अवजानन्ति मां मूढा मानुषीं तनुमाश्रितम् |
परं भावमजानन्तो मम भूतमहेश्वरम् || 11||
avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣhīṁ tanum āśhritam
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśhvaram
avajānanti—disregard; mām—Me; mūḍhāḥ—dim-witted; mānuṣhīm—human; tanum—form; āśhritam—take on; param—divine; bhāvam—personality; ajānantaḥ—not knowing; mama—My; bhūta—all beings; mahā-īśhvaram—the Supreme Lord
Translation:
Fools disregard Me when I assume a human form; for they are unaware of My higher nature as the Supreme Lord of all beings.
Commentary:
Paramatma is the controller of all beings. He is the Lord, Isvara. He has already declared that, though he has no birth, he appears to be born in the world for the purpose of establishing Dharma and protecting the righteous. When he assumes the human form, the deluded disregard Him as no more than other mortals. There are some people proud of their position and wealth, ill-treating and abusing saints and sadhus. As the saints and sadhus are devoid of worldly goods like wealth and position, some people show no respect for them. The Bhakta and Bhagavan are one. The Lord is present in His devotees and they have to be honoured as such. Sisupala and Duryodhana never understood the Divine nature of Lord Krishna. It was only Bhishma and a few others who recognised the Divinity of Krishna.
Those who are engaged in spritual practice should be careful about the wrong view and opinions expressed by the common people. Honour and dishonour come to them, honour from the wise and dishonour from the unwise. In such situations, the seeker has to be firm and steady, and not yield to the common reactions of elation and anger. Let the seeker avoid the company of those who deny God, and abuse sages and saints. By his own elevated thoughts and actions, he should set an example of purity and godliness to others.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
God understands human failings and becomes man to do good to humanity: “Whenever virtue subsides and wickedness prevails, I manifest Myself. To establish virtue, to destroy evil, to save the good I come from yuga (age) to yuga.” “Fools deride Me who have assumed the human form, without knowing My real nature as the Lord of the universe.” Such is Shri Krishna’s declaration in the Gita on Incarnation. “When a huge tidal wave comes,” says Bhagavan Shri Ramakrishna, “all the little brooks and ditches become full to the brim without any effort or consciousness on their own part; so when an Incarnation comes, a tidal wave of spirituality breaks upon the world, and people feel spirituality almost full in the air.”[Source]
He also says, “Fools, not knowing that I, the Omnipotent and Omnipresent God of the universe, have taken this human form, deride Me and think that cannot be.” Their minds have been clouded with demoniacal ignorance, so they cannot see in Him the Lord of the universe. These great Incarnations of God are to be worshipped. Not only so, they alone can be worshipped; and on the days of their birth, and on the days when they went out of this world, we ought to pay more particular reverence to them. In worshipping Christ I would rather worship Him just as He desires; on the day of His birth I would rather worship him by fasting than by feasting — by praying. When these are thought of, these great ones, they manifest themselves in our souls, and they make us like unto them. Our whole nature changes, and we become like them.[Source]
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
“It is very difficult to understand that God can be a finite human being and at the same time the all-pervading Soul of the universe. The Absolute and the Relative are His two aspects. How can we say emphatically with our small intelligence that God cannot assume a human form? Can we ever understand all these ideas with our little intellect? Can a one-seer pot hold four seers of milk?
(Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—
“Ordinary people do not recognize the advent of an Incarnation of God. He comes in secret. Only a few of His intimate disciples can recognize Him. That Rama was both Brahman Absolute and a perfect Incarnation of God in human form was known only to twelve rishis. The other sages said to Him, ‘Rama, we know You only as Dasaratha’s son.’
“Can everyone comprehend Brahman, the Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute? He alone has attained perfect love of God who, having reached the Absolute, keeps himself in the realm of the Relative in order to enjoy the divine lila. A man can describe the ways and activities of the Queen (Queen Victoria.) if he has previously visited her in England. Only then will his description of the Queen be correct. Sages like Bharadvaja adored Rama and said: ‘O Rama, You are nothing but the Indivisible Satchidananda. You have appeared before us as a human being, but You look like a man because You have shrouded Yourself with Your own maya.’ These rishis were great devotees of Rama and had supreme love for God.”
(Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Question: What is the state of Paramatma?
Answer: He is the (1) controller of all human beings and (2) assumes human form for establishing Dharma.
Question: What is the nature of the ignorant?
Answer: They disregard the Lord, thinking Him to be only a common mortal.
Question: From this, what is it that we understand?
Answer: One should try to understand the true state of God and avoid abuse of saints, Bhaktas, and other Godly men.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9 🔻 (34 Verses)
