Listen. The moment you decide to wait, things start happening. You don't need to wait anymore. You must wait until you decide to wait. The moment you decide to wait, you don't need to wait anymore.

A beautiful story:

Nārada, a devotee of Viṣṇu, was going to Vaikunṭa (abode of Lord Viṣṇu). On the way, he saw a yogi sitting in meditation. The yogi asked Nārada, 'Oh Nārada, please ask Viṣṇu how long I must wait before I become enlightened?' Nārada said, 'Surely I will ask,' and he went on his way.

Next, Nārada encountered a man who was jumping and dancing under a tree.

He asked Nārada, 'Oh Nārada, please ask Viṣṇu when I will have his darśan.' Please listen, he never asked when he would become enlightened. He asked Nārada when he would have Viṣṇu's darśan, His vision.

He said, 'Ask Him to grace me. How long should I wait for His grace?' Nārada said, 'Surely I will ask, don't worry.'

Nārada went to Vaikunṭa and came back with the replies.

Nārada said to the first yogi, 'Viṣṇu said you must wait four more janma (lives) to become enlightened.' The yogi fell into depression, 'Oh, four janmas! What will I do?'

The person who was dancing around asked Nārada, 'What did Viṣṇu say?' Nārada said, 'He said you must wait for as many janmas as there are leaves on this tree. Then you will have His darśan. Only then His grace will fall upon you.'

As soon as he heard this, the man said, 'Oh! He gave me the assurance that He will grace me! That is enough.' He started jumping and dancing again.

The moment he uttered this, there was a stroke of lightning and the Divine descended. The man became enlightened.

So understand, deep patience and the decision to wait is surrender.

Take the life of Buddha as an example. With utmost sincerity he tried to get enlightened with all meditation techniques and spiritual practices. When nothing worked, He relaxed and let go of everything, trusting Existence. That very moment, He became enlightened.

In my life, as long as I was doing meditation, I never became enlightened. As long as I was doing all the practices, penance, I was so agitated. Nothing happened. Actually after my enlightenment, I came to know that because of the penance, I had postponed my enlightenment. To tell you honestly, at the age of twelve, I had become enlightened. I did not know that I had become enlightened. I tried to hold on to the experience. I tried to possess *nitya ānanda*, eternal bliss. The moment I tried to possess it, it started slipping away, like wet soap. The day I decided ultimately that I would do no more catching, no more searching, no more seeking, when I decided to relax and wait, it simply happened.

The day you decide to wait, things happen.

Usually, when somebody is blessed and if he is healed, he tells someone else about it. If the second person comes with the attitude of getting healed, he naturally misses the whole game. If he comes with a fresh mind, healing automatically happens as a by-product. When we want it as the main product, we miss the whole bridge. Especially when we bring the business approach, like a deal between friends, the whole attitude, the relationship is no more that between Guru and disciple. Energy cannot be transmitted in a business relationship.

Understand, we need courage to stake everything on trust. It is like that moment when a seed must let go of its fears and break to open and become a tree. This is why we call *Nirvāṇa* as the last nightmare.

If a dream is too wild, we will wake up! Similarly, when we get a jolt or shock in life, we wake up to enlightenment! Enlightenment happens when there is a sudden shock to our dream state. The wonder with Masters, Incarnations is that there is no failure, ever. Their's is a foolproof system!

A small story:

A *nāgā* (Hindu sannyāsi who is usually unclothed) was so fond of his Master that he would stand behind the master and constantly imitate his hand and body movements. The master did not mind this on account of his sincerity. Once when a discourse was on, the master raised his hand and so did this disciple.

The master turned to the disciple and cut off his hand with a sword. So great was the disciple's devotion that along with his severed hand, his ego fell and he became enlightened! The other disciples asked the master if this was not too high a price to pay for enlightenment.

The Master replied, 'Compared to the number of lives people must take to achieve this state, this is a small price indeed!'

We need the energy to let go, to allow the transformation to happen. Like the seed that lets go of its fear in becoming a tree, we too must have the energy to let go, to allow the transformation to happen. In that moment, when our ego is dying, we must be willing to let go of the past. Enlightenment never happens as a continuity of something. It happens in a flash, as a new birth. In Saṃskṛit we call it *viṣāda*. The first chapter of the Gītā is *Arjuna Viṣāda Yogaḥ*. Arjuna's dilemma was so great, yet he was willing to trust Kṛṣṇa and let go. In such a powerless situation, no mental decision taken is correct and when the Master guides you, you must be ready to let go and follow what he says completely, implicitly.

Arjuna had the courage to believe totally in Kṛṣṇa and let go, which was why he had the *Viśvarūpa Darśan*, the cosmic vision of Kṛṣṇa. We must have the energy to let go, to allow the dark night to happen to us. Only if we have trust in the Master can the ultimate gain happen to us.

We need to trust in order to experience the unknown space. At that moment, we have only the Master to hold onto. We must accept the new experience happening to us, and deeply trust that the energy to transcend our old personality is entering us.

Kṛṣṇa emphasizes the feeling of connectedness. Feeling deeply connected to the Master is the basic need to understand this Truth. That is why the East gave so much importance to the Guru, the Master.

### I Create You

*10.4,5 Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness, distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, non-violence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy, all these qualities of living beings are created by Me alone.*

*10.6 The seven great sages and before them, the four great Manus, come from Me, they arose from My mind and all the living beings populating the planet descend from them.*

*10.7 He who knows all this glory and powers of Mine, truly, he is fully united in Me; of that there is no doubt.*

If you understand this first verse, you can immediately relax. Kṛṣṇa says, 'Whatever you have, whether you have a good name or a bad name, it is created by Me.' Then be certain that whatever you have is a gift from the Divine.

Kṛṣṇa asks us to complete with life as it is. Only when we accept ourselves as we are, can we accept others. Only then we will feel deep friendliness with others. Deep friendliness with others is spirituality. Understand that spirituality is honest and deep friendliness with others.

### **I Am Everything, Complete With Everything**

Love is the flowering of our consciousness. Whenever our consciousness expresses itself through the heart, compassion happens, lust becomes love. The touch will become so vibrant, so soothing. I firmly believe that love is the greatest healing power on planet Earth. I tell my healers, 'If you can't spread love, you can never heal.'

When people meet me, I stretch out my hands as soon as I see them. Many feel strange. They feel that spirituality means seriousness and being reserved. Here I am reaching out to people with my stretched hands. It doesn't match the picture of spirituality or the spiritual person that they carry in their heads! According to them spirituality is never associated with sharing or loving.

People from various backgrounds visit our ashram for healing: young and old people, cancer and HIV patients, and people with various other disabilities. If a person has pain in the leg, naturally I get up from my seat and touch their leg to heal. After all the foot is just another part of the body.

An elderly, traditional and conservative Swami gave me friendly advice about this practice. He remarked, 'You are a Swami. It is unbecoming of a Swami to come down from his seat and touch someone's feet. It is against the tradition.' I replied politely, 'The very seat and the cloth which I wear (saffron robes) mean compassion. I acquired this seat because of my compassion. I am not here *for* the seat.'

Spirituality means flowing. Spirituality means radiating, spreading love and compassion. Whenever we enrich out of compassion, we never feel that we have served. We feel that we have been given an opportunity to serve, to enrich.

Whether we believe it or not, as of now, we have a deep enmity or hostility towards others and ourselves. We live in constant self-doubt, self-hatred and self-denial. We may smile at others like models posing for the camera. We may smile, but we never feel friendly. We keep a safe distance and play a safe game because we never feel any real friendliness with others.

To correct this, the first thing you need to do is completion with yourself and accept yourself as you are. Some people tell me, 'I am unable to accept myself as I am, *Swamiji.* What can I do?' I tell them, 'At least accept that you are unable to accept yourself, that is enough.' If we accept that we are unable to accept ourselves, it is enough. We will drop from the mind. That very acceptance will bring completion in us and open a new consciousness in us.

Forgiving others and forgiving yourself are one and the same. When we torture others with our judgment and prejudices, we torture ourselves, too.

Please listen. If your inner image aligns itself to life image, it is destruction. When your inner image stands up to life image, it is destruction. Because your inner image, what you feel as you, is always lower than life's image, the idea you carry about life and others. If the inner image, *mamakāra* tries to make the life image, *svānyakāra* you carry as reality, it will be destruction. We use the same sword to kill others and to commit suicide ourselves. The same mind deals with others as well as with us.

