Bhagavad Gita Ch11 part 11 on 14 November 2020

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Vasudevasutam Devam Kamsa Chanuram Ardhanam Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum Sarvopanishadogavo Dogdha Gopalanandanah Partho Vatsa Sudhir Bhokta Dugdham Geetam Ritam Mahat Mookam Karoti Vachalam Pangum Langhayate Girim Yat Kripatamaham Vande Paramanandam Adhavam We are continuing the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. The Lord has shown His Vishwaroopadarshana. It means the Lord is present in front of us all the time in the form of this world. If our mind is pure then we will be able to perceive that vision until our heart is cleansed, our worldly samskaras are reduced. It is not possible to see this world as God. That's why it is Holy Mother's commandments. Stop finding fault because if you find fault with others, you are finding fault with none other than God Himself. Instead of that, spend all your energy in finding out your own defects. Then try to eliminate them and gradually by His grace the capacity to understand will grow. Then we will see. What do we see? When our heart becomes very pure, what is it that we really see or rather understand? What is it that first of all the world that we experience is temporary. It comes into existence. It stays for some time and it goes back into its origin like bubbles, like waves, like foam. They originate from the ocean or river and stay for a short time and go back. But the origin remains, water remains all the time. So we have two parts, the watery part which is equivalent to our divine part and the external limitations, body, mind, wrong concepts, desires, etc. When we have this understanding, we see that this whole universe, whatever is happening is not real. Birth is not real. Old age is not real. Disease is not real. Suffering is not real. Enemies are not real. Loss is not real. Someone insulting us is not real. It is just a huge drama, leela that is going on all the time. That's what understanding we have. Then next, whatever is born, because it starts in time, it remains in time, but it has to go out of time also. Srishti sthiti laya, that also is the part of this leela. So first point is nothing in this world is real excepting God playing in the guise of all of us, everything in this world. Some had become the tree, he had become the wood cutter, he had become the insect, he had become the fish, he had become the animals. So he is eating himself, he is destroying himself. This is all in play. In reality, there is no birth, there is no death. So the sixfold changes do not occur at all. So what is it called? You see the Srishti, you see the sthiti, you see the birth, you see the stability, but we are all being carried. Imagine, we are all being carried by a tsunami wave. This is the most wonderful example. It is a beautiful description. When a tsunami comes, it seemed, those who have witnessed it, the seawater, it recedes very far back, and then a tremendous force, huge waves, it just comes and it gathers speed, and the nearer it approaches the ocean, gathers more speed without any obstruction, resistance, and it oversteps the boundaries, enters into the cities, towns, villages, whatever is nearby, and it pushes everybody inside the land, that is just like a birth, but after that is over, its tremendous force, it carries everything back to its fold, and then that is called destruction. Coming inland is like birth, and staying for some time is like staying for some time, and going back, kala, in the form of tsunami, that gives birth, that sustains and keeps it, and then everything is reabsorbed into that. This wonderful fact is intolerable. This is the universal form. It is an integral form. There is a birth, there must be a death. That is integral form. If we only see partial experience and then think this is the whole truth, we will be in trouble. And then remember, Arjuna had this vision. Duryodhana, he did not have this vision. When Krishna appeared to all of them, a universal vision, they saw a huge all-pervading Krishna, but this aspect of destruction they did not see, otherwise they would have been terrified. Similarly, Yashoda did not see on two occasions this universal form she had experienced, but this destructive force she did not experience. But Arjuna was in the battlefield. Just imagine, a terrific battlefield, Second World War, is nothing if there had to be Third World War. Even in our imagination, we cannot grasp what is the enormity of the terror, destruction. A glimpse of it, a minute infinitesimal glimpse of it we get when the atom bomb was discharged over Nagasaki, Hiroshima, how it created a terrible wave, tsunami wave, engulfing everybody, killing at one time nearly 30,000 to 50,000 people in one go. This happened in both Hiroshima as well as Nagasaki. Then one can magnify and that would be the vision of Arjuna. In my mind it comes, I once saw a documentary and that documentary depicts how 60 million years back, the