The Universal Form of Krsna.
Within the universal form of Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of ALL causes, one can see EVERYTHING in the universe, all at once, one can see all that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present (now) and all that WILL happen in the future.
One can easily understand the universal form by studying the Bhagavad Gita As It Is through the testimony of Arjuna and the devotees who Follow him.
Arjuna asked to see the universal form not for himself but for the benefit of others, who might doubt that Krsna is God.
Arjuna indeed accepted Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of ALL causes including the origional source of all Narayana and Visnu incarnations.
Earlier in the Gita Arjuna had already expressed his realization that Krsna is the Absolute Truth.
The Lord had described that he is all-pervading and can be seen in everything great and powerful in the material world.
Krsna says - “Of purifiers, I am the wind. Of flowing rivers I am the Ganges. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self.
Know that all beautiful, glorious and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”
Hearing of Krsna’s opulences, Arjuna declared - “You are the Supreme Brahman, the Ultimate.”
Arjuna had testified, moreover, that although some might think that his friendship with Krsna had swayed his opinion, such great sages as Narada, Devala Asita and Vyasa—and all the Vedic scriptures—confirm that Krsna is indeed the Supreme.
Nevertheless, so that his acceptance of Krsna as God would not be merely theoretical, Arjuna requested Krsna to reveal his visva-rupa or universal form.
Krsna therefore agreed to reveal this form to Arjuna, and He blessed Arjuna with the special vision he needed to see it.
Within the universal form of Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cause of ALL causes, one can see EVERYTHING in the universe, all at once.
In the universal form, one can see all that happened in the past, all that is happening in the present (now) and all that WILL happen in the future.
One can see all the demigods of the material creation, and all other living beings.
Bhagavad-gita graphically describes the revelation of the universal form -
“Arjuna saw in that universal form many unlimited mouths and unlimited eyes. It was all wondrous. The form was decorated with divine, dazzling ornaments and arrayed in many garbs, all was magnificent, all expanding, unlimited.
This was seen by Arjuna.
If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once in the sky, they might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form.” (Bg. 11.10-12)
While Krsna manifested His cosmic form, He nonetheless continued to exist in His form as a human being, sitting beside Arjuna.
Arjuna was Krsna’s friend, but upon seeing Krsna in the universal form, he was filled with awe and wonder.
Bewildered and astonished, his hairs standing on end, Arjuna began to pray with folded hands, offering obeisances to the Supreme Lord -
“O Lord of the universe, I see in Your universal body many, many forms—bellies, mouths, eyes—expanded without limit.
There is no end, there is no beginning, there is no middle to all this. Your form, adorned with various crowns, clubs and discs, is difficult to see because of its glaring effulgence, which is fiery and immeasurable like the sun.
You are the supreme primal objective. You are the best in all the universes, You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest.
You are the maintainer of religion, the eternal Personality of Godhead. You are spread throughout the sky and the planets and all space between.”
With innumerable faces, arms and legs, terrible teeth, and radiant colors spreading everywhere, the universal form bewildered the great warrior Arjuna.
“I cannot keep my balance,”
Arjuna said - “Seeing Your blazing deathlike faces, I am bewildered! All our soldiers and the soldiers of the enemy are rushing into Your mouths, their heads smashed by Your fearful teeth.
As the rivers flow into the sea, all these warriors enter Your blazing mouths and perish.
I see all people rushing with full speed into Your mouths as moths dash into a blazing fire. I see You devouring all people.”
In great fear, Arjuna told the Lord - “I do not know what Your mission is, and I desire to hear of it.”
Thereupon, the universal form of the Lord replied-
“Time I am, the destroyer of the worlds, and I have come to engage all people. With the exception of you, the Pandava brothers, all the soldiers on both sides will be slain.” (Bg. 11.32)
Those who have studied Bhagavad-gita know that it is a dialogue between Krsna and Arjuna in which Krsna, the Supreme Lord, tries to convince Arjuna, His friend and disciple, to fulfill his duty as a warrior by fighting against a demoniac army.
Throughout Bhagavad-gita, Krsna gives many arguments why Arjuna should fight, and He especially assures Arjuna that he and all the others in the battle are eternal spiritual souls who cannot actually be killed.
In His universal form, however, the Lord tells Arjuna that even if he refused to fight, the material bodies of all the warriors would nevertheless be destroyed, for that was the plan of the Lord.
If Arjuna refused to fight, they would die in another way; their death could not be checked. Thus Krsna explained to Arjuna the mission of the universal form.
Although Krsna is the Supreme Lord of the universe, He enjoys eternal personal relationships with His devotees such as Arjuna.
However, when Krsna appeared in His universal form. Arjuna was overwhelmed and begged Krsna to forgive him for all the personal familiarities of their friendship.
Arjuna said - “I have in the past addressed You as my friend, Krsna, without knowing Your glories. Please forgive whatever I may have done in madness or in love.
I dishonored You many times while we were relaxing, lying on the same bed or eating together, sometimes alone and sometimes among friends.
Please excuse me for all my offenses. You are the father of the complete cosmic manifestation, the worshipful chief, the spiritual master. No one is equal to You, nor can anyone be one with You.” (Bg. 11.41-43)
Thus although Arjuna, seeing his friend in the form of Time, was very much afraid, he could not forget that Krsna was his friend in a loving relationship.
According to ISKCON's founder Srila Prabhupada, the main reason Arjuna asked Krsna to show this form was to discredit imposters who might come later and claim to be God.
Many rascals boast that they are God or incarnations of God, but they should be challenged to show a form as wonderful as the visva-rupa, in which all the universes appear within Krsna’s body.
No one but the Supreme Lord Krsna Himself can display such a form.
Arjuna’s vision of the universal form was real; it was not a dream, for the Gita indicates that many other important personalities also beheld the universal form when the Lord revealed it to Arjuna.
Moreover, since five thousand years ago, when Bhagavad-gita was spoken, great philosophers and spiritual masters have confirmed the reality of Lord Krsna’s universal form.
Sometimes fraudulent so called gods bluff their followers by asserting that they can indeed show them the universal form.
One time a boy came to the Krsna consciousness center in New York and announced to the devotees that he was God.
When asked to show his universal form, he declared, “Yes, here it is,” and then he held up his arms so that everyone could behold his cosmic body.
But a display of mere insolence and a form of skin and bones—”Here it is. Can’t you see it?”—does not constitute a revelation of the universal form.
Nor can word jugglery, the powerful mind altering drug LSD, hypnotism or charisma induce a true vision of the universal form.
Only the Supreme Godhead can reveal that cosmic form, and as stated in the Gita only His pure devotees are qualified to see it.
Krsna's Universal Form
Some professors and scholars try to dismiss the universal form by saying that it is a poetic fantasy. Such an interpretation, however, is contrary to all the understanding of Vedic literature.
These professors and their students may take Bhagavad-gita to be fanciful, but the real philosophers, the spiritual masters who come in the disciplic line from Krsna and who have guided the course of Vedic philosophy for thousands of years, accept Bhagavad-gita as the Absolute Truth.
Mundane scholars do not know whether Krsna showed His universal form, but the acaryas (the spiritual masters who teach by the example of their lives) do know.
That the tiny minds of atheists cannot accept such a wonderful manifestation as the universal form does not disprove its existence.
The message of the Gita was spoken by Krsna, who showed the universal form, as clearly stated in the Gita itself.
We accept the Universal Form as it is, on the authority of Krsna, Srila Prabhupāda and the Vedic acaryas. Thus we need not consult foolish speculators for their opinions.
Since they try to interpret Bhagavad-gita in their own way, they cannot possibly understand the universal form as it is.
After seeing the form of the universe in the body of Krsna, Arjuna could not maintain his equilibrium.
Thus he begged Krsna not only to forgive him for his familiarity as a friend, but to relieve his mind by again showing him the form in which Arjuna knew Him as the Personality of Godhead.
Arjuna prayed - “After seeing this universal form, which I have never seen before, I am gladdened, but at the same time my mind is disturbed with fear.
Therefore, please bestow Your grace upon me and reveal again Your form as the Personality of Godhead.
O universal Lord, I wish to see You in Your four-armed form, with helmeted head and with club, wheel, conch and lotus flower in Your hands. I long to see You in that form.”