When we try to poison others, there will be a deep sense of guilt in us because the same mind is working in our inner space. We use strong words when we are angry. And once the anger dies down, the sharpness that had been emitted outward turns inward to create a deep guilt. The height of the anger and the depth of the guilt are equal. If the height increases, the depth increases as well.

When Kṛṣṇa says, 'Happiness and distress, birth and death, fear and fearlessness, non-violence and equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, name and fame, fame and infamy, all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone,' He means be complete with life as it is, be authentic to all aspects of your life: your inner image, outer image, others' image and life's image. If all the four images reach their peak possibility, it is Enlightenment.

The moment we create the space of completion and complete with life as it is, we experience divinity in everything. We don't exclude anything. The moment we complete, a cognitive shift happens in us. As of now, the cognitive process happening inside our mind, is centered on enmity. The moment we declare completion with ourselves and with life, we complete with the whole world. Then, the complete cognition happens inside our system, which will be centered on bliss.

Kṛṣṇa explains His glory. He says, 'I am everything.' He declares, 'I am the Universal Consciousness. The person who truly knows My glories and powers, engages in yoga, the union of individual consciousness with the divine consciousness, and undoubtedly attains liberation.'

> *etāṁ vibhūtiṁ yogaṁ ca mama yo vetti tattvataḥ I so 'vikalpena yogena yujyate nātra saṁśayaḥ II 10.7*

**Listen! When you are complete with you, the Universe will be complete with you. When you are incomplete with you, the Universe will be incomplete with you. Completion with you is** *sātori.* **Completion with the Cosmos is** *samādhi.*

The *Saptaṛṣis*, the seven sages that Kṛṣṇa talks about, are not seven old men with flowing beards sitting in meditation and penance, waiting for something to happen. From my experience, this is the energy field that drives this Universe. This energy field referred to as the *Saptaṛṣis* has the intelligent power to make decisions that determine the course of the Universe.

During my *parivrājaka*, wandering days before enlightenment, I lived for several months in Tapovan, beyond Gaṅgotri and Gomukh, in the Himalayan mountain range at a 17,000 feet altitude. Even now, no roads lead to Tapovan and there are no permanent structures to stay in. I lived like many other Sannyāsis, staying in caves, covering myself with jute cloth and newspaper in the winter and eating whatever fruits were available. Tapovan is referred to as Śambāla, heaven on earth. It is the point from which one can move from the material earthly plane up to the spiritual plane.

Kṛṣṇa refers to the *Saptaṛṣis* as the Universal consciousness that was born from His mind, from Him, the Primal Source and Primal Creator. He is the Saptaṛṣis. His energy decides what enlightened beings should do, and directs their actions. Every movement that I make is governed and decided by this energy.

In Hindu tradition, Manus are the children of Brahma, the Creator. There is a lineage of Manus, fourteen Manus, who populated the earth. Each Manu ruled for a period. The collective period of all fourteen Manus equals one *kalpa*, one day in the life of Brahma. In Saṃskṛit, all humans are termed *Mānava*, meaning those descended from Manu.

As the Universal consciousness, Kṛṣṇa is *all in one*. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Rejuvenator. He is Brahma, Viṣṇu and Śiva. He also transcends all three as the *Parabrahman*, the Supreme Superconsciousness.

One needs to do nothing except understand and accept what Kṛṣṇa is. The Master says that understanding and completing alone liberates us. Nothing more is needed.

# Experience The Light Of Knowledge

*10.8 I am the source of all the spiritual and material worlds. Everything arises from Me. The wise, who know this, are devoted to Me and surrender their heart to Me.*

*10.9 With mind and lives absorbed on Me, always enlightening one another and talking about My glories, the wise are content and blissful.*

*10.10 To those who are always engaged in Me with love, I give them enlightenment by which they come to Me.*

*10.11 Out of compassion to them, I destroy the darkness born out of their ignorance by the shining lamp of knowledge.*


Now, instead of understanding these statements of Kṛṣṇa intellectually, we should try experiencing them. In the deep meditative mood, let us feel connected to the *Parabrahma* Kṛṣṇa, to our very life source, to our very life energy.

Let us enter into meditation, because all the following verses in this chapter must be experienced. They cannot be understood. There is nothing much to understand.

Later Kṛṣṇa says, 'Amongst the *Ṛṣi*, I am Nārada. Among the months, I am Margazhi. Among the rivers, I am Gangā. Among the fish, I am Makara.' He explains His glories at length.

We may think, 'Why does He explain these things in a detailed way?' He makes us understand, wherever we see the glory, wherever we see the Divine radiating, there lies the greatness. We realize this is true when we start experiencing, when we deeply understand these basic truths of completing with ourselves and connecting with the Universe.

We experience life as divine and a blessing when we understand these things. It happens when we connect with the Divine, when we trust, when we completely open up, when we don't have other vested interests and when we do not beg for anything from life.

As long as we are begging for things in the hope that, 'with this, I will feel blissful,' or 'with that, I will feel blissful', we will ask only for this or that. Only when we understand, 'I want just Him, nothing else. I want the pure experience of the Divine, nothing else,' we experience the whole of Existence in a totally different way. The cognitive shift starts happening in us.

I can imagine how Arjuna felt when Kṛṣṇa revealed these things for the first time, inch by inch. 'Oh Arjuna, I am that. I am this. I am everything.' Arjuna may not have said anything, but he surely must have felt that he was expanding.

Understand this example: You and your husband were ordinary people when you were first married. Slowly, your husband entered politics and became a mayor. After five years, he became governor, a well-known person. Already, you feel connected to him since he is your husband. Now, he becomes a famous person or you understand him as a big person. You deeply feel the gratefulness or the gratitude to him because his expansion has helped bring about yours.

In the same way, Arjuna already felt deeply connected to Kṛṣṇa as his friend. Now, he understands the glories of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa reveals His glories and expands, Arjuna also expands. He says, 'Oh God! I am a friend of such a great person. Oh Kṛṣṇa, You are a great person. I am your friend. I am deeply connected to You.'

When we deeply feel connected to the Master and He expresses His glory, we expand. Here, Arjuna is enjoying the same mood that Kṛṣṇa enjoys. Inch by inch, Arjuna is enjoying the joy and bliss.

Arjuna asks, 'Oh Lord! It is so beautiful. I never feel bored. Please tell

me again and again, all of your glories.'

### Always Engage In Me

Kṛṣṇa explains inch by inch. He reveals who He is and how He is shining. He talks about *Līlā dhyāna*, meditating on the divine play of the Lord. What the eyes see intensely gets registered in the mind. What gets registered in the mind, the eyes see intensely. When the mind is engaged in the Divine, when the heart is captivated by the Divine, we automatically live every moment remembering the Divine. We enjoy talking to each other about the Divine glories because all around us, we see these glories. We are so full of Divine ecstasy and bliss, so fully complete and not wanting anything, because we see life overflowing with Divine bliss and glory.

This was the state of the gopīs, the blessed girls who tended cattle in Kṛṣṇa's home Briṇdāvan. They constantly played with Kṛṣṇa from the time of His infancy. Their entire world revolved around Him. Their minds and hearts were filled with Kṛṣṇa, with no intellect filtering their emotions.

> Viṣṇu, whose incarnation Kṛṣṇa is, wanted to teach a lesson to his disciple, Nārada. Nārada considered himself to be Viṣṇu's greatest devotee. Kṛṣṇa played His *līlā* (divine play) and pretended he had a headache. His devotees brought him all kinds of medicines, which he tried and pronounced useless.

> He told them, 'The only substance that will cure my malaise is the dust from the feet of a true devotee.'

> Nārada and the great sages were shocked. How could they allow the dust of their feet to fall on their Master's head? 'It will be a sacrilege,' they argued.

> One day Viṣṇu pretended to become annoyed. He told Nārada, 'Get out of My sight. Go to the gopīs in Briṇdāvan and tell them what I said and seek a solution.'

When Nārada reached Briṇḍāvan, the gopīs were so busy

with their chores that they would not talk to him. Nārada explained, 'I have come from Vaikunṭa.' They were not impressed. He told them, 'Vaikunṭa is the home of Viṣṇu.' 'Who is Viṣṇu?' they asked. Nārada said, 'Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa.'