age of dinosaurs has come to an end. All the creatures at that time, enormous, huge, whether they are mammoths, tigers or these dinosaurs, everything is huge in size, unimaginably huge in size. And then one so-called peaceful day. It is no day is peaceful. Some animals are praying. Some are trying to escape. The bigger one preys upon the smaller, the smaller upon the smaller, still smaller, etc. Suddenly they were terrified. The whole sky was covered with some invisible this thing as if a terrible shooting of the meteors. Huge amount of fire has engulfed practically the whole world. They say more than 80% of the life was extinguished at that time. So there is a documentary. It probably is available. Yes, it is available on the YouTube. You better see. Then you can imagine what was the condition of Arjuna's mind seeing that horrific form. Then another film has come. The day after tomorrow, I think it is, I am not sure, day after tomorrow, the whole world was destroyed. Just one or two people survived and a meteor struck just as 16 million years back a meteor struck. So also this is of course a created film or there are also films. If there were to be a third world war, then what happens to the whole world? Imaginable horror, the whole sky turns into unbearable shooting flames, destroying everything, obliterating everything in their path. This was what Arjuna was seeing. But before we proceed, one important factor we have to take into consideration. Arjuna was seeing only one aspect because when a person is very fearful, scared, terrified, his brain doesn't work. So he sees only one aspect of that reality. Srishti is going on, creation is growing on, sustenance is going on as well as destruction is going on. So this integral vision, even though he was granted, Arjuna was only capable of being terrified. His mind is hesitated as if the whole world like at the time of pralaya. They say in history, there is nearly 11,000 years back, all over the world the floods came, engulfed the land, excepting a few people, nobody survived. And that's why they depict Noah's Ark. He was commanded by the Lord to create one small ship and then the pairs of certain animals, certain seeds, certain human beings, whomsoever he could gather, he gathered them and then again the earth started getting repopulated. Similar story is there in Bhagavatam. This is called the story of the Mano who saw a huge Lord as a huge fish and it grew and grew and grew and then it saved this devotee, just a few people. This story of the whole world being flooded, obliterated, excepting for a little bit of seeds, human or non-human, this was depicted practically in every story. So that is what Arjuna was seeing. We have come to the 28th verse. What was Arjuna seeing? Just the whole universe is rushing into that terrific damstra karalani, protruding tusks like you have seen a tiger, a lion or a wild dog or hyenas. Like that you see terrible teeth or the teeth of a huge shark, hundreds of teeth just to crush everything into small atoms. So he was terrified. What is he seeing? That process of destruction. Pralaya, Kaala, Agni, tremendous flames are shooting forth from the mouth of the Lord, destroying everything in its passage. But Arjuna, as I mentioned, was not able to see the creative aspect of the Lord where equal number of people are dying, equal number of people are also being reborn again the same. This is called the complete circle. Janma, Stithi and Laya, again Janma, this is called Brahma Chakra. Now in this 28th verse, another description of Arjuna's terrifying vision and Arjuna himself was beholding it. What is it? As hundreds of rivers, they are rushing forward from a height towards the Samudra. That's why they say sea level. It is the lowest level and below that it is only water. So all the waters of these rivers originated in different directions, all the four or ten directions and all of them start as small, some drops becomes small bits of water, streams, small rivers, big rivers and they gather force and when they are about to meet the sea, then they become huge rivers and what happens? They lose their forms, lose their names and become one with the ocean. The most beautiful analogy for all of us, we come from God and we are rushing again with gathering momentum towards the Lord and we again merge in the Divine Lord because this is the law. The broken chair, it goes back to the state of the wood. A broken or old ornament, it goes back into its shapeless, nameless, material cause which is called gold. Every part that is destroyed, it doesn't go but now we recognize that it is nothing but clay, nothing but wood, nothing but gold, nothing but iron, etc. So, samudra meva abhimukaha dravanti tatha tava ami naraloka viraha vishanti vaktrani avijjalanti As the many torrents of the rivers rush towards the ocean, so do the heroes of the mortal world rush into their fiercely flaming mouths. Tatha, just as bahavaha, many nadis, rivers ambuvegaha, with terrific force