Gita Series – 113: Bhagavad Gita Chapter X. Verse 12 – 18

Arjuna opens his mind to Krishna: “You are the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier and the sages address You as the eternal divine Purusha, Self-originated and Omnipresent. The celestial sages like Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasa also speak of You as the Brahman. You too proclaim the same. I believe as true, all that You say. Neither gods nor demons are capable of understanding Your glorious bodily forms. O, the Creator and Ruler of all the beings, gods and goddesses, the Lord of the universe, You alone know Yourself. You alone can describe Your divine glories that pervade the entire universe. O, Master of Yoga, through which process can I always stand eternally connected with You and through which of Your forms can I meditate on You? Krishna, please explain once again, Your yogic powers and eternal glory, as I do not derive satisfaction if I do not listen to your sweet words.”

Arjuna always remained as the best student of Krishna. Arjuna wanted Krishna to recapitulate what He had said earlier. If Arjuna was not attentive to Krishna’s sermons, he would not have mentioned the attributes of Krishna, as explained by Him earlier. Being a devout student of Krishna, Arjuna merely wanted to impregnate his knowledge with absolute clarity. He did not even want an iota of doubt about the Brahman. Arjuna is a totally blessed personality, as he seeks clarification from the Brahman Himself. Arjuna never wanted to take liberties with Krishna, though he is so close to Him. Arjuna is the warrior and Krishna is his Charioteer. The Charioteer form of Krishna is a typical example to show that the Lord can go to any extent to help His devotees who have surrendered unto Him.

When Arjuna refers to the four celestial sages, he means to say that highly evolved souls like the celestial sages refer to Krishna as the Supreme Brahman. By saying so, Arjuna emphasises that Krishna is the Brahman incarnate. So Arjuna takes this opportunity to get the maximum out the Brahman. Further, nobody can explain about the Brahman better than Krishna, the Brahman incarnate. As a true student, Arjuna believes in whatever Krishna says. Faith in one’s guru is the basic requirement in a guru-disciple relationship. If a student does not believe in his master’s teachings, the master will become aware of his disciple’s thoughts. A true master always puts his students to several tests. Only after the successful pass out of his disciples, the real guru-disciple relationship begins. Even today, true masters strictly follow this method. They are more concerned with quality of their students rather than the number of students. Krishna chooses only Arjuna to unravel His true nature, as Arjuna alone shines amongst His students. The reality about the Brahman cannot be told to everyone, as this is the ultimate in spiritual teachings. The quality and ability of the student is the only criteria to impart the ultimate knowledge. Arjuna proves himself as a sincere student by appealing to Krishna to recap what He had preached earlier. In order to make his master understand that he is not requesting for a recap because, he was inattentive earlier. Arjuna carefully chooses Krishna’s own words to address Him, to convey to Him that He was attentive all the time and all he needed this recap only to ensure that he has not missed out any of His teachings in the noisy condition of the battle field.

Arjuna ends his question by showering praise on the Lord, though he knows Krishna will not succumb to praises. But still Arjuna chooses to pay his obeisance to Krishna, not only as his spiritual master but also as the Eternal Lord of the universe. Arjuna also conveys to the Lord that he got used to His teachings and he cannot move forward without listening to Him. This also goes to prove that Arjuna has not yet transformed thoroughly, as he still nurtures traces of addiction.

Further Readings:

Bhagavad Gita Chapter X. 19 - 22

Bhagavad Gita Chapter X. 23 - 26

Bhagavad Gita Chapter X. 10 - 11