46: Thanks For Asking, Arjuna

CHAPTER 10, TEXT 17: O Kṛṣṇa, O supreme mystic, how shall I constantly think of You, and how shall I know You? In what various forms are You to be remembered, O Supreme Personality of Godhead?

I don't know about you, but for me, sometimes God seems very, very

very

far away. 

Like, beyond my comprehension, beyond my capacity of belief, beyond everything. 

In fact, Krishna even mentions in the ninth chapter of the Gita that, yes, he IS covered by His yogamaya potency, so thus only surrendered souls can see Him. He IS beyond our comprehension and belief and everything!

I don't know about you, but for me, I'm not a surrendered soul, and I'm not going to be a surrendered soul any time soon (let's be real). So I guess I can kiss goodbye any hope of seeing God...?

Not so fast.

This verse where Arjuna is addressing Krishna is so beautiful because he asks, "How shall I know You?" Although in truth HE is a surrendered soul and HE can experience God, Arjuna is speaking out on behalf of all of us (aka: the non-surrendered souls). Prabhupad writes, "The superior devotee is concerned not only for his own understanding but for the understanding of all mankind." Arjuna knows that the whole world, all of mankind, is listening to this deep and intimate conversation between him and Krishna. And by asking this question he is asking on behalf of all of us who are burning to know: "How shall I know You?"

How shall we know God, the one who is considered Achintya (inconceivable)? This seems impossible. 

Arjuna also knows, though, that "The common man who has no love for Kṛṣṇa cannot always think of Kṛṣṇa; therefore he has to think materially." True, love is transcendent and can cross barriers of time and space and open the heart and soul. But the fact is that most of us do not love God and we're not always thinking of Him in order to open our hearts and souls. Arjuna knows this. He  knows that  the common man is just  not in that space of pure love and devotion. 

We need to think materially. 

Let me see it to believe it. 

In this regard, Prabhupad emphasizes that Arjuna understands the materialist. He writes, "Because materialists cannot understand Kṛṣṇa spiritually, they are advised to concentrate the mind on physical things and try to see how Kṛṣṇa is manifested by physical representations." When I read this, first of all I felt a jolt of recognition - yes, I am that materialist! I cannot understand Krishna spiritually, as I am certainly not always thinking of  Him. Second of all, I felt a jolt of appreciation - thank you for giving me a way to see Krishna! I need to be able to experience Krishna with my eyes and hands and ears. I need to be able to marvel, to gasp, to absorb God through the senses of my body. 

I'm not a surrendered soul, but I hope that by appreciating God through His material splendor, I can become surrendered. 

Thank you, Arjuna, for speaking up for me and everyone else on this planet. Thank you for asking a question to your beloved Lord that will allow me to know Him. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/10/17/