the waters are flowing towards which direction? Samudra meva abhimukaha, towards the direction whichever is the nearest sea and they merge there. Tatha, O Lord, tava, this ami, these, all the soldiers, everybody who is standing here to participate in this terrific world war. Prukshetra, remember, was one world war. Rama-Ravana yuddha is another world war. God doesn't deal in what is called just small wars. Whenever He comes, these terrific wars will be there. So Tatha, just as those waters are flowing, ami, these, all these people who are here gathered together, both the Pandavas as well as the Kauravas, naraloka viraha, these great heroes and middle class soldiers, the foot soldiers, the servants who serve the foot soldiers and then drivers of the chariots, everybody, what I am saying, tava, vaktrani, your mouths, what type of mouth? Vijvalanti vaktrani. They are completely open like a huge cavern and avivijvalanti, they are burning terrifically like kala agni, like pralaya agni, like the agni that burns at the time of final dissolution of this world, at the end of every kalpa. What are these people doing? Naraloka viraha, what is Vishanti? Helplessly, they are drawn like small iron filings are drawn into thy mouth. Now we have to understand what is this mouth? That mouth is called time. How do we understand it is the time? We are going to come. Arjuna was confused. His brain stopped working. But he has got little bit of common sense left out. So he surrendered himself to the Lord and he asks the Lord, O Krishna, O Divine Lord, I am confused. Previously, before this divine vision, I knew you so well. I can put my hands around you. I can lovingly caress you, address you. My Krishna, my friend, Hey Krishna, Hey Yadava, Hey Sakha. These expressions come in this very chapter later on. So I know everybody is entering. Who? Ordinary soldiers? No, no, no. Soldiers, foot soldiers, those who are on the horses, those who are on the elephants, those who are fighting with weapons, everybody big or small, heroic or ordinary, everyone is rushing. So this is not the lot of mere ordinary soldiers alone. This is the lot of, whether we are in the battlefield or very peacefully living at home, we are all rushing. And what is that huge flame? Kala. Time is the river. It is flowing. It is a terrific force. Kala is that beautiful fire. It is beautiful because, it is sweet because, this is not taking us to destruction. It is like a mother takes a dirty child, strips him of all this. Sometimes the child had to be cut. Like a person who is burnt, his body has to be cut practically from the dress and then dressed so that he can be healed. Like that this Kala Agni, it is taking from the Vyakta state, manifested state into the unmanifest, which unfortunately we call death, we call destruction, we call almost non-existence. So this analogy is very apt. A river originates from the sea, lifted by the sun, and pure water is discharged on heights and slowly it comes down and during its flow, stay, every creature it uses, takes advantage of that sweet water. The animals live, living beings live, human beings live, crops live, and then ultimately having fulfilled its function, it goes back to the sea, again to be cleansed of all its dirt, draws it, it was gathering, and again the sun, the divine Lord, purifies them, and then again pours in the form of the river until we get liberation. The purpose of Samsara is not destruction. It is not to create unnecessary trouble. The Lord wants to give everybody Mukti. So He is sustaining us. After some time, He gives through experience, a bit of more knowledge. Next birth, still more knowledge. Then Bahunam Janmanam Ante, He becomes Gnanavan. Then He sees, I have come from God, I am in God, and I will be forever in God. So that is the analogy. Again, the divine Lord, Arjuna was seeing. In the 29th, As moths rush swiftly into a blazing fire to perish there, even so do these creatures swiftly rush into their mouths to their own destruction. The description should not, need not, should not frighten us. This is the description of life that is going on, whether it is the Kalagni, comes in the form of heart attack, coronary attack, or cancer, or kidney failure, or this corona, whatever way it comes, it is nothing but death. Death is nothing but rebirth. Rebirth is nothing but progress towards the divine Lord. That's why I gave the analogy. We are all standing. Kala is like an escalator. It is slowly taking us through different lives, different states of development, towards our origin, which is the Divine Lord, Divine Mother. So here is another example, and what is the lesson we have to learn? This time can never be stopped. The Lord cannot be stopped. We wish Him to create. We wish Him to keep everybody happy, Srishti Stithi, but we do not understand, fools that we are, unwise that we are, and death is a fresh opportunity for all of us to move forward. Nobody can help. Even an avatar cannot help. Remember that greatest, wisest