Introduction
As Arjuna is in the same consciousness as the Lord, this verse should actually start with 'Bhagavan uvāca' meaning 'the Lord said!' These statements are said to come from Him for us to record. These are beautiful ways that he describes the form. You may wonder why he does so. Please understand, he does so to inspire us to work to achieve this form and this experience, to move in this path. Arjuna is showing us the way.
He says, 'O Lord! I can see all the gods and deities in Your body. I can see the special union of living entities. I can see Brahma seated on the lotus flower. I can see all the sages and divine serpents. O Lord of the universe, I see many arms, stomachs, faces, eyes, and your limitless form. O universal form, I cannot see your beginning, middle, or end.'
As a matter of fact, when you begin to see 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, there really is no beginning, middle, or end to see.
It is a continuum. It is like seeing one of these special movies on a circular screen. Where would you describe the beginning to be, the end to be, or the middle to be? It is an infinite circle. The Divine is an infinite circle, with no beginning, no end, and therefore no middle. Without a beginning and an end, to talk about the middle makes no sense.
Part of what Arjuna sees here is the traditional representation of Lord Visnu. Visnu is always depicted with His weapons of mace and discus, the gada and cakra, and wearing the jewel-studded crown. Visnu is also depicted as resting on the ocean of milk, upon the giant serpent Adiseśa, with Brahma rising from Visnu's navel upon a lotus flower.
Some of what he sees is formless energy. He perceives radiance more powerful than a thousand suns, blazing and dazzling, impossible to look at even with his newly endowed divine eye. What Arjuna sees is beyond any sensory perception, something that could be experienced in that moment in time, impossible to express.
To be able to understand the unlimited attributes of the divine cosmic form of Sri Visnu. GOALS: