49: Seeing Through Arjuna's Eyes

CHAPTER 11, TEXT 8: But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes. Behold My mystic opulence!

In the previous chapter, entitled "Opulence of the Absolute", Krishna shares ways that the common man can identify sparks of God's glory. We can see these sparks of splendor in the mundane world, such as dazzling rainbows and the immovable Himalayas and blazing sunsets. We can behold these wonders with our own mundane eyes - eyes that need glasses, eyes that can't see very well once it gets a little dark, eyes that - if we just close our eyelids - are blind. 

Still, even with these limited, faulty eyes, we can see God. 

Well, kinda. 

Sorta. 

To really SEE God in all of His unlimited glory with these mundane eyes is simply not possible. 

Still, Arjuna is requesting Krisna to "kindly show [him] that unlimited universal Self" (11.4). Arjuna wants to behold Krishna's cosmic form - not because  he has any personal motivation or he wants to be indulged in his fascination. He is actually asking to see Krishna's form on behalf of all of  us, for if Krishna shows His unlimited universal Self, then He is shown to be God, not just some mundane human (11.3, purport). 

Krishna is preparing Arjuna here in Verse 8 that his friend cannot see that universal Self with ordinary eyes - so He gives Arjuna divine eyes (divya-chakshu). By telling Arjuna that he cannot view that universal Self with ordinary eyes, he is also telling all of us that neither can we. 

But through the Bhagavad-gita, we will soon be treated to the most wondrous, jaw-dropping descriptions of God in His cosmic form, his unlimited universal Self. For millennia, people have encountered God in his universal form (virat-rupa) through this medium of the Bhagavad-gita. Although we also cannot see this form with our mundane eyes we are captivated and thrilled to experience God in his unlimited, universal form vicariously through Arjuna. 

Ultimately though, what truly captivates and thrills the mind and the heart is a loving relationship. Prabhupad writes, "A pure devotee does not like to see Kṛṣṇa in any form except His form with two hands." Arjuna was a pure devotee - he is requesting to see this universal form not for himself but for the whole world and for millennia to come. 

Ultimately, those divine eyes to see the universal form are a gift given by Krishna. Krishna bestows that gift upon a friend, and a friend who does not simply want to gawk at God's power. Krishna knows Arjuna's heart, and "The Lord gave Arjuna the necessary power to see His universal form because He knew that Arjuna did not particularly want to see it." Prabhupad writes here that Arjuna did not "particularly want to see" Krishna's universal form, and yet he is asking to see it, even pleading with Krishna. 

In truth, Arjuna is satisfied with Krishna being his friend and being in His "form with two hands." That is the form in which Arjuna can exchange a loving friendship with Krishna. He is satisfied - thus, he doesn't "particularly want to see" this mind-blowing, jaw-dropping universal form. He doesn't need to see it. 

But we do. 

For all the haters and doubters out there, this virat-rupa's for you. 

Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/11/8/