book, Mahabharata, Krishna was an avatar. Not only an avatar, He was called a Poornavatar, the greatest of all the avatars. Really, that is a fact. Now, even this, along with Krishna, to help His mission, so many of these Yadava heroes were born. They were all endowed with tremendous power to help this Dharmasahastapana, some Stapana, but they became arrogant. They had to be destroyed. Otherwise, they will destroy what they have preserved. Therefore, Krishna, knowing fully well, deliberately approaches Gandhari, mesmerizes her mind, makes her very angry, and then she curses Him. Just as, O Krishna, you did not spare even one son of mine, your whole Yadu vamsa will be destroyed. Krishna smiled and said, Mother, this is what I wanted to do, but I have given you that opportunity to fulfill my desire. Don't think Gandhari was cursing them. It was the Divine Lord who was cursed through the mouth of Gandhari, cursed whom? All the Yadu vamsa. Is it a curse? No, because Krishna also belongs to Yadu vamsa. Balarama also belongs to Yadu vamsa. Finally, they also had to give up their body, but they were Divine beings. Every Yadu veera, He straight went to His own former celestial being, an eternal companion of the Divine Lord. Similarly, Krishna instructed Balarama, you give up the body and merge into Ananta. Ananta is supposed to be incarnated as Balarama as the resting place for Krishna. And Krishna Himself sat there and made the hunter delude himself. There is a very fine deer waiting there and then He shot. Usually you can understand an arrow doesn't kill a person just because a foot is injured. The foot may be injured, but death will not come. But that was an excuse for Krishna. Now another point, very important point. Who created this Kurukshetra war? We all blame the blind Dhritharashtra. We also blame most often the Duryodhana aided by his three people, Dhrishtachatustaya, Karna, Dhrishasana, Karna and Rishikuni. But Duryodhana was a very wise person. When he was lying in the battlefield with his thighs broken, what was he talking about? He says, O Krishna, you are sitting in my heart and then you are moving me like a puppet here, plays with his puppet and makes it move. How can I resist? Let nobody blame me. And that is the final truth. Duryodhana should not be blamed. Dhrishasana should not be blamed. Kaikeyi should not be blamed. Nobody should be blamed. It is the divine will. If we understand that point, then we have understood the message of the Gita. Whose interpretation is it? Krishna's interpretation. So I will give you, before we go further, Arjuna was completely terrified, disoriented, became confused. He could not recognize this destructive aspect of Krishna. He asks, Who are you? I am unable to recognize you. Krishna says, Kaloham, I am Kala. Then what is your purpose, mission in life? I have become terrifically, with tremendous fire, I am manifesting here. For what? I want to kill many of the living creatures here as Kala. So Bhishma will not survive. Drona will not survive. Most of them will not survive. What about us? My friend, nobody will survive. You will also die. But not at this time but a little later because you are part of my mission. You will have to aid my mission albeit unconsciously. So this is the fact of life. Srishti, Stithi, Laya constantly going on. But we are blind. We want to see only certain aspects of life and until we awaken to the fact that every created being including non-living too is rushing towards reformation. Death, I would like to call it reformation. What for? We are all rushing towards the Lord because we have come from Brahman. We live in Brahman and we go back to Brahman. So sooner or later time in time it carries us slowly slowly towards our origin and one day we realize it. We have to accept that fact. That's why that beautiful Bengali song how many times I have quoted it Shakali Tomari Iccha Iccha Mohi Tara Tumi Tomar Karma Tumi Koro Maa Loke Bhole Kori Aami That is what Bhagavad Gita also tells that Prakruti, the Divine Mother is accomplishing everything. Guna Guneshu Vartante Nasachchate Teshu Karmasu A wise man understands Prakruti is continuing its own Leela Srishti Stithi Vinashanam Shakti Bhute Nobody can stop. Stithi means our living and acting thinking, imagining all these things our Divine Mother herself has become us living for some time and again going back to our real state. If we can awaken to this fact life becomes much more bearable and pleasant. For that this beautiful analogy is being given Yatha, a beautiful analogy What is the analogy? Patangaha These moths how many moths? Thousands any moth. What does it do? Samruddha Vegaha with the greatest irresistible speed they see, they can't help themselves, they rush What for? Pradeeptam Jwalanam Pradeeptam A burning fire, burning light means burning fire because every light emits too much of heat, as soon as the insect reaches, just it becomes nothing but ashes. Like that Nashaya Vishanti they are helpless. Why? That