Bhagavad Gita 11.48

na veda-yajñādhyayanair na dānair

na ca kriyābhir na tapobhir ugraiḥ

evaṁ-rūpaḥ śakya ahaṁ nṛ-loke

draṣṭuṁ tvad-anyena kuru-pravīra

 

Not by study, gifts, or rite,

Not by harsh penance or might;

This form no mortal eye can see,

Save you alone who gaze on me.

 

My dear Lord, in revealing your universal form to Arjuna, you show him something unprecedented—beyond what others had seen and beyond what he himself expected to behold. This moment reveals the living, unfolding nature of knowing you—an experience that is both experiment and exploration.

O infallible Lord, coming to know you is often an experiment because it confirms what I already accept and appreciate about you. As I walk toward you, my experiences confirm the two dimensions of your divinity that I already know about: your greatness and your sweetness.

At the same time, O inconceivable Lord, the journey toward you is an exploration, because I often venture into uncharted territory. I encounter features and facets of your divinity I never knew existed. The purpose of such exploration is not confirmation but discovery. And at its highest, discovery feels like revelation.

O Lord of inexhaustible glories, you confirmed Arjuna’s knowledge of your all-pervading majesty by revealing your universal form. You also revealed yourself as all-devouring time, unveiling a facet of your divinity he had no idea about.

Bless me, O omnipotent Lord, to meet each moment with an open mind and heart, so that my desire for confirmation does not close me to discovery. May I welcome whatever you wish to teach me—whether the deepening of a known truth or the unveiling of an unknown reality.

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11.48  O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charity, nor by pious activities, nor by severe penances can I be seen in this form in the material world.