As soon as he uttered the word Kṛṣṇa, they gathered around Nārada and asked him in one voice, 'How is our Kṛṣṇa, our darling?' Nārada said, 'He is suffering from a headache.' They asked, 'What can we do? We cannot let our Kṛṣṇa suffer.' Nārada told them that Viṣṇu had asked for the dust from the feet of one of his true devotees.

One gopī immediately removed her upper cloth. She placed it on the ground and all the gopīs danced upon this cloth to collect the dust from their feet. Folding the cloth, not worried that she had nothing covering her breasts, the gopī said, 'Here take this to our Kṛṣṇa. We do not know which of us is his true devotee. So this has all the dust from all our feet. Go now and give it to Him.'

Nārada asked, 'Aren't you worried that you are giving Kṛṣṇa the dust from your feet to put on His head?'

In one voice, the gopīs answered, 'Are you crazy? He, our Lord and Lover, is suffering and has asked for the dust from our feet. If it would cure Him, we are ready to dance on His head! We shall give our lives for Him.'

Nārada, humbled, returned to Vaikunṭa with the gopī's upper cloth filled with dust from their feet. Viṣṇu took the cloth in His hands, smelled the dust and pronounced Himself fully cured. The sages, devas and Nārada watched in amazement.

'What did they tell you, Nārada?' He asked. 'Did they give useless reasons and advance futile arguments as to why they could not apply the dust from their feet on their Lord and Master, as you all did?'

Nārada hung his head in shame.

Even to this day all main entrance steps to Viṣṇu temples have the imprint of feet carved upon them. These imprints represent the feet of devotees whose feet dust Viṣṇu covets more than all the crowns He is adorned with!

Kṛṣṇa says, 'With mind and lives absorbed on Me, always enlightening one another and talking about My glories, the wise are content and blissful. To those who are always engaged in Me with love, I give them enlightenment for which they come to Me.'

> *teṣāṁ satata yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ pṛīti pūrvakam I dadāmi buddhi yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te II 10.10*

Kṛṣṇa here talks about satsang, the collection of people whose hearts, minds and bodies are immersed in Him. They are the ones who can talk about nothing except Him, who are filled with bliss and love for their Lord and Master. He promises He will provide them the intelligence to enlighten them and bring them to Him.

I keep telling my devotees about the importance of satsangs. These are regular get togethers where people listen to the Master's words, dance to the kīrtans and go home with refreshed and reinforced memories of their Master. Everyone who attends satsangs regularly can tell you that the Master is present with them, wherever they may be, at that particular moment.

### Master Destroys Ignorance

An ashram is an intensified satsang that is forever, twenty-four by seven. That is why I motivate groups of people to form ashrams, spiritual communities, where they can follow their spiritual quest with one-pointed minds.

We are eligible to be part of an ashram community when we are deeply in love with our Master. The motivation to live in an ashram is neither fear that he will hurt us if we leave, nor greed that he will take us to a non-existent heaven if we stay. Rather, it is love born out of this present moment of completion. We must have shed our entire ego and surrender ourselves to the One who has already surrendered Himself. Only then the process works. Otherwise, it is just the blind leading the blind, which is a cult.

Here Kṛṣṇa talks about such an energy field, an ashram. An ashram is not a serious center of penance with old people meditating in painfully distorted postures. Come to one of our ashrams and see for yourself. No one will be serious. They will be laughing all the time. They are not like Nārada and the sages engaged in intellectual arrogance. They are the gopīs who are in love with their Master; with their entire being filled with love for Him. Their being carries the space of *brahmaṇyam bahuputratām*, the feeling that they are the favorite inheritor of the cosmos.

At the ashram, each one does what he can, noone forces them to do anything. But the energy of the Master provides them with intelligence to live for others, to enrich others to the peak of their possibility. It does not allow them to waste themselves in frivolous activities. They live and radiate the truth that life is for enriching! One does not work out of fear, greed, motivation or necessity. An ashramite (ashram resident) works out of gratitude. Once we start to measure what people do and start comparing, we create a political organization, not a spiritual organization.

**Listen. A man who works out of fear and greed is a** *śūdra.* **The man who works out of attention need is a** *vaiśya***. The man who works out of jealousy or comparison to prove that he is superior to others is a** *kṣatriya***. The man who works out of gratitude is a** *brāhmaṇa.*

These differentiations do not come by birth. They are a result of our *guṇas*, our attributes, our mental make-up, our root patterns. They come into our being when we earn and develop them.

A man cooked for a certain monastery for thirty years. He never bothered to be around the Master, nor did he attend the Master's discourses regularly. When it was time for the Master to leave his body, he called everyone to announce the heir to the monastery. Everyone expected someone who was always very close to the Master to take that seat. Instead the Master said, 'You have all listened to my discourses all these years. However, this cook lived my teachings. He is my successor.' By saying that, he gave the cook the experience of his enlightenment.

People are not equal. Each one comes with his own *karma* (unfulfilled actions) and a particular root pattern. As long as the Master is there, He takes care of everything. When the Master is not there in body, the whole thing becomes *dharma*, righteousness. When the Master is there, everything becomes *mokṣa*, liberation. That is the difference between *dharma* and *mokṣa*. Work for *mokṣa*. That is the difference between an ashram and a monastery.

My mission is for people to live together focused on spiritual evolution; to enrich with science of living enlightenment, towards transformation of oneself through meditation. Soon people will find out how much better this system works compared to their normal lifestyle.

I say to all of them, as Kṛṣṇa said: *those who are always engaged in Me with love, I give them Enlightenment by which they come to Me.*

The Master defines Himself in the last verse:

'I destroy the darkness of ignorance within them, with the shining lamp of wisdom, through my compassion.'

> *teṣāṁ evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ I nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvata II 10.11*

The Saṃskṛit word 'Guru', meaning Master, has two syllables: *gu* refers to darkness and *ru* to light. The Master leads the disciple from darkness into light with compassion. This darkness of ignorance is the identification that one has with one's self, one's material attachments and material possessions. This identification surely leads to sorrow since this attachment is for things that are fleeting and not for something long lasting.

Wealth gets created overnight and disappears just as quickly. Relationships, however sound, last only as long as the body lasts, most often far less, since the mind is even more incomplete in holding onto relationships. Nothing that exists in this world, nothing that is of material creation, can last eternally. Our impression that material possessions and attachments last, comes from ignorance. This ignorance is born of self-identity, ego.

The Master is the only person who can dispel that darkness. Only He can light up that wisdom within you in order for you to realize that you are already one with Existence and therefore need nothing from this material world. Your Master gains nothing from teaching you. He gains nothing from enlightening you. He does it out of sheer compassion, so that others may experience the same bliss that He constantly experiences.

# Know Yourself By Yourself

* 10.12 You are the supreme Truth, supreme sustenance, supreme Purifier, the Primal, Eternal and Glorious Lord.
* 10.13 All the sages like Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa have explained this. Now you are personally explaining to me.
* 10.14 Oh Keśava, I accept all these truths that You have told me. Oh Lord, neither the gods nor the demons know You.
* 10.15 Surely, You alone know Yourself by Yourself, Oh Perfect One, the origin of beings, Oh Lord of beings, Oh God of gods, Oh Lord of the world.
* 10.16 Only You can describe in detail Your divine glories by which You pervade this Universe.
* 10.17 How may I know You by contemplation? In which forms should I contemplate on You, Oh Lord?
* 10.18 Tell me in detail of Your powers and glories, Oh Janārdana. Again, please tell for my satisfaction as I do not tire of listening to Your sweet words.

Arjuna becomes the perfect disciple. He has no doubts about whatever Kṛṣṇa has said to him so far. It only corroborates what the great sages have said. All that Arjuna seeks is that his Lord and Master tells him more about Himself, His glories, 'I just need to know how I should approach You, how I should see You. Tell me more, I can never tire of listening to Your words.'

Arjuna is in love with His Master. When you are in such deep love

as Arjuna is now, and as the gopīs were with Kṛṣṇa in Briṇdāvan, there is nothing to be said. There is nothing even to be heard. Whatever Arjuna says is merely to keep his end of the dialogue going. Arjuna knows that there is no need for Kṛṣṇa to say anything now. Yes, he would be delighted if Kṛṣṇa were to speak of His glories, His *līlā.* However, Arjuna is in such a state of meditation, ready for his ultimate experience, that whatever his Master says or does would not matter to him.


Of the vibrations, Kṛṣṇa says He is the transcendental OṀ—*girāṁ asmy ekam akṣaram* (10.25). OṀ is the primal sound from which the Universe manifested itself. It is the *praṇava*, the mystic symbol.