is called time Time, Srishti Stithi Vinasha. Now born and now dead. Ravana is born, Ravana is dead. We have to understand Oh Arjuna this, do you see what is happening? Lokaha all the worlds Vishanti. Arjuna was telling Tavaapi Vaktrani into your flaming mouth. How? Slowly, slowly, slowly Samruddha Vegaha with terrific force like the water rushes from Gomukhi down. Like that every creature, living creature what about non-living thing? They are also rushing. There was a time when there was no sea and there was a sea and that sea also will be destroyed. There was a time when Himalayas was not known then Himalayas rose centimeter, millimeter by milliliter. It took millions of years. Now they say it is slowly getting melted, means reduced. One day there would be no Himalayas at all. One day the whole world will become one then again after sometime it will be split into five or more continents. This is an inevitable process. The planets are rushing the galaxies are rushing the stars are rushing there is nothing which is not rushing there is nothing which stands still this what we call static that word is completely useless. Here is a mountain. Is it moving? With tremendous speed it is moving. All its particles are moving at what speed? Lightening speed, mind-boggling speed So, Samruddha Vegaha Tava Vatrani Nashaya Vishanti As moths rush swiftly into a blazing fire to perish there, even so do these creatures swiftly rush into their mouths to their own destruction. So, what is the lesson? That nobody can stop that process. Better you recognize all of us I, you and me. Forget others. I am rushing towards the Lord. What am I doing? My attention is drawn not to this fact of my rushing but I think that I have to do this, I have to do that and I will be here forever and death is not going to approach. It will always come to other people. That was what Yudhishthira answered to Yaksha Prashna So, every day every night, every second how many are dying? How many are coming into being? Tathapi even then that those who are alive it never occurs to them that they are ever going to die Kimashcharyam Atahparam. What can be more surprising? So, this is called the Kalap Tattvam the principle of Kala. We are, the whole universe is subjected to Kala and Kala is moving at a terrific speed. Only we are fools not to understand That's why when Sairam Krishna second time or so met Niranjan and as if he was waiting he rushed forward enveloped Niranjan in his embrace, started to shed tears. Niranjan my boy, days are passing. When are you going to realize God? Niranjan was later on telling I don't feel any headache whether I realize God or not Why is this man so much in such a rush for me to realize? Because Sairam Krishna knew time is very limited In case you have forgotten Niranjan Anandaji was one of the first direct disciples to die. He went to Haridwar or so. Suddenly he died there So what is the point here? We have to understand these shlokas We are also like these moths. We are also like these rivers. We are also rushing towards the Divine Lord and it may take a long time. So we have to avoid this Kala Mrityu. How to avoid? By getting Moksha What is Moksha? To know that I am beyond time, beyond space beyond causation. So first accept, use it and then with the help of time, get out of time. This is called worship of Mother Kali. Mother Kali is Kala Worship her. That means you practice spiritual disciplines and you awake to the fact that our life is very ephemeral and surrender to her. She is ready to rescue you and then she will take you, take me up in her hands and then my child, you are my child. I am Mahakala That is how Shiva Mahakala Here is Mahakala. You are that Mahakala. You belong to Mahakala. My other aspect, this is my Saguna aspect The other one is my Nirguna aspect If so long as we are in Saguna, we are subject to birth and remaining and destruction But if you become Nirguna Nirvikara, Ananta Ajo Nitya Shashvatayam, that is the condition that we come then we become merged There is a beautiful story Once Markandeya like Shankaracharya He was a very young boy and death threatened him He was a great Shiva Bhatta and then he rushed and then embraced the Shiva Linga and death could not come and when it came, then Shiva simply destroyed Mrityu This is the Puranic story. What is the symbolism? Markandeya is one of us or Agnanis, Jeevatmas But we are subject to time Time is subject to space Space is subject to causation So these three are one in three and three in one. They can't be separated. So we are subject to temporariness Ephemerality Therefore, what do you do? Take refuge in Shiva Who is Shiva? Shiva, you remember Mano buddhya hankara chitta ninaham shivoham shivoham Atma tattvam. Shiva is Atma. I am that Atma. When we take refuge in that knowledge that I am Shiva, I am beyond time, I am Mahakala I am Mrityunjaya These things cannot do anything. Then that is the only way That is the symbolism of Shiva And then we move on to the 30th Arjuna