Gita 12.08 – Let the holy name direct our inner world to Krishna

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fulfilment.

Thank you. Let your intelligence reside in me. Find shelter in me.

If you do this, then you will actually live in me or nivas will be in me. Of this, there is no doubt. Here, Krishna is telling how, where our inner world is, that is where we reside.

And this principle is central to understanding and tapping and relishing the potency of chanting. Sometimes, when a person is lost in one's own thoughts, we may say that, oh, where are you? Now, what does it mean? That person is just sitting in front of us. So, physically, that person is right there.

But then when we ask, where are you? What that means is, actually, where is your attention? Where is your consciousness? And we do feel if somebody is lost in one's own thoughts and we feel that person is not here with me. So, that is even in day to day life, we have this implicit understanding that where our thoughts are, where our emotions are, where our interests are, that is where we are. Now, Bhagavad Gita takes this principle deeper and higher.

Deeper by inviting us to go inwards to the very core of our being, to the soul and higher to the highest reality, Krishna. Now, the process of Bhakti Yoga enables us to become attached to Krishna. And when our consciousness becomes attached to Krishna, then wherever we may be, still our consciousness stays with Krishna.

And that is how we stay with Krishna. In the Bible also it is said, be in this world, but be not of this world. So, Krishna is talking about how that can be done.

And, well, that is a very nice principle to talk about in more analytical detail, how this is to be done is described in this verse. Our thoughts are guided by our emotional side and our rational side. Krishna is saying, direct both those sides to me, direct both your emotional and rational faculty to me.

And in that way, you can reside in me. So, fix your mind on me, fix your intelligence on me. And by this, you will live in me.

It's interesting, Krishna doesn't say, by this you will come to me eventually. He says, you will live in me even now. Yes, eventually we will attain Krishna's abode, but even now we will start experiencing the sweetness of the presence of Krishna, of the grace of Krishna, of the love of Krishna, if we can absorb our consciousness in him.

And the key for such absorption is redirection of our inner world, of our inner radar towards Krishna. Now, the process of meditation is precisely meant for such redirection of our inner radar. Radar is actually meant to detect objects which are not detectable by the normal eye and then respond.

Say, if some enemy fighter aircraft is coming into the territory, the radar will detect it and then will deploy the weapons to counter it. Similarly, a friendly aircraft is coming, then that can also be detected and welcomed. So, like that, our inner radar can be sharpened by the process of meditation centered on Krishna.

So, when we chant, when we remember Krishna, when we fix the mind on him, then by this we become attracted to him. Even if we don't initially feel attracted and even if we have to force ourselves initially to fix the mind on him, by fixing the mind gradually, our consciousness goes closer to him and thus we start relishing greater, deeper, richer devotion and then more and more our emotion, thus we get that higher taste. As we start relishing the love of Krishna, emotionally we start being attracted to him and as we start appreciating the depth of the wisdom of the Gita, then intellectually also we start getting attracted to him and the process of chanting helps us to connect with such a wonderful Lord by directing our emotions to him, by directing our consciousness to him in a prayerful mood, that prayerful mood invoking our divine emotions and using our intelligence to meditate on the glory of Krishna, to meditate on the glory of Krishna's mercy when he manifests the holy name, to meditate on his mercy, meditate on the glory of his holy name and in that way let our intelligence be humbled and charmed by his greatness and sweetness and when the Gita has become absorbed in him, then we too can live in him as this verse says.