The symbol of OṀ— contains three curves, a semicircle and a dot. Out of the three curves, the upper curve symbolizes the waking state, the lower curve denotes deep sleep and the right curve denotes the dream state. It thus represents the three states of individual consciousness. The dot represents the fourth state of consciousness, *turīya,* complete awareness. The semicircle represents *māyā,* illusion, and separates the dot from the three curves. But the open semicircle represents the Absolute which is unaffected by *māyā.*

Of the different types of sacrifices, Kṛṣṇa says He is the *japa* or chanting of holy names—*yajñānāṁ japa-yajño 'smi* (10.25).

Of the immovable objects in the world, He says He is the mighty and majestic Himalayas. The Himalayas, literally meaning 'the abode of snow', is home to hundreds of peaks, including the highest peak in the world. Some great rivers originate in it and flow through it, including Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Brahmaputra and Indus.

The Himalayas have a great unique spiritual significance as well. Kailasa, abode of Śiva, is the earthly representation of the metaphorical Meru. The Himalayan mountains are the spiritual incubator of the world. The Himalayas are truly a powerful energy field.

For thousands of years, millions of *Sādhus* (sages) have lived there and left their bodies from there. When Enlightened Masters leave their bodies, the result of their penance, the energy of their spiritual penance, is not carried by the spirit. They leave behind this energy in their bodies. Imagine how much energy is in the Himalayas, where so many Enlightened beings have left their bodies! We should be thankful to the Himalayas since their positive energy balances the collective negativity in the world.

> The Himalayan Mountains are home to me. I never believed, when I left home to travel to the Himalayas, that I would return to South Bharat. It was in the Himalayas that I met **Mahāvatār Bābā,** the great Master who has been living in these mountains for thousands of years. You may believe it or not believe it, but that is the Truth.

> On the way to Kedarnath, Mahāvatār Bābā called me by the name I am now called. He walked into me after calling me **'THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM'.** I thought he was asking me to look for a master named *Nithyananda*!

> So I went searching for this master. More than a year later, at Calcutta, on the banks of the river Hooghly, a tributary of the river Gaṅgā, an old Sannyāsi insisted on giving me Sannyāsa before he died. I was not keen to take Sannyāsa. I was looking for Enlightenment. But he insisted. So I agreed.

#### **To my utter surprise he gave me the name—** *THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM.*

I asked this Sannyāsi, 'Why?' He said, 'I do not know. This is what I was asked to do.' He did not explain who asked him to give me the name and initiation. So, I tell my disciples that Mahāvatār Bābā is our *Kulaguru*, Master of our lineage, and Kedar is our *kṣetra*, our spiritual location.

When Kṛṣṇa says, 'I am the Himalayan Mountain out of all unmoving things, *sthāvarāṇāṁ himālayaḥ* (10.25)*.*' I can feel the energy of Kṛṣṇa in these mountains. Everyone who has been with me on these trips have felt it at some point. They are blessed. They have been in Kṛṣṇa consciousness!

# I Am Banyan Tree, I Am Time

*10.26 Of all the trees, I am the Banyan tree and of all the sages of the gods, I am Nārada. Of the Gandharvas, I am Citraratha. Of the realized souls, I am the sage Kapila.*

*10.27 Of the horses, know me to be Ucchaiśravas born of the nectar generated from the churning of the ocean. Of the elephants, Airāvata and of men, the king.*

*10.28 Of the weapons, I am the thunderbolt. Of the cows, I am Kāmadhenu; For begetting children, I am the god of love. Of the snakes, I am Vāsuki.*

*10.29 Of the serpents, I am Ananta. Of the water deities, I am Varuṇa. Of the ancestors, I am Aryamā and of the ones who ensure discipline, I am Yama.*

*10.30 Of the Daitya (demons), I am Prahlād and of the reckoners, I am Time. Of the animals, I am the king of animals (Lion) and of the birds, I am Garuḍa.*

Kṛṣṇa says among the trees He is the banyan tree, *aśvatthaḥ sarva vṛkṣānāṁ* (10.26). The banyan tree develops its root-like structures from the branches. These grow into the earth as secondary roots. The metaphysical meaning of the banyan tree is that just as the banyan tree grows its roots upside down unlike other trees, the spiritual person shuns the illusory outer world, the world that most people run after. Instead, he goes inwards towards the Absolute.

In a later chapter Kṛṣṇa says that the leaves of the banyan tree are the Vedas. He who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.

Of all the spiritually enlightened Masters, the *Ṛṣis,* Kṛṣṇa says He is Nārada. Nārada is considered the greatest of all devotees. His mind is immersed in remembering Viṣṇu, forever chanting '*Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa'.* Kṛṣṇa identifies Himself with His greatest devotee.

Of the Gandharvas, the celestial beings, Kṛṣṇa says He is Citraratha. Gandharvas are celestial beings skilled in music and they are guardians of the soma juice—the nectar of the divine beings. Citraratha is the king of the Gandharvas.

### **I Am the Complete Being**

Among the Siddhas, the complete beings, the Self-realized persons, Kṛṣṇa says He is Kapila, the complete sage. Kapila is the author of the *Sāṅkhya Yoga* system of philosophy, which deals with the elements of the physical Universe and the spiritual world. He is also the founding father of *Mahānirvāṇi Pīṭha—Kapila Sarvajña Pīṭha*. Kapila is considered an incarnation of Viṣṇu and Mahādev.

Listen. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the greatest follower of *Sāṅkhya Yoga* of *Mahānirvāṇi Pīṭha,* the oldest apex body of *sanātana-dharma*. Understand, after the first chapter, *Arjuna Viṣāda Yogaḥ*, the first words that come out of Bhagavān's mouth are *Sāṅkhya Yog*a—*nai'naṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nai 'naṁ dahati pāvakaḥ* (2.23)*.*

I can be sure that Kṛṣṇa was filled with Kapila. So, here Bhagavān introduces Himself saying, 'Among the perfect complete beings, I am Kapila—*siddhānāṁ kapilo muniḥ* (10.26).' This means that in Kṛṣṇa's time, Kapila was the star of the spiritual world. That is why He mentions Kapila. I can see the whole compassion of Kapila. I know for sure that he was the first man who started thinking. Till then, thinking was not part of humanity. The first human being on planet Earth who started thinking and experienced completion was Kapila.

Kapila Muni is one of the great Incarnations celebrated in Śrī-

mad Bhāgavatam. There is a beautiful book called *Kapila Gītā*, Kapila's teachings to his mother, Devāhuti recorded in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and other books Kapila's *Sāṅkhya Sūtra* and *Sāṅkhya Kārika* based on his philosophy. When I was studying them, I found such beautiful expressions! If you read Kapila, you won't find a single moral lesson or even a definition of morality or immorality. But, the followers of Kapila will be the most beautiful moral beings on planet Earth, because He just puts you into the natural flow of your being. You don't hide anything from others and yourself. You are not afraid of anything that is within or outside you.

What pristine purity! Kapila is the definition of the natural law of Existence, the innate intelligence. I tell you, Kapila is as beautiful as the gopikās of Bhāgavatam, as intelligent as Kṛṣṇa's Gītā, and as natural as Dharmarāja (name of Yudhiṣṭra, the righteous king). Only with certain completion, can you understand the intelligence, beauty, and naturalness, all that can flow together in one space, that is Kapila.

 Next, Ucchaiśravas is the legendary snow-white horse that emerged during the churning of the ocean of milk described in the Bhāgavatam.

According to the history, the *devas*, the good, oppressed by the *asuras*, the evil, appealed to Lord Viṣṇu for help. Viṣṇu directed *devas* to churn the ocean of milk upon which Viṣṇu rests, using Meru, the mountain, as the staff and Vāsuki, the serpent, as the rope. Viṣṇu became the base as a tortoise upon which Meru rested. Since the *devas* did not have the strength to do the job alone, they took the help of the *asuras* promising them a share in whatever materialized.

During the churning, various divine entities emerged. Among these were the divine horse, Ucchaiśravas, and the four-tusked king of the elephants, Airāvata, whom Indra took as his mount.

As part of the churning process, a deadly poison *hālahāla* also emerged that threatened to take the lives of the *devas* and *asuras*. Śiva came to their rescue and drank the poison. Finally, the nectar of immortality emerged. Viṣṇu, in the form of a beautiful damsel Mohini

kept the *asuras* occupied, while He allowed the *devas* to drink the *amṛta,* nectar of immortality, and become invincible.

