Page 42 - THE FOURTH DIMENSION

If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence
of the Supreme Person in that universal form. (Bg 11.12)

At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated
in one place although divided into many, many thousands. (Bg 11.13)

The vision of the universal form which contains the entire universe caused wonder, amazement astonishment
and bewilderment. Arjuna became ecstatic, his hair stood on end, and he began to offer his homage and loving
appreciation of Lord Krishna.

tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ / tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
tvam avyayaḥ śāśvata-dharma-goptā / sanātanas tvaṁ puruṣo mato me

You are the supreme primal objective. You are the ultimate resting place of all this universe. You are
inexhaustible, and You are the oldest. You are the maintainer of the eternal religion, the Personality of Godhead.
This is my opinion.
(Bg 11.18)

Arjuna witnessed God (Krishna), asked Him important questions about the goal of life and how to attain it, and
he requested that Krishna manifest His inconceivable universal form so that future generations could have a
specific criterion by which to differentiate between would-be impersonators of God and the real Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.

Another crucial point that differentiates Lord Krishna from other demigods and all other persons is He is not
contaminated by the three modes (gunas) of material nature; goodness (sattva), passion (rajas), and ignorance
(tamas). These modes of nature condition living entities to stay in the material world life after life and suffer
birth, death, old age and disease throughout the entire universe from the hellish planets to the upper heavenly
planets.

Lord Krishna states:

ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā / rājasās tāmasāś ca ye
matta eveti tān viddhi / na tv ahaṁ teṣu te mayi

Know that all states of being – be they of goodness, passion or ignorance – are manifested by My energy. I am,
in one sense, everything, but I am independent. I am not under the modes of material nature, for they, on the
contrary, are within Me. (Bg 7.12)

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains

All material activities in the world are being conducted under the three modes of material nature. Although these
material modes of nature are emanations from the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, He is not subject to them. For instance,
under the state laws one may be punished, but the king, the lawmaker, is not subject to that law. Similarly, all
the modes of material nature – goodness, passion and ignorance – are emanations from the Supreme Lord,
Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is not subject to material nature. Therefore He is nirguṇa, which means that these guṇas, or
modes, although issuing from Him, do not affect Him. That is one of the special characteristics of Bhagavān, or
the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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