"Now I have become Death" - Oppenheimer's Misunderstanding of the Bhagavad Gita

The true meaning behind Oppenheimer's quoted verse from the Bhagavad Gita

Though I have not seen the new Nolan film Oppenheimer, and have no intention whatsoever of viewing it, I have been told of a certain scene that denigrates the Bhagavad Gita, by having it read out and the Sanskrit displayed on screen during a scene that depicts an intimate moment between Oppenheimer and a woman. In the scene, the two continue their act of intimacy whilst quoting from chapter 11, verse 42, which supposedly happens some several decades prior to Oppenheimer remembering the verse at the detonation of the atomic bomb he had a hand in engineering.

Aside from the fact that this scene is a deliberate attempt to profane sacred scripture, what is the meaning behind this, and is there anything worth grasping from this quote? Indeed, there is a far greater, Vedantic meaning here, which goes beyond the surface quoting of the verse provided by Oppenheimer. Let us examine Oppenheimer’s quote first:

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

As is common knowledge now, this quote is actually a verse from Chapter 11, Verse 32 of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. The verse, as translated by Srila Prabhupada, states:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pāṇḍavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.¹

The exact word in the Sanskrit is kālaḥ - which means time. In Swami B. G. Narasingha’s translation, it reads:

“Time I am, the mighty destroyer of worlds”

Time is an insurmountable energy that impacts all things and, ultimately, brings about the destruction of all things. Time is an insurmountable energy of Krishna. Krishna reveals His universal form to Arjuna, revealing to the warrior why it is useless to lament his position and refuse to make war with his own family members, as their fate has been decided by Lord Krishna, who, as Time, is the All-Devouring destroyer. Arjuna, therefore, must perform his duty as a warrior and kill those Lord Sri Krishna has already decided will die on the battlefield. In this act, Krishna assures Arjuna, there is no sin.

In an interview later in his life, Robert Oppenheimer stated that he had remembered this verse, where “Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty.” One can only assume that Oppenheimer (if he really even said this in New Mexico upon the detonation of his awful weapon - it is debatable) seems to be possibly casting himself as a modern Arjuna. Oppenheimer, may have viewed his role in developing the nuclear weapon as merely being his duty - as it was Arjuna’s duty to visit death upon the battlefield of Kurkshetra. Ultimately God (Bhagavan Sri Krishna) does the killing. To ensure we have understood this correctly, we can look to the following verse:

Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācī, can be but an instrument in the fight.²

This blog’s focus is Vedanta, and so let us turn to the what this verse can provide us from a Vedantic perspective and let us examine the Siddhanta of the great Acharyas. But in order to do this, we need to step back a little and examine this chapter.

The eleventh chapter is called Vishvarupa-darshana-yoga, or the the Cosmic Vision of God. It is called this because it is in this chapter that Arjuna pleads with Sri Krishna to see His Supreme Divine Form. In verse 13, Arjuna beholds all the universe with its manifold divisions gathered in one spot, as the body of The Supreme. Arjuna, upon being granted this spiritual vision, states:

You are the supreme primal objective. You are the ultimate resting place of all this universe. You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest. You are the maintainer of the eternal religion, the Personality of Godhead. This is my opinion.³

In saying that Bhagavan Sri Krishna is the “ultimate resting place of all this universe”, Arjuna is stating that Krishna is the ground of the universe, that is to say, the very substance and underlying substratum, or essence, of the universe itself.⁴

Note that Arjuna does not mention anything about an impersonal (Nirguna) Brahman and a personal aspect (Saguna) of Brahman, but only Bhagavan, which are described by adherents of the Advaita Darshana. In fact, even Sri Shankaracharya’s commentary becomes worshipful of the Supreme Personality:

Tvam, You; are the aksaram, Immutable; the paramam, supreme One, Brahman; veditavyam, to be known-by those aspiring for Liberation. You are the param, most perfect; nidhanam, repository-where things are deposited, i.e. the ultimate resort; asya visvasya, of this Universe, of the entire creation. Further. You are the avyayah, Imperishable-there is no decay in You; the sasvata-dharma-gopta, Protector (gopta) of the ever-existing (sasvata) religion (dharma). You are the sanatanah, eternal; transcendental purusah, Person.

This, in reality, does not differ from Sri Ramanujacharya’s commentary (Bhashya):

You alone are the Supreme 'Imperishable Person' indicated as that which ought to be realised in such Upanisadic passages as: 'Two sciences are to be known' (Mun. U., 1.1.4). You alone are the 'Supreme Substratum' of the universe, i.e., supreme support of this universe. You are 'immutable', namely, not liable to mutation. Whatever might be your attributes and divine manifestations, You remain unchanged in Your form. You alone are the guardian of 'the eternal law' - You who protect the eternal Dharma of the Veda by incarnations like this. I know you are the everlasting Person. I know You are the eternal Person, described in such passages as, 'I know this great Purusa' (Tai. A., 3.12.7) and 'Person who is higher than the high' (Mun. U., 3.2.8). You, who were till now known to me as the most distinguished of the race of Yadu, have been realised by me now through direct perception as of this nature, i.e., of a nature unknown to me before. Such is the meaning.