This is a metaphysical representation signifying how we are pushed and pulled by desires in our lives. From this churning in our life, various products emerge. The nectar of immortality emerges when we offer our entire being to the Divine, as we go beyond the push and pull of desires, beyond life and death. Then we dwell in ultimate bliss. There may be obstacles in the path. Yet, the Master supports and protects us during our churning, as we endeavor to realize the ultimate state. Just as Śiva drank the poison that came out as a result of churning the ocean, the Master holds the disciple steady as the unconscious root patterns, *saṁskāras* rise to the surface during our spiritual maturing.

Kṛṣṇa says, among the weapons, He is *vajra*, the thunderbolt. This is the weapon of Indra, king of the demigods. Viṣṇu is considered to be present in the *vajra*. Indra was specifically given this weapon—the thunderbolt, for a purpose. Kṛṣṇa does not choose His own weapon, the *cakra*, the mighty discus. Instead he used Indra's vajra that was made from the bones of the great sage Dadhici, who gave up his life to destroy the evil Vṛtāsura.

Among the cows, He says He is the sacred cow, Kāmadhuk or Kāmadhenu, which also emerged during the churning of the ocean. In the Hindu way of life, the cow is worshipped for her essential utility. Kāmadhuka is considered to be the cow that grants all wishes and is the mother of all cows.

Kṛṣṇa says, for begetting children, He is the god of love, the basis for procreation. He says He is the Vāsuki of serpents. Vāsuki is the king of snakes. Vāsuki was used as the rope and he wound himself around Meru, the staff, for churning the ocean of milk.

Kṛṣṇa says, among the *nāgas*, non-poisonous snakes or creatures of the nether world, He is Ananta, the many-hooded serpent who forms the bed of Lord Viṣṇu. He is said to support all the planets on his various hoods, including the Earth.

Among the water beings, Kṛṣṇa says He is Varuṇa, the god of the mightiest water body, the ocean.

Among the ancestors, Kṛṣṇa says He is Aryamā, one of the Ādityas, who presides over a planet occupied by the energy bodies of our ancestors.

Of the ones who ensure discipline, Kṛṣṇa says He is Yama, the Lord of death. Death is the perfect equalizer of all beings. Death is the only certain thing in the life of all beings and it treats everyone exactly the same whether they are big or small, rich or poor. So the Lord of death, Yama, ensures perfect discipline. The Saṃskṛit word *yama* means both discipline and death. Yama is the first of the eight limbs of Patañjali's *Aṣṭāṅga Yoga*.

Of the Daityas, Kṛṣṇa says He is Prahlād—*prahlādaś cāsmi daityanāṁ* (10.30). The Daityas are considered to be a race of beings that warred against the demigods. Prahlād was the son of a powerful Daitya King, Hiraṇyakaśipu. Prahlād was a pious child, an embodiment of integrity. The young Prahlād is a supreme example of devotion. His life is the example that total surrender to the Divine is possible and that such surrender leads the Divine to completely care for His devotees, in all situations and at all times.

Of the reckoners, Kṛṣṇa says He is Kāla, Time itself—*kālaḥ kalayatām aham* (10.30). Time is the ultimate reckoner. No being exists who can beat Time. Irrespective of who it is, Time always moves on. It cannot be stopped by anyone.

Of the animals, Kṛṣṇa says He is the Lion, king of the jungle. Among birds, He says He is Garuḍa, king of birds, the eagle who is the mount of Lord Viṣṇu.

### I Am Rama -

*10.31 Of the purifiers, I am the Wind. Of the wielders of weapons, I am Rāma. Of the water beings, I am the Shark and of the flowing rivers, I am Jāhnavi (Gaṅgā).*

*10.32 Of all creations, I am surely the Beginning and end and the middle, Oh Arjuna. Of all knowledge, I am the Spiritual knowledge of the Self. Of all arguments, I am the Logic.*

*10.33 Of the letters, I am the 'A'. Of the dual words, I am the Compounds and surely I am the never-ending time. I am the Omniscient who sees everything.*

*10.34 I am the all-devouring Death and I am the Creator of all things of the future. Of the feminine, I am Fame, Fortune, Beautiful speech, Memory, intelligence, Faithfulness and Patience.*

*10.35 Of the Sāma Veda hymns, I am the Bṛhat Sāma and of all poetry, I am the Gāyatrī. Of the months, I am Mārgaśīrṣa and of the seasons, I am Spring.*

*10.36 Of all the cheating, I am Gambling. Of the effulgent things, I am the Effulgence. I am Victory, I am Effort, I am the Goodness of the good.*

*10.37 Of the descendants of Vṛṣṇi, I am Vāsudeva Kṛṣna. Of the Pāṇḍava, I am Arjuna. Of the Sages, I am also Vyāsa and of the thinkers, I am Uśāna.*

*10.38 Of rulers, I am their Scepter. Of the victorious, I am Statesmanship. Of all secrets, I am also Silence. Of the wise, I am Wisdom.*

Of the purifying elements, Kṛṣṇa says He is the formless and pure wind—*pavanaḥ pavatām asmi* (10.31). The wind pervades the other elements such as earth, water and fire and removes impurities.

Of the wielders of weapons, He says He is Rāma, the seventh incarnation of Viṣṇu—*rāmaḥ śastra-bhṛtām aham* (10.31). Śrī Rāma defeated Rāvaṇa, the demonic ruler of Lankā who abducted his wife, Sīta. Rāma was a righteous ruler and chosen heir to his father's throne. Yet, Rāma went into exile to uphold his father's vow. Rāma is considered the greatest archer ever known. Of the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu, Rāma is the incarnation just prior to Kṛṣṇa. Of the aquatic beings, the fish, He says He is the Shark, the most powerful and feared.


Our entire existence as we know it, is unreal. So therefore, what can be true about it? How can we boast and take credit for a life that we don't have any control over? We have no control over the next breath we take. We have no control over how long our loved ones will live. We have no control over what will happen during the course of our lives. Yet, we believe we are in control of the whole of our lives.

#### **Divine or Delusion?**

Hiraṇyakaśipu, the demon king, thought he was God and he made his subjects chant his name, '*Hiraṇyāya namaḥ'*. Kṛṣṇa also stated that He was God. The difference between the two was that Hiraṇyakaśipu could not give the experience to his subjects. He told them, 'Either believe that I am God or I will kill you!' He threatened his subjects into this behavior, whether or not they actually believed he was God. Please understand that conversion by blood or bread does not help. While both of them declared they were gods, Kṛṣṇa could actually prove it. He could give the experience of Universal consciousness to people!

No great Master believed in spreading his words through fear and greed. All great Masters spread their words through unconditional love and compassion. That is the only way truth can spread. Unfortunately, the disciples who followed these spiritual Masters were not always masters themselves. They were there to establish business practices in the form of religions. They were organizers, not leaders. Fear and greed became handy tools of organization and propagation, since these followers did not have the experience of truth within themselves.

How to find out whether a person is an Enlightened Master, an Incarnation? How to establish whether a person is enlightened or just egoistic? Listen! This is the scale: If he can give the experience, then whatever comes from him is the truth. Here Kṛṣṇa shows clearly that *He Is Everything*. He demonstrates His Divinity to Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa walks His talk in this chapter.

In the Bhāgavatam, there is a beautiful verse that the gopī (cowherdess of Briṇdāvan), sings to Kṛṣṇa, who is everything to her clan:

> *tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta jīvanaṁ kavibhirīritam kalmaṣāpahaṁ śravaṇamaṇgalam śrīmadātatam bhuvi grhṇanti te bhūritā janāḥ*

'O Kṛṣṇa, *tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta jīvanaṁ*…Your words and the words uttered about You are *kathāmṛtaṁ*, words of immortality, words of nectar, words both *on* You and *by* You. Just by listening to these words, You create auspiciousness in us.

'These words are worshipped and expressed as the highest truth by the great *Ṛṣis.* We who have experienced You, feel the joy again and again by speaking about You. You rejuvenate our whole being. Just by listening to these words about You and by You, we are transported to a different plane.'

If you have fallen in love with Kṛṣṇa, this is the chapter to know Him and enjoy Him. Here in this chapter He does not give any teachings. All intellectual teachings are over. He gives the experience directly: '*I am Everything*.' He gives the experience of the ultimate Universal consciousness and the realization that He is present in everything. Arjuna experiences the Universal consciousness. This whole chapter is pure experience.

