Rishis do not automatically qualify to see the Supreme One, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse. Only Ekantis, that is, those who believe that He is everything and who seek nothing else can see Him. Lord Krishna said vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahAtma su-durlabhah. That is those who believe that the Lord is everything are rare! In Rahasyatrayasara, Desika asks if anyone knows what lion’s milk tastes like. Only lion cubs know the taste. Likewise, only those who adore Him can know Him.
Nammazhvar in one of his Peria Thiruvandadi verses about the deity of Azhvar Thirunagari, wonders who is superior — the Lord or Nammazhvar himself. He says that the Lord, who has the entire Universe as His body, is enshrined in Nammazhvar’s heart, and so, the Azhvar is bigger! In Paduka Sahasram, Vedanta Desika says that the Lord supports the entire Universe. But the Lord’s sandals are superior to Him, because they support the One who supports everything.
His Viswarupa is seen if He answers a person’s prayer for the same. It is also seen if He decides to reveal it Himself. Eight people may be said to have seen His Viswarupa. Yasoda saw it twice. Krishna swallowed sand and when Yasoda asked Him to open His mouth, she saw the universe in it. Again He yawned and revealed the whole world inside His mouth. But Yasoda did not comprehend His Supremacy, and continued to see Him as her child. Rishi Uthangar and Arjuna prayed to see His Viswarupa, and their prayer were answered. To Akrura, the Lord voluntarily revealed His Viswarupa. He chose to show his viswarupa to Narada, Duryodhana and Brahma. Sanjaya got the divine eyesight to see his Viswarupa and described it to Dritarashtra.
