न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा ।
दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षुः पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् ।। ११.८ ।।

na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum-anenaiva sva-cakṣuṣā |
divyaṁ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ paśya me yogam-aiśvaram || 11.8 ||

Vyasadeva safeguards the whole episode with sufficient forethought, by highlighting the incompetence of the normal eyes and the need for a special supra-physical vision for the purpose:

You cannot verily see with your external eyes the universal magnitude. So I bestow a divine vision, by which you can see my majestic and magnificent power.

Our biological eyes will suffice only to look at the wide world as it is, in three dimensions. But when it comes to perceiving the very source of the entire creation, we have to transcend the senses and their range, and get into an altogether new dimension. That is how Vyasadeva speaks of a higher vision in the matter. In fact, the efforts and goal of spirituality are to elevate oneself to such an exaltedness.

Although more and more advanced gadgets are inducted to enhance the range of visual perception, the limitations of the eye still prevent us from perceiving the loftier, subtler levels of existence. Naturally, to gauge the universal magnitude, of the kind Arjuna seeks and Krishna bestows, will clearly mean transcending the senses and stepping into the exclusive inner realm of the mind!

In this, the inadequacy of idol worship is quite illustrative. Those who flock to the temple have the main aim of focusing their eyes with full concentration on the Idol installed in the sanctum sanctorum. But, when it comes to a question of seeing the Idol as representing the Universal Presence, every one seems to be failing miserably. What the Idol is meant to represent, the Idol-worshippers are unable to visualize. Is there any greater travesty?

To ‘see’ the widespread manifold existence as inhering in a single source is physically impossible. The manifoldness around is a matter of our visual perception. But to link this visual multiplicity to the conceptual plane of singularity or oneness, the source, is the effort of the discerning mind. While the former is the work of the external (gross), the other is the gift of the internal (subtle). What is needed is a unique grand fusion of the senses and the mind, the external and the internal, the gross and the subtle. The seeker or disciple alone will not be able to achieve this. But the benevolent Teacher can induce it in a sublime mood of affinity and attunement. Sage Vyasa is trying to accomplish this rare magnificence, keeping Arjuna and Krishna before us!

The Sage author graced with both literary profusion and imagery excellence, employs such words and messages that his great purpose stands fulfilled in abundant measure. For the likes of Arjuna, age after age, the depiction stands as an incomparable treasure. The inspiration and motivation this scene infuses into the otherwise spirituo-philosophical dialogue, far exceed the enlightening clarity it bestows. Krishna thus evokes the inner magical expanse in Arjuna, whereby he would be able to see the universal magnitude, with all the complexity it contains and displays.