In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Sage Maarkandeya’s accord on Bhagawan Krishna’s significance and advises Yudishtra to make use of this golden opportunity to take His guidance on everything that is going to happen in the future. In the meanwhile, Sage Maarkandeya has explained his divine vision of Bhagawan Baala-Mukunda (Child form of Bhagawan Krishna) and asserts that it is this same Bhagawan Baala-Mukunda who is sitting amidst all of them in the form of Bhagawan Krishna. As Sage Maarkandeya reveals thus, Yudishtra also has a slight desire to witness Bhagawan Krishna’s real form, however, Bhagawan Krishna unleashes His divine “Yoga Maya” upon all of them to drown them in the world of illusion. This makes Yudishtra and Co. come back to the ground level once again that Bhagawan Krishna is just another ordinary human being in this world.
We might wonder why Bhagawan Krishna did this – Why can’t Bhagawan Krishna reveal His original form of Bhagawan Vishnu in front of Yudishtra and Co. and give them His divine “Anugraha”? We’ve witnessed this answer yesterday also, and we shall continue witnessing this answer today also. We’ve seen one angle of this answer yesterday wherein if Bhagawan Krishna would have revealed His true identity then and there, the Kurukshetra war would not have taken place at all! Yudishtra and Co., for the enormous amount of “Dharma” that they’ve done, might have attained “Moksha” then and there! If Yudishtra and Arjuna attain “Moksha”, then who would fight the war against Duryodhana and the others? How will “Dharma” be established in this world? Hence, at that point in time, granting “Moksha” to Yudishtra is not Bhagawan Krishna’s priority. Establishing “Dharma” in this world with the help of Yudishtra is of paramount importance for Him! Hence, Bhagawan Krishna was very clear with His priorities of incarnation and He stuck to them meticulously.
Another way in which we can analyze this context is that, if Sage Maarkandeya had the divine vision of Bhagawan Baala-Mukunda, the state of affairs in which Sage Maarkandeya was, is grossly different from the state of affairs in which Yudishtra and Co. are. Sage Maarkandeya is a seasoned Brahmana Rishi and is an embodiment of immense “Tapas”. If Bhagawan reveals His true identity, Sage Maarkandeya with his enormous power of penance, can take it. He will be able to absorb the enormous radiance that generates from Bhagawan’s real identity into him without any problem. However, in the case of Yudishtra and the others, they are normal human beings and Bhagawan’s intense radiance might make them collapse and fall on the ground. We’ve to understand one simple thing here – Normal living beings cannot stand in front of Bhagawan’s true form. We do not have the strength and capability to witness it. This is the same reason why Bhagawan Krishna gifted Arjuna with a pair of divine eyes to see His true form during the Bhagawad Gita narration. This is the same reason why only Vidura and Bhishmachaarya were the only two people who were able to see Bhagawan Krishna’s true form when He had come to Hastinapura as the “Paandava-Thoodha” (Messenger to broker peace between the two camps) and when Duryodhana insulted Him.
Thus, the point here is very simple – If Bhagawan has to reveal His true identity and form to us, we should be prepared to be able to see it, which most of us do not have. Only Mahatmas and Brahmarishis like Sage Maarkandeya and the others can have such divine visions while being in a human form. Hence, we’ve to understand here that even though Sage Maarkandeya reveals his divine vision and the true identity of Bhagawan Krishna to the Paandavas, Bhagawan Krishna smartly refrains from showing His true identity to them. However, that does not mean that Bhagawan is faking Himself. His divine “Anugraha” is always there with the Paandava brothers and we’re witnessing it in every action that Yudishtra performs. So for today, let us understand this point once again clearly and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further. Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 