“You alone are the guardian of 'the eternal law’”. Herein lies the true difference between Oppenheimer’s use and - I would say, misappropriation - of Lord Sri Krishna’s eternal words, and the words themselves. Lord Sri Krishna, in revealing He is the creator of all, the ground of all, the antaryamin (inner and all-pervading being) of all, as well as the destroyer of all. However, this is not mere destruction at the push of a button without regard for the individual. Oppenheimer’s weapon of mass destruction is impersonal. It has no regard for the individuals whose life it claims, nor does it require meaning for the destruction it delivers. It is merely destruction by automation - impersonal and unthinking. Bhagavan (God) is not destruction for destruction’s sake, mere automated mass loss of life. Bhagavan is the “guardian of the Eternal Law”. He takes life on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, through His instrument (nimitta matram) in the form of Arjuna, as a retribution for evil-doing.

Now we begin to see Oppenheimer’s misunderstanding in attributing this quote, in some twisted way, to him and his creation. Oppenheimer speaks as though he is Arjuna, merely the instrument of Vishnu’s destructive principle (kālaḥ). Oppenheimer’s invention comes from man’s ignorance and desire to exploit the natural world, which is the lower energy of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. It is not Lord Vishnu visiting destruction upon those who threaten the devotees of the Lord. Oppenheimer is wrong, and it is only his ego that allows him to perceive himself as an instrument of God.

But let us not stop there. Let us continue to look at this chapter after the famous 32nd verse:

Sañjaya said to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: O King, after hearing these words from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the trembling Arjuna offered obeisances with folded hands again and again. He fearfully spoke to Lord Kṛṣṇa in a faltering voice, as follows.⁵

Arjuna said: O master of the senses, the world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name, and thus everyone becomes attached to You. Although the perfected beings offer You their respectful homage, the demons are afraid, and they flee here and there. All this is rightly done.⁶

O great one, greater even than Brahmā, You are the original creator. Why then should they not offer their respectful obeisances unto You? O limitless one, God of gods, refuge of the universe! You are the invincible source, the cause of all causes, transcendental to this material manifestation.⁷

Arjuna offers these prayers unto Lord Krishna, announcing His supremacy, begging for grace and forgiveness for his over familiarity, and offering praise. This is an important characteristic for Arjuna, as it provides us an example. Arjuna is not just anyone who has been randomly selected to be God’s instrument on the battlefield. He is very special. Provided spiritual eyes to see the Lord’s spiritual form, which would otherwise be impossible, he is graced by God, and his devotion upon seeing this makes it evident. Lord Krishna Himself demonstrates how special Arjuna is in this regard:

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.⁸

It is only through ananya-bhakti, or unswerving, unwavering concentration on God (single-minded devotion), can one truly enter into this mysterious vision of the Supreme Being. No act devoid of bhakti (devotion) can bring us closer to knowing the Supreme. The simple engineering of a weapon of mass destruction certainly seems wondrous to those who wish to exploit the material universe for their own enjoyment, but it is nothing compared to the Bhakti exhibited by Arjuna. It is this quality that makes Arjuna a “Knight of Faith” - to use Kierkegaard’s terminology - not his ability to use a weapon, or his ability to visit death and destruction on a mass scale.

Finally, at the end of this chapter, Lord Sri Krishna says:

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.⁹

Sri Ramanuja draws out the meaning of this important verse, which summarises Gītaśāstra quite succinctly. All work performed by the individual, which should include study of the Vedas, tapas (austerities), and all the modes of worship, are meant to be performed with God alone as the highest goal in all his enterprises (Matparama).

Oppenheimer makes the mistake of equating himself with Arjuna by interpreting the Words of God to mean that anyone capable of devising a weapon of mass destruction is on par with Arjuna as an instrument of that destruction. That is not the meaning of this verse, and the great Acharyas reveal that at the heart of what happens on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra is Bhakti-Yoga, the yoga of pure devotion and single-minded focus on Bhagavan. This quality is essentially missing from anyone who wishes to merely exploit the material universe for some benefit or gain, or some advantage on the battlefield. The true Kshatriya (warrior) is he who is fully surrendered to the Supreme Being, and allows himself to be an instrument of that being - his ego is not a factor, and he is not obsessed nor is he consumed with manufacturing death.

1. BG 11.32

2. BG 11.33

3. BG 11.18

4. More on this in an upcoming article in the series: Introduction to Vedanta & Viśiṣṭādvaita

5. BG 11.35

6. BG 11.36

7. BG 11.37

8. BG 11.54

9. BG 11.55