The Gita & the Sight of God

In The Gita, which is after all a story within a story within a story -- much like a seed is within a fruit, within a tree … on and on... infinite in both directions -- Krishna or God, attempts to reveal his true Self to Arjuna three times. First Krishna describes himself with words, then he reveals himself through Sanjay’s, the story teller’s, sight, and ultimately Krishna reveals his cosmic form through Arjuna’s divine sight reflected back to Sanjaya, much like a crystal refracts light.

In chapter 7 of the Gita, Krishna tries to describe his true nature to Arjuna: “I am the taste in the water, the radiance of the moon and sun, the syllable AUM, the sound in the ether, the ability in all beings… the seed of all life” (7.8). Krishna attempts to give Arjuna the knowledge of the Divine through language and material world comparisons. “Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intelligence, ego -- these are my prakriti, or material energy. Beyond them is the life force…” (7.4-5) The material world is limited -- and thus a description rooted in material perception will be only a partial description.

In chapter 11, when Krishna reveals his cosmic form to Arjuna -- it is Sanjaya who gives the initial description. As though the light of such a revelation is too bright to be seen directly, like an eclipse, the revelation is refracted, or bent, and told alternately from Sanjya’s point of view. “Sanjya said, ‘O King Dhritarashstra… Arjuna saw unlimited mouths and eyes… everything wondrous and expanding without end” (11.9-11). Sanjaya too is limited by his human perception to explain fully what he is experiencing. So he uses a metaphor: “If a thousand suns were to rise at once, their brilliance might resemble the effulgence of that universal form” (11.12). The cosmic form is too overwhelming to explain literally, and thus Sanjaya romances the reader with figurative language. Also there is a literal eclipse: Krishna is the sun. Arjuna the moon. Sanjaya the viewer -- and the reader, represented by Dhritarashtra receives the tertiary description of the event -- because the average human is physically unable to perceive such a brilliant and luminous revelation, the sight of God. The essence of Krishna is tucked inside Arujuna, inside Sanjaya, inside Dhritarashsta, inside the reader… on and on… infinitely in both directions.

Finally, through the divine sight, Arjuna describes his own interpretation of Krishna’s cosmic form: “...there is no beginning or end to this. This form radiates a blinding light. I know now: You are the supreme object of all seeking. You are the eternal original person” (11/16-18). What Arjuna perceives is an intellectual and spiritual paradox: all things in one, one in all things.

Krishna gives Arjuna a second puzzle in chapter 12 when he instructs: “knowledge is better than practice, meditation is better than knowledge, and selfless action is better than meditation” (12.13). Let’s assume that practice refers to practicing dharma, or selfless action. The three instructions form a triangle. And that is Krishna. A source of light and love only able to be perceived as a fraction, or single side, of it’s true being.

Marshall McCluhan said, “the medium is the message.” Here the revelation and descriptions of Krishna seeded inside each character’s own personal story is the message. The title of the “The Bhagavad Gita” or the “Song of God” suggests that Dhritarashstra will not be the last one to hear this story. But that the tale, the description of Krishna (all things in one, one in all things), the sight of God, will be sung on and on… in both directions… infinitely.

Greene, Joshua. Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text. San Rafael: Mandala Publishing, 2008. Print.