was further describing what was he beholding of the Divine Lord as Kalarupa Krishna. Lately he has said So Arjuna is addressing O Vishnu Vishnu means Sarvavyapi Sarvavyapi means Vishwarupi I am beholding you And now that aspect of Vishwarupa which I had been ignoring consistently of death etc. because if Arjuna was wise, if he was not overcome by Moha, he would have recognized earlier, before he took up the, participated in the war. Bhishma Drona, they are old They are not going to live a long time. In fact, within 6 months, Bhishma also he died He said he had Iccha Mrityu He was fell down on 15th day or 16th day I do not remember. And then Arjuna supported him on a bed of arrows and then he watered him by piercing. Mother Ganga came and fell into his mouth because he was thirsty and he lived for 6 months. Why did he live? Bhishma lived for 6 months Why did he live? Because Krishna wanted Bhishma's wisdom to enter into Yudhishthira so that that wisdom comes to us in the form of Mahabharata so that we can also be saved like Arjuna like Yudhishthira, like Bhishma etc. So all these people, they will die. Even if you don't kill. That's what Krishna was telling Do you think they will live forever? No. But then you say, I have to kill them Well, they are ready to kill you and you are not ready to kill them. How come? This is your role. That was their role They are ready to play their role. Even though they don't want to do that. And this is your role So nobody will survive, my son. Not even you will survive So better that I have created them. I decided to destroy them and within these 18 days, they are going to be, 18000 Akshauhinis are going to be destroyed So it is not you. You if you are wise, then you will become an instrument That's why he says to Arjuna You just become an instrument. I have already killed them They were all dead Already in Kala, they are all dead. We are also dead in Kala Can you understand that? In 2050 Swami Dayatmananda will be there. Will you be there? How many of you will be there by 2050? So we are dead If you look at it from the future point of time, we are all dead But having said that next second, anything can happen. Let us accept that acceptance as we accept birth as we accept living we have to accept with equal gladness the point of death. So here Arjuna was confused Even his poetic talent is not working properly. He is expressing the same thing practically in the same tongue with a little bit of change in words What is he telling? Thou lickest thy lips, devouring all the worlds on every side with thy flaming mouths The fiery rays fill the whole universe with their radiance and scorch it O Vishnu So Arjuna is telling, you are licking Have you ever seen a tiger hunting a deer and then after it is killed then what does it do? Have you noticed carefully a lion or a tiger it just licks it to cleanse it or I don't know but it gets some smell or whatever it is. After that it falls, tears it to pieces and then in its own turn it will also be pierced, killed, destroyed by somebody else So this you are licking your lips but you are not seeing I am also smiling because I am giving birth to my babies I am also suckling them Remember Ramakrishna's story of the Divine Mother who gave him the vision that as a young woman most beautiful woman came out, within seconds she was pregnant she was with child she gave birth to the child she suckled with the greatest love all the mother's love in the world and then next second took that baby and swallowed. What is that mother? Mahakali. What is Mahakali? Mahakala It is Kala, time The nature of time is Srishti Stithi and Laya. It is men's destiny and divine will that conspire together that brings about either birth or sustenance or destruction So Lord Krishna is telling this not only to Arjuna through Arjuna Remember it is Sudhi Bhokta All wise people wise people are the enjoyers of this Dugdha Amritam. What is Dugdha Amritam? What makes immortal, immortal That is what is happening If we do not understand this Srishti Stithi Laya whichever is born is destined to die with so many changes terrified of middle age terrified of old age terrified of diseases The whole world is quaking with this Covid. Unable to cope Unable to understand that it is the Divine Mother's will. She is sending a shocking message Oh man! Uthishthata Jagratha Praapya Varan Nibodhata Find out what are you doing You think you are clever You think you can prey upon weaker nations The big companies are the greatest predators in this world. They are cutting the throats of their own customers whether it is Microsoft or Apple. They want to constrain them They want to choke their own customers, squeezing the blood of the customers instead of helping them More and more restraints they are placing upon them and they don't understand One day the company has come into being. Another day it will go You are becoming old You will also die. But people will not keep quiet for a long time This is the lesson. Oh