THE PRACTICAL DIVINE KNOWLEDGE
Arjun asked, ‘O Madhav! I have considered you as my friend and mentor. But I have still doubts about accepting what you have claimed. How I can accept you as God almighty and put my faith in you? I want you to reveal it to me?’ Krishna replied with a smile, ‘O Parth! How can you know my reality since you are yourself repository of powers, prosperity, splendour and noble qualities?
To enable you to know my truth I will give you the divine insight after which there will nothing more left for you to know. The rarity of this insight can be guessed from the fact, O Parth, that thousands tread on this path and yet a rare one keeps going. Only the rarest of those rare ones gain the truth about me. Mostly my faithfuls know only one face or dimension of mine. They don’t know my holistic form.’
PARA & NON-PARA FORCES
Krishna revealed to Arjun his holistic form in the following way, ‘O Dhananjaya! Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, wisdom and ego are the eight dimensions of my physical aspect at non-para level. Arjun! Besides these there is my para-aspect that is with the creatures who use the physical natural resources. You can call it ‘Life force’. The man thinks that he exploits the natural resources, properties or physical powers. It is not true. It is my para-aspect that does the exploiting.
The natural physical powers are perishable whereas my para-power is immortal and ever conscious. The body dies but the soul does not. All the creatures and physical powers are controlled by me. It is my physical achievement, such thought gives birth to ego. As this maya illusion is lifted, the creature is redeemed. So, O Parth! Whatever is there physical or spiritual in this world, consider Me the causer and destroyer of them all. No truth is greater than Me. Just as pearls become a necklace when put into a string, similarly I thread all creatures, living beings and non-living things. All are dependent on Me.’
OMKAR FORM
Seeing Arjun baffled and doubtful Krishna said, ‘O son of Kunti! I am the taste of water, the light of sun and moon, Omkar hum of vedic mantras, sound of sky and the capabilities of humans. I am the earth’s fragrance, the heat of fire, life of all creatures and the penance of ascetics. O Parth, I am the original seed of all life forms, the wisdom of the learned ones and the power of the mighty ones. And I am the acts of righteousness. O Parth! Understand it well that I am the property of all the qualities bright, grey or dark. I am not under the power of natural tendencies but they are under me.
Arjun, those who are religious and pious devotees they are the best. They are dear to Me and I am their dearest. Those who are ignorant they don’t know my immortal and sublime nature. O Bharat! All the creatures suffer from metempsychosis due to ill effects of desires and hatreds. But those who know this basic truth they get rid of attachments and then they attain union with Me.’
