Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 8 (BG 11.8) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

11.8 न not? तु but? माम् Me? शक्यसे (thou) canst? द्रष्टुम् to see? अनेन with this? एव even? स्वचक्षुषा with own eyes? दिव्यम् divine? ददामि (I) give? ते (to) thee? चक्षुः the eye? पश्य behold? मे My? योगम् Yoga? ऐश्वरम् lordly.Commentary No fleshly eyes can behold Me in My Cosmic Form. One can see It through the divine eye or the eye of intuition. It should not be confused with seeing through the eye or the mind. It is an inner experience.Lord Krishna says to Arjuna I give thee the divine eye? by which you will be able to behold My sovereign form. By it see My marvellous power of Yoga.Anena With this the fleshly eye or the physical eye? the earthly eye. (Cf.VII.25IX.5X.7)

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Modern

We have already explained that it is relatively simple to perceive the essential principle within the various objects formed from it. However, to perceive the many within a single principle requires a subtle intellect equipped with proper philosophical knowledge. To merely read a poem, one needs only knowledge of the alphabet; but to understand its subtle beauty and to make a comparative study of it with other poems of similar merit, one requires a refined mind that has immersed itself in the joy of savoring the greatest literary creations. Similarly, to perceive the one within the many is the work of a heart filled with devotion; but to experience the many within the one, beyond the heart, one requires such an educated intellect as has acquired the capacity to comprehend the reasonings of philosophers. Only when the capacity for knowing and experiencing develops does an educated intellect gain the extraordinary ability to perceive the exceptional. Stating a universally recognized fact, the Blessed Lord says: You cannot see Me with these eyes of yours alone. I grant you divine vision. There are many commentators and interpreters who attempt to describe this divine vision through numerous fanciful imaginations and impossible theories. This suggests that these interpreters have not studied the style of Hindu scriptures—the Upanishads—thoroughly. In all the Upanishads, it is repeatedly emphasized, both directly and indirectly, that human beings cannot perceive subtle objects through their sense organs. The senses can only grasp the gross objects of the external world. In ordinary discourse, when we say "see this idea," this seeing is not done with these two eyes. There, seeing means intellectual comprehension; and the intellectual capacity to grasp such subtle subjects is called divine vision. This divine vision is granted to Arjuna to behold the Lord's divine yoga. Through this yoga, the entire universe is held in the form of the Lord. Even before this, this yogic power has been mentioned in nearly similar words at two different places. Now the scene changes. Sanjaya, seated in the royal palace of Hastinapura, speaks to Dhritarashtra.