The Philosophy of the Bhagavadgita : 14.3 - Swami Krishnananda.

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Thursday, December 02, 2021. 8:00. PM.
The Philosophy of the Bhagavadgita-14-3.
Chapter-14. The Glory and Majesty of the Almighty-3.

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God is Supreme Majesty, indescribable glory, unimaginable bliss and joy, by the very thought of which we would run into a state of rapture and ecstasy. Anything which stirs the soul from within can be regarded as a manifestation of God. There are things even in this world which stimulate our souls, whereby our entire being seems to well up into action, and we do not then merely think as intellectuals or feel as minds; we are transported above ourselves, we are thrown overboard and freed from the limitations of body and mind. Very rarely do we have such experiences. In utter agony and utter joy we have satisfactions of this type, which go beyond the body-mind limitations. When God touches us, we cease to be human beings and we do not think as intellects or minds at that time. And it is impossible to describe in language what would be that state when we are magnetised by the glory of God. We melt away into nothing, we cease to be, as if we are possessed by a supernal beatitude.


For those who have not passed through such experiences, these raptures are only words without sense. They might convey some grammatical dictionary meaning, but the spirit of it is lost when the soul is not active, and God is present only when the soul is awake, for God is the Soul of the universe. And when the Soul speaks, it is God summoning. Such glories are visible even in this world. In mighty incarnations, sages, saints and seers, and in the various natural phenomena, anything that stuns us, transports us, strikes us with wonder, as a miracle, and attracts us wholly, from which we cannot turn our eyes away, that which absorbs us entirely—such a thing is a ray of God's manifestation.


When we hear all these things, we do not know what to say and what to think in our minds. We stand stupefied at this glory and mystery behind creation; stupefaction is the only word, nothing else can describe our condition. Our minds cease to think, and our feelings do not any more operate. We do not know at that time whether we are alive or dead, whether we are or whether we are not. Such a condition we get into when we are prepared for God's vision. These descriptions of divine glory, which are delineated in the Ninth and Tenth Chapters, excite the curiosity in the deepest spirit of Arjuna's aspiration, and leave him wondering if he could have a vision of these glories. Here commences the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavadgita.


“What do you mean by this grandeur that transports us in this manner? Who is this Almighty, and how could we have a realisation, an experience of this Divine Glory?” The great Teacher is standing there; Krishna is before Arjuna; and the disciple implores the great Master, “Is it possible for a person like me to have a vision of this Glory, a direct experience of that which you have been describing up to this time as the be-all and end-all of all things?” Surrendering himself wholly to the great Incarnation, the disciple speaks, “If you consider me fit enough to have a vision of this Glory, may I be endowed with this blessedness. Deign to shower this Grace upon me.”


It is in the Eleventh Chapter that the poet of the Bhagavadgita bursts forth into expressions which try to convey in a highly enrapturing language the phenomenon which revealed Itself before the seeking soul, Arjuna. Words have to be employed as vehicles in the description of this Glory because we have no other instruments available in the world. All explanation is through words. So, even the highest poetic genius has to employ images which belong to the world of perceptions.


To be continued ...




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