The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

╭ chapter eleven
Patanjali in his classic work, the Yoga Sutras, to describe the
final stage in meditation, in which the mind is completely
concentrated and a superconscious mode of knowing comes
into play. Patanjali speaks of many different kinds of samadhi,
but for practical purposes we may speak of two: savikalpa and
nirvikalpa . Arjuna’s vision begins with savikalpa samadhi, in
which he sees God in a personal manifestation. Then, as he
passes into nirvikalpa samadhi, Arjuna sees all forms disappearing
into God, until only a supernatural fire consuming
the entire phenomenal world is left.
This supreme vision dazzles Arjuna with the blinding
splendor of a thousand suns. Mystics have often described
their experiences in terms of light. In an ancient prayer of the
Veda, the poet asks for divine wisdom to dawn in his heart
just as the sun rises in the sky. And in the West we have countless
testimonies like that of St. Teresa of Avila:
When the soul looks upon this Divine Sun, the brightness
dazzles it. . . . And very often it remains completely blind,
absorbed, amazed, and dazzled by all the wonders it sees.
As this vision begins to unfold, Arjuna sees the whole
world in the body of Krishna and he begins a hymn of praise.
He sees Krishna as Vishnu with his traditional weapons, the
mace and the discus, and wearing a crown.
As the vision becomes more intense, Arjuna begins to feel
afraid. He sees the light of God become a fire that burns to
consume all things, as if at the end of time. All the warriors on
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