Hari om everyone,
We started class with meditation and Geeta chanting (Chapter 4).
The Kyun Kyun (QQ - Quirky Question) of the day was - Anything that goes up has to come down. But what is it that can only go up but never come down?
One of them said, Knowledge...
Well..., but we can forget what we have learned. One may get Alzheimer's and forget everything also..., so, no! That isn't the answer...
Another student was on the right track - Age!
Yes! It can only go up and never come down :). Why did we bring this up? Time/age, once passed is never coming back. So, we should be prudent in using our time well and making the best of it, especially as students!!
We continued understanding the God principle as per the Geeta. Krishna had said that he is the substratum of everything! What did He mean by that? He gave various examples Himself. He said, 'He is the sapidity in water; He is the light and heat in the fire; He is the devotion in the devoted; He is Arjuna among warriors; etc.'
So, essentially, God did not 'enter' into these things at a specific point in time. He is in and through all the objects, ALL the time. Can we say when the fire 'became' hot? Can we figure out when water 'became' wet? No! Any water, anywhere, is wet. Any fire, in any era, is hot.
When we say He is the Ordainer, we need His presence in and through for anything to function. In His absence, nothing can work!
Arjuna wanted to see this form of the Lord that he was hearing the description of. So, he requested Krishna to show him His Vishwaroopam. Just as we need a telescope to see objects at a distance and a microscope to see minute objects, to see this divine form of the Lord, divine vision is essential. Ordinary eyes cannot see it. So, the Lord gave him divya-dRuShTi (divine vision) to see this rare form of His. Since Sanjaya was already bestowed divine vision to see the battlefield, he was able to see this blessed form of the Lord as well. Hanuman who was on Arjuna's chariot flag could see it as well.
Arjuna described the beauty of the Lord's Vishwaroopa in many verses. Then he got scared also. He saw the gory aspect of deluge in that form as well. He prostrated and apologized to Krishna for any pranks or mistakes he could have made in ignorance.
We discussed how Arjuna apologized for calling Krishna as - Hey Krishna (black one), Hey Yaadava (cow-herder).
At this time, the students were appalled that someone would call another person, 'you black one'! So we discussed how it was not like today where it is a racial slur! Political correctness wasn't the same as today. In fact, we have friends with names like Krishna (black); Swetha (white); Neel (blue); Harita (green); etc. The other meaning for the word Krishna is also 'one who attracts'.
So, Arjuna was apologizing for pranking Krishna or offending Him inadvertently in the past. (Krishna wasn't offended by anything though). Then he requested Krishna to come back to his 4 armed form. Krishna did so.
Then devotion to the Lord was discussed.
Arjuna asked - is worshiping 'manifest form' better or 'unmanifest form'?
Krishna doesn't give a precise answer. He listed out the pros and cons of both paths and said, 'to each his own.' One can select either path based on his preference.
Either way, one has to have 33 virtues like - kindness, humility, simplicity, cleanliness, honesty, etc. We will discuss these differently again when we get to later chapters.
We ended the class with our 'Unique Statement Review' from the students.
In line with our Quirky Question of the day, here's a thought to mull over...
See you next week.
Regards,
Rashmi and Sirisha.
Rashmi and Sirisha.