The first thing we need to understand is whether it is possible to have the experience of the Universal consciousness. Secondly, what is the basic qualification to experience it? Thirdly, what really happens inside our being during such an experience? These three things we shall understand from this chapter and explore the wonderful possibility of experiencing Kṛṣṇa as the Cosmic window.

#### **Love KṚṢṆa To Experience KṚṢṆa**

In the previous chapter, Kṛṣṇa gave the intellectual explanation that He is the Ultimate. More than an intellectual expression, I may say that this is an expression given to a person who is deeply in love. Kṛṣṇa can be God only when a person achieves the maturity of Arjuna. The truth should be declared only when a person is qualified and mature. Only when you reach the maturity of Arjuna can you experience the divinity of Kṛṣṇa. When you feel deeply connected to a person, he looks divine even though he may be quite ordinary in reality.

Śiva says in Tantra that when one drops one's fantasies, he becomes Śiva and his wife becomes Uma. He reaches the state of *Śivatva*, the state of Śiva, and she reaches the state of Devi. Truth can only be expressed when the listener is ready.

Kṛṣṇa rules by love. Though He was the king of the Yādava clan, He ruled not by authority and power, but by personal example of love and compassion. Those who lived with Kṛṣṇa identified with Him and loved Him beyond their own selves.

How does one attain Enlightenment living a normal life? In the *Śiva Sutra*, Śiva says there is nothing wrong with a husband and wife living a normal conjugal life, but they need to drop their fantasies about one another. When we live without fantasies, the other person looks like God. Only then the other person is real.

Please understand, everybody is God, including *you*. But each of us carries our own idea of God and tries to put everyone else into that frame. When they do not fit into the frame, we throw the person out instead of throwing the frame.

Just understand. When you are deeply connected with the other person as they are, when you can be complete and accept anybody as he or she is, you establish a divine relationship. However, to do so, you must first learn to do self-completion and accept your own self as *you* are. Listen, when you try to chisel each other constantly, you will only cause unhappiness and incompletions in your life. But when you do completion with yourself and completion with others, and accept everyone as they are, the whole world appears as God.

This can be achieved in two ways. Firstly, by your own *tapas*, your

spiritual penance, you acquire maturity by undergoing this experience repeatedly. You need to keep dropping your fantasies about other people. Secondly, a Master can also give you this experience by infusing tremendous energy in you, by bringing you to his own frequency. But even to retain the energy of the Master, you need a certain level of maturity. This is what happens here in this chapter. The frequency of Kṛṣṇa's Cosmic form is too much for Arjuna to bear and he cries out to Kṛṣṇa to resume his normal form.

A small example: Once I was watching the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in the USA on television when an ashramite asked me why such calamities were taking place. I tried to explain to them that it is something like driving your car or SUV and incidentally it goes over a small anthill. As far as the ants are concerned this is a natural calamity for them. They may call it 'Hurricane SUV!' But as far as you are concerned you are not even aware of this disaster. You are just driving the SUV. Can you relate with the ants in this incident or say that driving over their anthill was pre-destined? Their logic and yours are completely different. Neither can they question you nor can you answer them.

We can only conclude, 'This is all God's will.' The kind of explanation any organized religion gives is also this! No logical answer or explanation can ever be given for these experiences. The frequency, logic, perception and concepts of the ants are completely different from ours, just as ours is again completely different from the Cosmic consciousness. The frequency of this consciousness is in a completely different dimension. From the Cosmic level, it is something like a mug of water spilling onto an anthill, washing away the ants.

It is not possible to comprehend what that level or frequency is. What is possible is for us to raise the frequency of our will or consciousness to be one with It, to learn to live with It and experience It. Neither God nor your wife can be understood; just learn to live with them!

If the person is charismatic, has a way with words, he will have created a new philosophy and cheated a group of people. This is probably why great philosophers convince others, but they themselves are not convinced. I know a great atheist who chanted God's name when he lay dying! The very act of trying to convince and convert others testified to the fact that he was not convinced himself.

Please be aware that conversion is an intellectual and psychological crime. And preachers who convert others without any deep, personal experience of the divine, always fall into the worst kind of depression. They punish themselves by their own acts.

One person from Oklahoma who was associated with us was a reverend of the clergy. He enjoyed our programs and eventually went on to become a teacher of our meditation programs. I had never asked him to convert himself to our religion. To begin with, I myself do not have any religion! There is no need because what I teach is pure *satya*, the truth.

It is like this: The truth of the inner light given by Kṛṣṇa belongs to humanity and not to any particular religion. It is not necessary to convert to any religion. It is enough if you understand the truth and live your life happily and intensely in the space of completion.

Please understand, each one of you is divine! You are all cast in the mold of the Divine. All you need is this awareness that you too are divine and just start powerfully living and radiating the Divine.

That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa, the Incarnation, and Hiraṇya, demon. Hiraṇya is just trying to play the game when he himself does not have the experience. Kṛṣṇa gives the experience directly. When He declares that He is God, it is not for Him to satisfy His ego but for us to experience the truth. He tells Arjuna that He is uttering these words for Arjuna's sake.

Let us now go into the verses and examine three questions:

**Can Universal consciousness be experienced? What is the basic qualification for this experience? What happens when one experiences it?** These three questions are explained beautifully by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in this chapter.

### I Wish To See Your Divine Form

- *11.1 Arjuna says: O Lord! By listening to Your wisdom on the supreme secret of Existence and Your glory, I feel that my delusion has disappeared.*
- *11.2 O Lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa! I have listened from You in detail about the creation and destruction of all living beings, also Your inexhaustible greatness.*
- *11.3 O Parameśvara, Lord Supreme, though You are here before Me as You have declared Yourself, I wish to see the Divine Cosmic Form of Yours, Puruṣottama, Supreme Being.*
- *11.4 O Prabhu, my Lord, if You think it is possible for me to see Your Cosmic Form, then please, O Yogeśvara, Lord of Yoga and all mystic power, kindly show me that Imperishable Universal Self.*

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

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

Despite the faith that Arjuna has in Kṛṣṇa, he has self-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 had self-doubts. He was still troubled by what he was about to do.

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

### **Can Universal Consciousness Be Experienced?**

Step by step, Kṛṣṇa clears Arjuna's self-doubts. First, Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna's doubts of the intellect. Kṛṣṇa 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.'

Kṛṣṇa 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, Kṛṣṇa says that there is no end to His divine manifestations, His *vibhūti*. Wherever there is something glorious, powerful and prosperous, Kṛṣṇa is in existence. Kṛṣṇa concludes, saying that there is no need for detailed knowledge, as He supports all of Existence within just a fragment of His divine Self.

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

> *mad anugrahāya paramaṁ guhyam adhyātma saṁjñitam I yat tvayokaṁ vacas tena moho 'yam vigato mam II 11.1*

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 self-doubts. Yes, Kṛṣṇa said that He had already destroyed all of Arjuna's enemies. But physically they are in front of Arjuna. He believes what Kṛṣṇa says. But his senses tell him a different story.

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 2005, during the pilgrimage to the *cār dhām* (four sacred sites of Hindus) in the Himalayas, a devotee from the USA kept asking me for a darśan of Mahāvatār Bābā. Mahāvatār Bābā, the *Paramaguru* of Paramahamsa Yogānanda, lives eternally in these parts of the Himālayas. He blessed me with my name before my Self Realization, so He is, in fact, the *Paramaguru* 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 Kedār, she saw Bābā passing by. When she told me about this, I found that she 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.

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 boundarilessness. 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 people have the experience for the first time, they are shaken and try to escape.

In many instances, during the darkness meditations in Inner Awakening program, people come to the point of losing their body consciousness. They get 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 chanting intensely. When the Divine starts giving them the experience, they are shaken by fear and stop. When you are meditating on the Divine, a chant or God, do not try to escape when you get the vision or darśan. 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. Therefore, don't worry about overdoing anything 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 bliss.

Here, Arjuna says, 'If you think I can behold your Cosmic form…' Arjuna wants the experience but puts the responsibility on Kṛṣṇa. He wants the sweet but not diabetes! Of course, the divine sweet can never make you a diabetic.

I had occasion to visit Melkote, the place where Rāmānujacārya, the Hindu saint had lived.

