In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna has understood that this Absolute state is far beyond the reach of men or gods. No one can penetrate there and live. To know Brahman one has to become Brahman. And so Sri Krishna is leading Arjuna step by step. Keep the Highest in view, but work your way up from the bottom. Then there is no danger. Yes, I permeate all things as butter permeates milk. And as churning is necessary to produce butter and to make it visible to the eye, so is practice necessary to see Me (Bhagavan). Therefore first try to see Me in whatever is the greatest of its kind. I am the lion among wild animals; I am Rama among warriors; I am Prahlada among Daityas. Whatever being there is powerful, beautiful or glorious, know that to have sprung forth from a portion of My splendour.
And now in the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad Gita Arjuna says, Yes, I have understood. I have listened attentively and shall do as You tell me. But if I may have a glimpse of Your divine form, O Krishna, if I may once see it, if I may once witness how You dwell in these manifestations, then it will be easier afterwards to remember You always. And that is the beginning of the eleventh chapter.
Remember, Arjuna does not ask for a vision of the Absolute. That would be impossible, but he wants to see the form of Ishvara, God the Sustainer of the universe, God immanent in nature, the Spirit, the Mother, in all things. Yes, says Arjuna, You are the sun among heavenly bodies, but how are You the sun? I can say that, but what of that? I want to see You there in the sun, like the rishi of old who addressed the sun, O Sun, they tell me to mediate on you as Ishvara. But I do not see Ishvara; I see only your burning rays. Remove those rays; gather up your burning effulgence; remove your golden disk; that I (the seeker of Truth) may see the supreme Spirit, your very essence. And then the rishi saw. And so Arjuna also wants to see Bhagavan. And he sees and describes his vision in this chapter. The vision spoken of here is really a revelation, a spiritual awakening. It is an internal experience; it is the Knowledge of the Great Beyond. It is the realization of God as the Soul of the universe.