man! Whatever is born. Is it a company? Is it a baby? Is it an animal? Is it a plant? Everything has its own allotted lifetime After that one has to go back to its own origin. With this Arjuna became thoroughly confused. He said First he addressed Vishnu etc. Then he said, I can't recognize because when death comes we become completely disoriented We don't know who is good, who is bad like a man who is drowning If someone wants to rescue him, he will pull him down rather than thanking him and helping him We are all like that. But Arjuna was very very lucky He had been given that grace to see this whole thing and that's why he accepted the Lord of fighting. Life is nothing but battlefield. Remember at the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita I took Swami Vivekananda's analogy The whole world is a battlefield and we are there is a battle there is a world war between the Devas and Asuras the divine beings as the celestial beings as well as the demons and the purpose is with the God's grace only the celestial beings, divine beings win in the end. That is the destiny So we are here to fight the battle battle of ignorance, battle of our wrong opinions false opinions we have to become totally independent So Arjuna is expressing humbly In 31st shloka Arjuna had been given the grace to understand. What did he understand? That I don't understand anything. He understood previously I thought I understood now by the grace I understood that I don't understand anything. So I am bowing down to me to you. That's what he says look, tell me who you are that wearies to this frightful form. Salutations to thee O God supreme have mercy I desire to know thee who are the primal one. For I do not understand thy origin thy purpose, thy actions I understand nothing So just imagine that one day you are walking in a forest and suddenly a tiger has fallen upon you and it is about to tear you. At that time do you understand what the tiger is you only know I am going to die. Do you have time to think this is a ferocious tiger. Its nature is to kill and then kill mercilessly. It is going to kill me and then I don't know what is going to happen. Can you recognize what is that tiger it's not a tiger it is mrityu taking the form of a tiger and attacking you. So it could be cancer, it could be heart disease, it could be kidney failure, it could be somebody shooting either by mistake or on purpose or it could be covid. These are all not really our enemies we are destined to die. So he says bhavan ugrarupaha your terrific form I don't know namostu te devavara my salutations to you the supreme lord devavara prasida please be compassionate towards me make me a little bit peaceful so that I can really see you as you are akhyahi please you yourself tell me bhavan ugrarupaha ko who are you kaha who are you me to me vijnathum icchami I want to know what do I want to know bhavantam adhyam I want to know about you bhavantam adhyam what's your nature who are you why are you appearing to me like this nahi prajanami tava pravruttim I don't know what for you assumed this form and suddenly this form has come to me unless you yourself explain this it is not possible so earlier remember bhagavan's ferocious form with open mouth etc is nothing but kala this is what is being confirmed now sri bhagavan ubacha the lord said in reply to arjuna's beseeching request he has surrendered himself and he is humbly begging I want to know this is a lesson for us unless we take refuge at the divine mother's feet and unless she gives us that dhi buddhi we will never be able to understand either about ourselves much less about other people much less about the nature of the world so what is this the lord is telling the lord said I am mighty I am world destroying time I am mighty time nobody can stop me I am world destroying time but now engaged here in slaying these men these men means not only those on the battlefield every living creature in the world even without you if you are also not there all these warriors standing arrayed in the opposing armies shall not live I am risen in this terrific form to what for to destroy these worlds of these people I want to completely eradicate all these worlds what does it mean if I eradicate you your world is gone Duryodhana his world is gone Bhishma Bhishma's world is gone this is my present mission in life even without you nobody they won't be surviving who all the people who are arrayed to destroy kill each other they will not be surviving at all this is the most wonderful concept of time we will discuss about it tomorrow morning hopefully this Diwali fire crackers will not disturb us so much so we will stop here tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock or so we will start this one Om Vasudevasudham Devam Kamsa Chanuram Ardhanam Devaki Paramanandam Prishnam Unde Jagadgurum May Mother Kali, Ramakrishna Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. I wish you all a happy Diwali and may the Divine Mother bless us all.