109 | Moving Away from the Blazing Fire of Sensory World | Swami Tattwamayananda

In the 11th chapter, the whole mystery of human existence is expressed in sublime poetry, which describe Arjuna’s 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 />The whole reality is visible to Arjuna is one dimension, transcending time, space and causation. When we have a transcendental spiritual experience, we transcend time and space – the reality is then visible in one dimension.<br /><br />29th verse: “As moths rush towards a blazing fire only to perish, so also all of us are rushing towards Your mouth only to perish.”<br /><br />32nd verse: “I am the mighty, all-consuming time. “<br /><br />Every moment something ceases to exist – all of us are moving towards disappearance. To those who look upon the world as a place for sensual pleasures, the world is like a blazing fire, and they are like moths rushing towards it. But when we pause and reflect on the true meaning of life and understand that we are not this body-mind complex - at that moment, we start our journey away from the blazing fire.<br /><br />In the Kathopanishad, Yama explains the science of going beyond death to Nachiketa. Nachiketa asks Yama for three boons: (1) Let my father not scold me when I return (2) Teach me rituals to get to heaven and (3) Teach me the reality beyond death. Yama then teaches Nachiketa how to transcend death. He teaches him how to transcend our physical identity and realize our true nature as the Atman, which is deathless, and which is present everywhere and in everything.<br /><br />Death is just at the physical level. However, it can be transcended when we realize our deathless dimension, as the Atman. Once we realize our immortal dimension, we are no longer like moths rushing towards the blazing fire.