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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 11.4
मन्यसे यदि तच्छक्यं मया द्रष्टुमिति प्रभो ।
योगेश्वर ततो मे त्वं दर्शयात्मानमव्ययम् ॥ ४ ॥
manyase yadi tac chakyaṁ
mayā draṣṭum iti prabho
yogeśvara tato me tvaṁ
darśayātmānam avyayam
If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that unlimited universal Self.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystic power, to show His unlimited cosmic form if He thinks Arjuna can see it.
Prabhupāda explains that material senses and speculation cannot reveal Kṛṣṇa. He reveals Himself by His grace to those engaged in loving devotional service.
Follow Arjuna’s humility: admit your limitations, surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and serve Him rather than demand to see Him.
Arjuna pleads and does not order — Arjuna requests to see Krishna in His form pervading the entire universe (Unlimited Universal-self), only if , Arjuna is ‘qualified’ to see such a form and thus Arjuna is not ordering Krishna
Qualification to see the Lord
Only by revelation by the mercy of the Lord – Therefore Arjuna requests and pleads and not orders
Not possible by “mental speculation” or “perception by material senses”
Because living entity as infinitesimal spiritual spark ,cannot know unlimited infinite
Arjuna admits his limitations as a living entity and acknowledges Krishna’s inestimable position
Lord is addressed as ‘Yogesvara’ –
To point out His inconceivable potencies by which the infinite can reveal to the finite
Krishna is not obliged to reveal Himself until one ‘fully surrenders’ in Krishna consciousness and engages in transcendental loving service
His universal form
Arjuna requests Krishna to show him the all-pervading, universal form
Krishna first describes His universal form and then bestows upon Arjuna the vision necessary to see it
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 11.4 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?
Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.