The *prasād* (food offered to the Lord and distributed to people) was so tasty and intensely sweet. I wondered if 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 prasād daily! Understand, food offered to God gets energized and becomes *amṛta* or nectar. What we chant while offering the prasād cleanses and energizes it.

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 prasād.

With divine energy, the effect is always positive, never negative. You cannot die in the *amṛtasāgara,* 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 to do is to relax into It for transformation.

Arjuna says:

*manyase yadi tacchakhyaṁ mayā draṣṭum iti prabho I yogeśvara tato me tvaṁ darśayātmānam avyayam II 11.4*

'If You think I am able to behold, O My Lord, Yogeśvara, 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. The Master has to calculate all the 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 people that once they enter the gates of the 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.

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

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 what happens be decided by You,' he says to Kṛṣṇa. What he implies is this: 'I have listened 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!'

## Let Me Give You The Divine Eye

*11.5 Bhagavān says:*

*   O My dear Pārtha, behold now My hundreds and thousands of forms, of infinite divine sorts, of infinite colors and shapes.
*   11.6 O Bhārata, see here the different manifestations of the Āditya, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Aśvins, the Māruts and all other gods. Behold the many wonderful forms which noone has ever seen before.
*   11.7 O Arjuna, see at once now in this body of Mine, the whole Universe completely in this one place, all the moving and the unmoving, and see everything else you desire to see also.
*   11.8 But you cannot see Me with your own physical eyes. Let Me give you the Divine eye; Behold My Divine power and opulence!

I n this verse, Kṛṣṇa summarizes the entire chapter as He explains the whole darśan (Vision). It needs to be read and understood as one verse.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'O Pārtha, behold the hundreds and thousands of my Divine forms. These are infinite Divine forms, of diverse colors, shapes and sizes. O Bhārata, see the different manifestations of Āditya, Vasu, Rudra, Aśvini Kumār, Mārut and many wonderful beings whom no one has ever seen before.'

But before He gives *darśan* of the Universal form, He makes an important and beautiful statement, '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.

*na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā I divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ paśya me yogam aiśvaram II 11.8*

'*divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ..*.' Let me give you the divine eye to enable you to see and experience Me.' From this verse He starts giving the *Viśvarūpa darśan*—Vision of His Cosmic Form.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'O Arjuna, may you start seeing whatever exists, the *sthāvara* and the *jaṅgama* (immovable and movable), the Universe that no ordinary man can see. Even the great sages have not seen this sight and are not aware of it.'

Arjuna was an intimate friend of Kṛṣṇa and their attachment to each other as friends was deep. They had known each other from their early years and even though Kṛṣṇa was close to all the Pāṇḍava 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 Kṛṣṇa, and about His many facets. There are so many forms and manifestations of the different energies that humans have not even heard of. Kṛṣṇa, in His infinite compassion and love for Arjuna, shows him all these wonderful forms.

Here is a wonderful phenomenon. Now Kṛṣṇa 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!

#### **Darśan, Seeing the Divine Form is Possible**

Here again are the three questions that are 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 penance, I was completely frustrated at one point. I wondered if I was wasting my whole life reading books, following what the earlier Masters said and applying them in my life. I wondered, 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 penance, I had done and had not left even an inch untried. For example, at one point in time, I created a wall of fire 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 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-fulfillment. I began to doubt and lose faith in the whole system. The photo of Rāmakṛṣṇa, 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 my rosary, with which I used to say my prayers and do my 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 *rudrākṣa* (sacred energy beads) 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 at least sixty feet deep at that point. I just kept walking with my eyes closed. Fear gripped me but I continued. When I opened my eyes, I was on the opposite bank of the river! Till date I have 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 thereafter.

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 in convincing 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 Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa 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 Kṛṣṇa are not mere words; they are not mere scriptural words. These words are 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.

#### **Who Can See The Divine Form?**

#### *Next, what is the qualification?*


In the body of the supreme Lord, Arjuna saw the whole Universe divided in different ways and at the same time united in one form. The Universe is divided into many parts such as the sun, moon, earth, planets and other bodies in space. Here he sees all of them as one form. You need to understand this description, which is so beautiful. Later we shall enter into a meditation and pray to the *Parabrahma* Kṛṣṇa to give us all a glimpse of what Arjuna received.

Arjuna is able to see the whole and at the same time all the parts. Even the word hologram that we now so commonly use to describe the totality of something preserved in a fragment does no justice to Arjuna's vision. In a hologram, one needs to make the effort to see the whole in the fragment. In this divine vision granted to Arjuna, the whole existed with the part, with no separation, no discontinuity. The whole was part and the part was whole.

Of all the people on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, only Arjuna had this great fortune to behold the Cosmic Vision of Kṛṣṇa. Only he was granted the boon of divine vision to see the entire Universe within Kṛṣṇa. The vision that Arjuna beheld enveloped him completely. He was, in fact, part of that Vision. In addition, he was the experience of that vision as well.

#### Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa's Relationship

Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa grew up together from childhood. Kṛṣṇa's sister Subhadra was Arjuna's wife. They had a deep relationship as friends. In this one moment, that relationship was redefined.

In most cases, the relationships are not absolute in time and space. They become mixed. In this particular instant, when Arjuna beheld the Cosmic form of Kṛṣṇa, all thoughts of friendship disappeared. He became the typical *dāsa*, servant.

Hands trembling, hair on end, tears in his eyes, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing, Arjuna bowed down deep in front of his erstwhile friend and started speaking in deep ecstasy.

Arjuna was not afraid of Kṛṣṇa. What he now felt towards Kṛṣṇa did not arise from his mind. It was involuntary. It was intuitive. You cannot make your hair stand on end even if you try the whole night and day. Ecstasy cannot be willed. Arjuna is in adoration. He is in awe. He realizes that he is in the presence of an energy that has no equal. Nothing he has ever experienced before comes close to this. His being opens while his mind rests.

In fact, Arjuna at this moment is beyond the five defined *bhāvas*. He is in the state of *mahā bhāva—*the state beyond the five *bhāvas.*

## Worlds Tremble With Fear

*11.15 Arjuna says:*

*   O dear God, I see all the gods assembled in Your body and various other living beings too. I see Brahma, the Lord of creation, seated on the lotus, as well as Īśam (Śiva), and all the sages and celestial serpents.
*   11.16 I see Your infinite form on every side, with many arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes; Neither the end, nor the middle nor the beginning do I see, O Viśveśvara, O Lord of the Universe, O Viśvarūpa, Cosmic Form.
*   11.17 I see You with crown, club and discus; a mass of radiance shining everywhere, difficult to look at, blazing all round like the burning fire and Sun in infinite brilliance.
*   11.18 You are the imperishable; the Supreme Being worthy to be known. You are the great treasure house of this Universe. You are the imperishable Protector of the eternal order. I believe You are the eternal being.
*   11.19 I see You without a beginning, middle or end, infinite in power and with many arms, the sun and the moon being Your eyes, the blazing fire your mouth, the whole Universe scorched by Your radiance.
*   11.20 This space between earth and the heavens and everything is filled by You alone. O Great being, having seen Your wonderful and terrible form, the three worlds tremble with fear.
*   11.21 Many celestials enter into You; some praise You in fear with folded hands; Many great masters and sages hail and adore You.
*   11.22 The Rudra, Āditya, Vasu, Sadhya, Viśvadeva, Ashvin, Marut, Uśmapa and a host of Gandharva, Yakṣa, Asura and Siddha are all looking at You in amazement.
*   11.23 Having seen Your immeasurable form with many mouths and eyes, with many arms, thighs and feet, with many stomachs and frightening tusks, O Mahābāho, Mighty-armed, the worlds are terrified and so am I.
*   11.24 Seeing You, Your form touching the sky, flaming in many colors, mouths wide open, large fiery eyes, O Viṣṇu, I find neither courage nor peace; I am frightened.

As Arjuna is in the same consciousness as the Lord, this verse should actually start with '*Bhagavān uvāca*' meaning *'the Lord says!*' These statements are said to come from Him for us to record.

These are such beautiful ways that he describes the form. You may wonder why he does so. Please understand, he does so to inspire us to work to achieve this form and this experience, to move in this path. Arjuna is showing us the way.

He says, 'O Lord! I can see all the gods and deities in Your body. I can see the special union of living entities. I can see Brahma seated on the lotus flower. I can see all the sages and divine serpents. O Viśveśvara, Lord of the Universe, I see many arms, stomachs, faces, eyes and your limitless form. O Viśvarūpa, Universal form, I cannot see your beginning, middle or end.'