According to the Vedic scriptures, the Supreme Lord has innumerable forms and incarnations.
Among them, the four armed form of Visnu is often celebrated as the foremost, for He is the source of many other incarnations and is the ultimate controller of the material world.
Despite popular Western misconceptions, Visnu is not one of a hierarchy of Hindu deities like the gods and goddesses of the ancient Greeks.
No, according to the Vedic scriptures, God is one without a second, but He can appear in many different forms, just as a gem appears in different colors when viewed under different kinds of light.
Thus the Supreme Lord may appear as Krsna, as Visnu or as the universal form, but He is always the same Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Thus Krsna answered - “My dear Arjuna, happily have I shown you this universal form within the material world by My internal potency.
No one before you has ever seen this unlimited and glaringly effulgent form…. But your mind has been perturbed by seeing this horrible feature of Mine.
Now let it be finished. My devotee, be free from all disturbance. With a peaceful mind you can now see the form you desire.” (Bg. 11.47, 49)
Thus at the request of His friend Arjuna, Krsna stopped displaying the universal form and showed Arjuna His four-armed form as Visnu.
Then at last He showed him His two-armed form. This very much encouraged Arjuna.
Arjuna said - “Seeing this human like form, so very beautiful, my mind is now pacified, and I am restored to my original senses.”
Krsna’s changing from the universal form to the four-armed form and finally to the two-armed form is most significant, for this demonstrates that all other forms are coming from the original form of Krsna.
Many interpreters say that the universal form is the most important feature in Bhagavad-gita. Others stress the form of Visnu.
Actually, however, Visnu and the universal form are but aspects of Lord Krsna as we see Him in His two-armed form when He drives the chariot for Arjuna.
As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam: Krsna is the source of all other incarnations of Godhead.
In that humanlike form, He has such inconceivable potencies that He can expand into the whole universe.
Therefore that original form is His most worshipable and most important. Furthermore, Lord Krsna, in His two-armed form, is the reservoir of all loving relationships.
The Lord appears in various forms to create the material world and perform various pastimes, but in His original form as Krsna, the Lord fully reciprocates transcendental love with His devotees.
To say that the impersonal spirit or universal form is more exalted than Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, is a great disservice to the meaning of Bhagavad-gita.
Krsna’s humanlike form is His very Self, and there is no truth higher than Krsna.
As stated in the Brahma-samhita, isvarah paramah Krsnanah - "Krsna is the Supreme Lord, the supreme controller".
Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami - Krsna is the original form of Godhead.
Therefore devotees desire to see Krsna in His two armed form, which is the most confidential form of Godhead.
Srila Prabhupada has commented - “Those who deride Krsna, taking Him to be an ordinary person, must be ignorant of His divine nature. Krsna has actually shown His universal form and His four-armed form, so how can He be an ordinary human being?”
Most editions of Bhagavad-gita unfortunately give interpretations that misguide the reader, but an actual devotee is not confused because the original verses of Bhagavad-gita are as clear as the sun.
They do not require a lamplight from foolish commentators.
Although Krsna gave Arjuna special vision to see the gigantic visva-rupa, to see Krsna in His original form is even more difficult.
In the Gita, Lord Krsna, after returning to His original two-armed form, tells Arjuna -
“The form you are seeing now is very difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form, which is so dear.”
In His original two armed form in Goloka-Vrindavana and his Narayana 4 armed form in Vaikuntha, the Lord eternally reciprocates with His devotees with loving exchanges as their master, friend, child or lover.
The visva-rupa, however, is not an eternal form of Krsna, but a temporary manifestation to convince even a common man or women of the Lord’s almighty nature.
Srila Prabhupada has said - “Don’t try to love the visva-rupa, it is not possible.”
In the universal form, the Lord displays His opulence and power, but He does NOT reciprocate love with His devotees.
Srila Prabhupada therefore gives the example that if a boy’s father is a policeman, even the boy himself might become afraid and forget his love if his father appeared before him, revolver blazing, in the line of duty.
Similarly, Arjuna became fearful when he saw Krsna’s universal form. When Krsna returned to His pleasing two-armed form, however, Arjuna was fully satisfied.
Lord Krsna displayed His universal form to inspire all men and women to fix their minds upon Him and devote themselves to Him alone.
