Gita Chapter Eleven

In Chapter Eleven, one could get the thrill of visualizing through divine sensors God’s Infinite Universe –engulfing Form enveloping all of existence.
Verses 11.1 – 11.34
Arjuna expressed his satisfaction over the details of spiritual knowledge imparted by Krishna to behold the cosmic form of God or the Universal Self. Then Krishna let Arjuna visualize the opulence of God that contained hundreds of thousands of varied divine multicolored forms and manifestations including the Adityas, Rudras, and all the demigods as also many things many things which no one has ever seen or heard before. He pointed out that Arjuna is able to see these in the same body form not through his worldly eye sensors but through the divine sensors imparted temporarily to Arjuna for the purpose of viewing God’s opulence. Arjuna could see in the universal form, unlimited and wonderful faces, mouths and unlimited eyes, dazzling ornaments arrayed in many garbs and with garlands spreading fragrances all over. All was magnificent, continuously expanding, unlimited and magnificent as if illuminated by hundreds of thousands of suns at the same time. Seeing this Universal form of the God Self, Arjuna’s hairs stood up in astonishment and with folding hands he began to pray with folded hands, offering obeisance to God. He said he could see simultaneously in God’s Self all the demigods, living beings, the Brahma sitting on the lotus flower, Lord Siva many sages, divine serpents, many bellies, mouths, eyes expanded without limit with no beginning, no middle or end, form adorned with various crowns, clubs and discs, is difficult to see because of its glaring effulgence, which is fiery and immeasurable like the sun. He then started saying that God Self is the supreme primal object, the inexhaustible, the oldest, the maintainer of principles that govern the Creation, the origin without beginning, middle or end, with uncountable, infinite number of arms, eyes radiating lights as powerful as suns and moons and heating the entire universe and spread throughout the skies and the planets and all space between. Arjuna could see that all the planetary systems, all demigods surrendering and flowing into the God in fear with folded hands singing the Vedic hymns. All Adityas, the Vasus, the Sadhyas, the Visvedevas, the two Asvis, the Maruts, the forefathers and the Gandharvas, the Yaksas, Asuras, and all demigods were beholding God in wonder. Unable to tolerate seeing the unimaginable, amazing vast and all pervasive form of the God Self, Arjuna felt bewildered and exhausted He could see the sons of Dhrtarastra along with their allied kings, and Bhisma, Drona and Karna, and all Pandava soldiers rushing into God’s blazing, fiery mouths with their heads smashed and crushed by God’s terrible teeth as if God is devouring all people while covering the universe with His immeasurable rays. Then Arjuna asked Krishna what was all these he was seeing. Krishna replied that God as Time also destroys His own manifestations. What Arjuna had seen as God devouring people is nothing but the future of the battling armies who would be slain in the War and Arjuna has only to fight as the instrument of God to slay them. All the great warriors like Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha and Karna are already destroyed. Arjuna has to simply play the role cast for him by God: fight to vanquish his enemies.
Verses 11.35 -
After hearing these words of Krishna, Arjuna trembled, fearfully offered obeisance with folded hands and said that the world became joyful upon hearing God’s name. He said God stood above even Brahma as the original master, the limitless, the refuge of the universe, the invincible source and the cause of all causes, transcendental to all material manifestation. He understood that God is the only knowable pervading the entire cosmic manifestations including air, fire, water, the moon, the supreme controller and the grandfather and every thing at the same time. God is the father of the whole cosmic manifestation, the ultimate to worship, the spiritual master. No one is equal to the immeasurable God. Arjuna begged for mercy for God for his ignorance and follies in the past. He prayed God to assume his more traditional deity form for worship. Krishna replied that no one before Arjuna had ever seen the unlimited and effulgent, universal form. And, this form cannot be viewed by studying the Vedas, or by performing sacrifices, or by charities, or by mere worship. Thus for the benefit of devotee Arjuna, Krishna assumed His four-armed deity form and therafter the normal human form and restoring Arjuna to calmness. Then Krishna said that God’s original and divine form can only be seen by the real devotees of God. The devotee engaged in pure devotional service to God, free from the contaminations of previous activities and from mental speculation, and who is friendly to every living entity, can only visualize and merge with God.
[ Note: This Vswaroop Darshan of God by Arjun may appear to be something, unnatural, mystical or magical. This is not really so. This episode is completely natural as has been explained at " Viswaroop Darshan - Beyond Eye Vision: God & Gita 39" at http://senland.blogspot.com/]