Gita Acharan

  L ord Krishna shows his Vishwaroop (opulent form) to Arjuna (11.9) who saw many faces and eyes, many wonderful visions, divine ornaments and scents, abounding marvels which are glorious and limitless (11.10 and 11.11). The brilliance is like a thousand suns rising in the sky all at once (11.12). Arjuna saw the entire universe within the body of the Supreme Being (11.13). Krishna granted Divine Vision to Arjuna as he could not see the Vishwaroop with his own eyes (11.8). Vishwaroop consists of Krishna’s numerous, glorious, multi-coloured, and multi shaped forms in their hundreds and thousands (11.5); Adityas , Vasus and Rudras ; many wonderful things that were never seen before (11.6); the entire universe with the moving and unmoving (11.7). One way of understanding the Divine Vision is to see it as a special power granted by the Lord to Arjuna, enabling him to behold the Vishwaroop . At a deeper level, ‘we don’t see the world as it is, but we see it as we are’ b...

  T he B hagavad Gita was born on the battlefield. Similarly, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic were no less intense than a battlefield in themselves.   One phrase in the Gita, nimitta-maatra (just being an instrument in the hands of the Almighty) sums up our role in such situations.   Arjuna wanted to see the reality of Krishna as it is ( yathaarth ) and needed an extra sense to grasp the same, much like a blind man would need eyesight to see the elephant. The Lord granted him this divine vision to behold the Vishwaroop (cosmic form). Apart from showing reality in space, Krishna gives him access to the future where Arjuna sees that many warriors are entering the mouth of death. The Lord confirms that these warriors would die soon and Arjuna is just an instrument in that process. Krishna clarifies that Arjuna is not the Karta (doer) but a nimitta-maatra. He further ensures that Arjuna would be free of ahankaar when he comes out as the victor,...