy, exclaimed, ‘You are not possessed by any ghost. You are possessed by God!’ She encouraged me to continue with meditations but I never dared to do so for the next six months and was even afraid to close my eyes!

I related my experience to a close friend of mine. I told him about my 360-degree vision and my not knowing what was happening to me, etc. He did not believe me until I proved it to him by telling him about an ant climbing up the tree behind me, and correctly telling which side of the coin that he hid in his hand was exposed. He ran away from me in terror, never to return!

He was in the ashram recently and said to one of the ashramites, ‘I was the first person to receive Energy Darshan, but I missed it!’

But despite the fear I experienced, the whole body was bubbling with joy and ecstasy.

So welcome was the feeling, that I had a small temptation to go to the rock again. I never really understood what had happened. A year later another enlightened person gave me the explanation; the seeking, however, started after this experience. Nine years of tapas followed. All this tapas was in order to have this experience again. When it did come next time, both body and mind were ready and the experience stayed within my being.

The vision of 360 degrees is what Krishna means by divyachakshu, trinetra, Divine Eye or the Third Eye, also called ajna chakra. When this eye opens you will see 360 degrees not only in horizontal but vertical dimension too. You will see the whole Existence as you and experience it as You. This experience is what Krishna calls Cosmic Consciousness.

I felt that everything I saw about me was living, just as how we feel our living bodies, expanding the body consciousness to the Universal Consciousness. When you feel the whole universe as you would your own body, it can be called a Cosmic Experience. Unfortunately, we do not feel alive even within our own bodies!

Just as I was frightened when I had my first experience, Arjuna too was frightened. In such instances, a living Master is required for help and guidance. I am often asked this question, 'Who was your Master,' to which I reply, 'Arunachala.' Arunachala, the sacred hill of Tiruvannamalai, my birthplace, is a living Master. For a premature baby to survive, it must be put into the incubator. Similarly, Arunachala is the incubator for the enlightened person-to-be. The energy of Arunachala takes care just by your being near it.

‘Let me give you the Third Eye, to enable you to experience the Universal Consciousness.’

You need to understand that after this verse, neither Krishna nor Arjuna is speaking. Suddenly, it is Sanjaya who is speaking. After the first chapter in Bhagavad Gita until now, there is no word from Sanjaya. But here it is he who is speaking. This is a symbolic representation.

Arjuna is unable to speak because he is in the ecstatic experience. Krishna does not speak because his voice is beyond audibility. His voice is in the Cosmic frequency, which is not audible to us. So Sanjaya interprets.

Q: Master, You have said that God is bliss, and God is love. So, when we experience bliss and love, are we God too?

Yes, when you experience true love and true bliss you are in God Consciousness, there is no doubt about it.

All great masters say God is love personified. We do not know God. God is absolutely a stranger. When we utter the word ‘God’ it is hollow and empty because we have not experienced anything of God. But the word ‘love’ is full of meaning; it is warm. Love is something we have experienced at one time or another, even if inadequately. God is a mere concept to all of us; there is no experience.

There is something of love that has been experienced by everybody. It may not be in its purest form, it may be much adulterated; but water is water even though it is muddy, and love is love even though it is full of lust. Something of the Divine remains always present in it. However dark the night is, a ray of light is still light and not darkness. So it is with love.

Love more and you will be coming closer and closer to the understanding of Cosmic Consciousness. Being a Christian or Hindu achieves nothing. One simply follows a dead dogma. But by being in love with a Master, when you are in love with God, something certainly opens up in you and your heart starts growing. And when the heart blooms in its absolute glory, you are Christ or Krishna.

I am not here to create Christians but to create Christs. My effort is not to create Buddhists but Buddhas.

You cannot relate with the trees through logic but there are ways to relate with trees. If you become open, if you feel the being of the tree, if you feel the texture of the tree, if you hug the tree, close your eyes and simply feel its being, you will be contacting it on a totally different plane. Then even rocks start speaking to you. Then the whole Existence is alive, suddenly alive. Everything comes alive; it is no longer dead. That life is Cosmic Consciousness. In the East we call it Buddhahood. In Christianity you call it Christ Consciousness. Hindus call it Krishna Consciousness.

Krishna, Christ and Buddha are synonymous. They are not confined to persons; please understand, they are states of being.

It is of no use to follow anybody. The real thing is to love Christ, to love Buddha, to love Krishna; not as followers, but as fellow travelers because it is the same pilgrimage, the same journey you are on. You will be passing through the same places that Jesus passed through before he became Christ. You are then in bliss.

One has to experience bliss. One has to prepare oneself for the great experience. Meditation simply prepares the ground and it helps you to open your eyes. It is healing. Once your eyes are healed you know what it is.

Many times people asked Buddha, 'What is bliss?' and he would always say, 'Just be with me and be silent for a few months, a few years, and whenever you are right, ripe, mature enough to know it, I will tell you.' Many stayed with him and he would never tell them what it was.

One day he would ask them, 'Now do you want to know what bliss is?' And they would say, 'It can't be said, but we ourselves know. We are grateful that you tricked us into bliss. You never said anything about it but you helped us to be silent, to be still.'

When you are silent and still, something wells up within you. That is bliss. It is your innermost nature. But remember, it is an experience; it is not a theory, it is not a dogma, it is not contained in any scriptures. But it is

written all over Existence, on each leaf of a tree, on each pebble on the seashore; you will only be able to see it when you have experienced it in the innermost shrine of your being. Then you will see it everywhere. Then the whole Existence is made of bliss and nothing else.

Let bliss be a song that resounds in you. Let it be eternal. Let it be nithyananda.