The universal form is meant to convince us that although Krsna may appear like an ordinary human being, He is indeed the all powerful Personality of Godhead.
Therefore Lord Krsna, not the visva-rupa, should be the object of our meditation and our love.
He is the original form of Godhead, the reservoir of all beauty, knowledge, wealth, strength, fame and renunciation.
Therefore when we revive our dormant love for Krsna, we also, like Arjuna, will find full spiritual satisfaction and reciprocation with Krsna as the individual contributing person we are eternally.
The Hare Krsna Maha Mantra is praying to God for help saying,
“O Krsna, O energy of Krsna, please engage me in Your devotional service.”
Therefore the Hare Krsna Maha-mantra can help everyone by going to every City, Town and Village of the entire globe.
Maha means “great” and mantra means “sacred chant for deliverance.”
Of all mantras in the Vedas, one is called the Maha-mantra, or great mantra and is-
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
The words “Hare” (pronounced ha-ray), “Krsna” (pronounced krish-na), and “Rama” (rhymes with “drama”), are Sanskrit words.
“Hare” is an address to God’s energy, known as Radha, and “Krsna” is name of God meaning “He who is attractive to everyone.” “Rama” means “one who gives pleasure and enjoys life.”
harinama harinama harinama eva kevalam
kalau nastyeva nastyeva nastyeva gatir anyatha
‘'In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.’'
Spiritual life is like learning to walk no matter how many times you fall down, you must always get up again and again and keep trying until you succeed.
Actually for many of us this may take many births but best to finish all this material selfish activity up in this life under the very rare guidance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
When we chant the Maha-mantra, it is a petition to God-
“O Krsna, O energy of Krsna, please engage me in Your devotional service.”
Years ago in the 1960s and early 1970s, we chanted 7 hours a day 5 days a week.
These days in the 2020s the same street chanting can continuously happen with devotees doing it in shifts, that can keep going all day.
If taken seriously and acted in every City, Town and Village on the Planet, then this chanting of Hare Krsna will save the world.
In the early days of the Australian ISKCON's Sankirtan Movement 50 years ago in 1972, we chanted 7 hours a day lead by Madhudvisa Swami and Upananda dasa now Avadhoot Maharaj.
It worked perfectly for 4 years, than we went from chanting 7 hours a day to mass book distribution 10 to 12 hours day and chanting ad well but not as long as before.
Today's goal is to chant Hare Krsna all day for 7 hours on the streets with different shifts of devotees, some can put in an hour, some two hours, some even 7 hours, and distribute Prabhupada's Books simultaneously.
So in this way one can gradually increase their Sankirtan service over time.
The point is the Yuga Dharma of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Kali-yuga is to see street Sankirtan in every Town, Village and City on the globe.
As a reminder to all, Spiritual life is like learning to walk, therefore no matter how many times you stumble on the Spiritual path or fall over, you must always get up and keep trying again and again if necessary.
If one is critical of another aspiring devotee who is trying their hardest to overcome past mistaken actions and fast downs, and are always spreading rumours and gossip of how fallen he or she is, then such hate is NOT good.
This is because it can lead to the fault finders taking birth in their next life in the exact same fallen situation of those they angrily criticising!
Karma unfolds like this in ways we least expect.
The conclusion is we should never ever give up trying to be Krsna Conscious no matter what we have done in this life or a past life, no matter how sinful we may have been.
All of us live in glasshouses in this material world, we are all here because of our past sins, no one is innocent in the material world.
As Srila Prabhupada says-
"Even gold covered with stool is still gold once you remove the covering of stool".
Similarly, when the jiva-soul is freed by its material covering, then one can experience the full potential of their Spiritual uncontaminated position.
Therefore good advice from the most sinful and fallen is still good advice.
The special mercy of deliverance by Sankirtan in this rare Kali-yuga, has to include all living beings, the pious and sinful, otherwise there is no meaning to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Prabhupada's claim they have come to save the most fallen.
The fact is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu only comes "once" out of every 1000 Kali-yugas, or once every 8 billion 640 million years!
That is once in a day of Brahma to to one Kali-yuga to deliver and SAVE "the most fallen.**
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