> *aneka-bahūdara vaktra netraṁ paśyāmi tvāṁ sarvato 'nanta-rūpaṁ । nāntaṁ na madhyam na punas tavādiṁ paśyāṃi visveśvara viśvarūpa ॥ 11.16*

As a matter of fact, when you begin to see 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, there really is no beginning, middle or end to see. It is a continuum. It is like seeing one of these special movies on a circular screen. It is an infinite circle. The Divine is an infinite circle, with no beginning, no end and therefore no middle. Without a beginning and an end, to talk about the middle makes no sense.

The form is difficult to see in its sheer glowing radiance, spreading on all sides like blazing fire or the immeasurable brightness of the sun. Yet Arjuna sees this glowing form everywhere adorned with various crowns and discs. He sees Kṛṣṇa wearing the diadem, holding the mace and discus.

Arjuna says, 'Your magnificence is shining everywhere, from all sides, difficult to see. You are blazing from all sides with the luster of the sun, limitless.'

Part of what Arjuna sees here is the traditional representation of Lord Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is always depicted with His weapons of mace and discus, the *gada* and *cakra,* and wearing the jewel-studded crown. Viṣṇu is also depicted resting on the ocean of milk upon the giant serpent Adiseśa, with Brahma rising from Viṣṇu's navel upon a lotus flower.

Some of what he sees is formless energy. He perceives radiance more powerful than a thousand suns, blazing and dazzling, impossible to look at even with his newly endowed divine eye. What Arjuna sees is beyond any sensory perception, something that could be experienced in that moment in time, impossible to express.

Suddenly the scene changes in these verses. Arjuna is terrified. What he is seeing now is quite different from what he expected when he asked to see Kṛṣṇa's divine form.

Arjuna is now incoherent. What he keeps saying is neither logical nor well thought out. What he sees he reproduces to the best of his mental abilities. Arjuna is convinced, seeing the Universal form of Kṛṣṇa, that what he sees is the supreme being, the *puruṣa*, the imperishable, the very origin of all, the Eternal.

He says, 'You are without origin, middle or end with unlimited power. You spread throughout the heavens and through all other directions. O supreme soul, *Paramātman*, after having seen your wonderful form, all the worlds and the whole universe is trembling with fear. All the celestial beings are shuddering before this form and entering into this formless form, some of them afraid, offering prayers with folded hands, along with hosts of realized sages praising this form in silent acceptance and wonderment.'

There is no other record so clear about the Cosmic frequency of the Universal form as in the Gītā. What Arjuna perceives is what is always present, but which he normally has no capability to see. Now he sees Kṛṣṇa in all His manifestations, from the highest to the lowest frequency levels of energy with nothing filtered.

But suddenly the form seems to change from the magnificent, comforting and expanded form, to one that is now disturbing. It is still not clear to Arjuna what is happening, but he can anticipate that something he is about to see is not going to be as pleasant as what he had seen so far.

What Arjuna sees disturbs him.

'O All pervading Viṣṇu! I see You with your many radiating colors, burning fire in your gaping mouth, heating up the entire Universe with radiance, touching the sky, and Your form unnerves me. My heart trembles in fear and I have no courage or peace to behold You.'

Until now Arjuna was saying there was no beginning, middle or end. Now he says the form is touching the sky; an indication that he is settling, coming down from the experience. 'Seeing your gaping mouth, your great glowing eyes, overcome by fear, I can no longer maintain my mental steadiness or equilibrium.'

Please understand, as long as you want to maintain the equilibrium of your mind, you will be in this mad world. There is no such thing as equilibrium. What we think of as equilibrium is not so.

Arjuna says he wants equilibrium, meaning that he wants his mind to be under his intellectual control. He wants to know the cause and effect and feel that they are in his control. As long as these are under your control, you feel as if you are a leader; your ego is strong. But the moment these are taken away from you, you feel at a loss and no more a leader. You are just a drop in the ocean. He is afraid of that and is not able to stay in that same state.

The wave in the ocean is part of the ocean. As long as it feels itself to be part of the ocean, there is no separation. However, when the wave experiences its own identity, creates its own identity, it no longer feels itself a part of the ocean. It feels itself to be a separate entity. When it is time to merge back into that ocean, it is afraid. When it looks back at the ocean with a feeling of separation, it feels afraid.

When Arjuna had his first glimpse of the Cosmic Vision of Kṛṣṇa, he identified with the Vision. There was no separation. Now, suddenly there is separation. Along with separation there is fear!

# Tell Me Who You Are

*11.25 Having seen your fearsome mouths with blazing tusks like the fire of the end of the Universe, I know not the four directions nor do I find peace. O Lord of the Deva, O Refuge of the Universe, be gracious.*

*   11.26 All the sons of Dhṛitarāṣṭra with many kings of the earth, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, the son of the charioteer, Karṇa, with our warrior chieftains
*   11.27 Into Your mouths with terrible tusks, fearful to behold, they enter. Some are seen caught in the gaps between the tusks and their heads crushed.
*   11.28 Even as many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean, so too these warriors in the world of men enter Your flaming mouths.
*   11.29 Just as moths hurriedly rush into the fire for their own destruction, so too these creatures rush hastily into Your mouths of destruction.
*   11.30 Swallowing all worlds on every side with Your flaming mouths, You lick in enjoyment. O Viṣṇu, Your fierce rays are burning, filling the whole world with radiance.
*   11.31 Tell me who You are, so fierce in form; salutations to You, O Supreme; have mercy. Indeed I know not Your purpose, but I desire to know You, the Original being.

In these verses Arjuna expresses his discomfort. Arjuna says earlier: 'I see O Lord! All the manifestations of Śiva, Āditya, Vāsu and Viśvadeva, Aśvin, Mārut, Gandharva, the forefathers, Yakṣa, Asura and all the celestial beings and demi-gods, all rolled in You in wonder, all part of Your Cosmic consciousness. Whatever You are is divine energy. O Mighty Armed One, all the planets with all the demi-gods are disturbed, shaken by Your form with many faces, eyes, arms, legs, thighs and bellies and Your many terrible teeth. As they are disturbed, so am I.'

Now he slowly comes down. From this verse we should say, '*Arjuna uvāca!'* meaning Arjuna says... It is no longer the divine state that Arjuna talks from. The moment he started feeling fear, he descended to his normal state. You should understand that it is only your fear that separates you from Cosmic consciousness.

When Arjuna says, 'So am I, *pravyathitās tathāham* (11.23)', that he is frightened, he becomes Arjuna, the man.

#### Fear, The Destroyer Of Ecstasy

There are two things that make you a human—the instinct to possess and the instinct to survive. The instinct to survive arises out of fear, from the *svādiṣṭhāna cakra* (fear energy center in your body), and the instinct to possess comes out of greed, from the *mūlādhāra cakra* (greed energy center in your body). This sums it up. Here the instinct to survive has appeared and he has become Arjuna, the man. We do not understand that when we drop the instinct to survive, we become Kṛṣṇa; we exist forever. We become Bhagavān, the Universal consciousness. But most often, we hold onto the instinct to survive. Now Arjuna slowly comes down and becomes Arjuna, the man.

Arjuna exclaims, 'I see all the sons of Dhṛitarāṣṭra, along with their allied kings, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa and other chief soldiers rushing into Your fearful mouths. I see some trapped with their heads smashed between Your teeth, ground into nothing.'

He describes the whole scene. He sees the heavy losses on both sides; his own side, his warriors and generals, but even heavier losses on the other side, including Bhīṣma who is invincible, Droṇa and Karṇa who are unconquerable. By inference he sees his own victory in the end.

In the beginning Arjuna sees what he wished to see. He sees what he believes to be the Cosmic form of the great Viṣṇu in His traditional attire and weapons, surrounded by Gods and sages. The form changed suddenly into a terrifying one of death, all-consuming and terror-inspiring, to which the entire Universe bowed down in fear.

From this macro perspective, Arjuna comes down to see the same destruction being played out at the level of the battlefield at Kurukṣetra. His enemies, the great warriors arrayed against him in battle, fly into the gaping mouth of destruction like moths into fire. Arjuna sees with convincing reality, the destruction of all the great warriors who would have been expected to give him trouble.

However, this scene does not fill him with peace and comfort. Arjuna is terrified at this vision of destruction. The destruction of those whom he perceives as his mortal enemies leaves him with no comfort.