Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 5 (BG 11.5) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

If gold is the essential substance underlying all ornaments, then every ornament in the world should be recognizable as gold in its totality. It is relatively simple to perceive gold in an ornament, for this is perception through the senses—it is accessible to sensory perception. However, to perceive all ornaments of countless forms, shapes, and colors as gold in their totality is far more difficult, for this requires perception through the intellect—it is a perception that must be grasped by the discriminating mind. With this understanding, when we read the Lord's words, His intention becomes self-evident. "Behold My hundreds and thousands of divine forms of infinite variety, shapes, and colors." Sri Krishna had no need to transform Himself into a cosmic form, for Arjuna's task was simply to perceive the form that stood before him. Yet, unfortunately, Arjuna lacked the proper instrument of perception suited to behold such a form, and therefore he could not see all that already existed within Sri Krishna. When observing a distant star or other celestial object, a telescope is employed. Yet merely having the telescope pointed in that direction does not reveal the object. The telescope must be adjusted and aligned so that the object comes into the observer's line of sight. Similarly, Sri Krishna did not transform Himself into a cosmic form; rather, He assisted Arjun in making an inner adjustment so that he could behold the universal form that existed within Sri Krishna. This is why the Lord says: "Behold." In this verse, He enumerates those forms worthy of beholding. The divine forms are described in the next verse.