108 | Arjuna’s Vision of the Universal Form of the Divine | Swami Tattwamayananda

Title: Arjuna’s Vision of the Universal Form of the Divine<br /><br />11th chapter: verses 12-18<br /><br />In the 11th chapter, Arjuna experiences the vision of the universal form of the divine. Lord Krishna shows Arjuna his divine form. This cosmic divine form transcends our concept of time and space. Lord Krishna shows that all the different creatures, animals, suns, moons, stars, galaxies, human beings, celestial beings – they all originate, exist, dissolve and re-emerge within that cosmic divine form.<br /><br />When Arjuna gets this vision, he is freed from all doubts. Imagine that we are given a vision of how every minute, beings are born, beings are dying, they make money, they lose money – then our doubts will be dispelled. This is what happened to Arjuna when he saw the divine form. Human life becomes a problem when we relate to a specific experience at a moment. If we can extend this vision backward to the past and forward to the future, then we can see the reality beyond time. We understand the insignificant nature of our present worries.<br /><br />In Vishwa-Rupa-Darshana (vision of the divine form), the Absolute Reality is conceived as one physical all-pervading reality. Every effort to explain this one, infinite, reality is only an approximation. Purusha-Suktam of Rig Veda says: this reality is both immanent in the manifested world and yet transcendent to it. It is infinite and beyond words. It transcends the triple dimensions of time.<br /><br />Lord Krishna granted this vision to Arjuna, not through a special eye, but by removing the impurities from Arjuna’s mind. Normally, our mind is clouded with impurities from our past samskaras that prevent us from realizing our true nature. Higher mystical thoughts emerge when we turn the journey inward, in pursuit of the truth.<br /><br />In the next few verses, Arjuna and Sanjaya describe this vision of the Absolute Reality, which is all-pervading, immanent and transcendental.<br /><br />12th and 13th verse: Sanjaya says: “This cosmic effulgence is like t