ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृदेशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।
भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८.६१ ॥
तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत ।
तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥ १८.६२ ॥

īśvara: sarva-bhūtānām hṛd-deśe’rjuna tiṣṭhati |
bhrāmayan-sarvabhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā || 18.61 ||
tam-eva śaraṇam gaccha sarva-bhāvena bhārata |
tat-prasādāt-parām śāntim sthānam prāpsyasi śāśvatam || 18.62 ||

Audio-BG-18.61-62

Related Audio -

Steps in Devotion

Scriptures Provide an Opportunity for Introspection

God dwells in the hearts of all beings

True to the concluding phase of the dialogue, Sri Krishna reveals how to make the spiritual pursuit wholesome and effective. Instead of the practice being occasional and piecemeal, Krishna says, it should evolve into a ceaseless orientation as an inseparable, integral part of the seeker. Thus, the entire life, generally considered material and worldly, is made divine. The discussion becomes quite singular and paramount, both by the note of excellence it strikes and the all-fold utility and relevance it provides.

Krishna’s revelations have an ascending order. Beginning with the sensory level sādhanā, he then pointed out that the sādhaka should link up the external activities and interactions with his wholesome reliance on the Supreme. Next he spoke of renunciation as an attitude of the mind towards all that one does and interacts with. This should embrace and enrich the seeker in all facets of his life. Here now he speaks about the still finer and deeper level constituting the pinnacle of spiritual sādhanā.

Krishna points out where God, the supreme Reality, reigns and how He can be truly accessed:

God dwells in the heart of all beings. Reigning in the heart, by virtue of His inscrutable power (māyayā), He makes everyone whirl around, as in a revolving machine (yantra- ārūdhāni). Seek refuge under Him with all your mental notes, bhāvas. By the grace of the Supreme, you will attain the supreme eternal abode.

Krishna’s unambiguous words are: God dwells in the heart of all beings. There is a great relevance in this statement. God is not an external power or presence, distanced infinitely from us, as devotees and religionists generally think. At no time, do they think that He is present within. Krishna cuts across all such pet notions, and states categorically that God is an inner Presence. If He is taken as present in oneself, then all our prayers will have to undergo a change. It will not be so much a prayer, as a confident self-effort to achieve what one aims at!

The word bhrāmayan denotes that creation is a very strange illusory phenomenon. Krishna did explain the point earlier too (na ca matsthāni bhūtāni - 9.5). After saying that all beings are in the supreme Reality, Krishna added that the beings are not in the supreme Reality, thereby declaring the plural creations to be not real, but an illusion. Māyā is an attribute of the supreme Reality, like heat or brilliance of fire. This illusoriness is wrought by the Divine Potential, which can display even non-existent things.

Material things alone have specific, characteristic properties. For instance, water flows downward to find its level. But the dream-river produced by the mind may flow upward, like the blazing fire. In fact, the inscrutable power of the supreme Reality is such that it can create and un-create verily anything!

It is all done by the mere wish and will of the Supreme. That is what Krishna said: “See the Divine Power! The exterior existence inheres in the Supreme, but the Supreme does not inhere in It! Also, even the exterior things do not exist in the Supreme.” Does not what he says now, confirm his earlier statement? God, dwelling in the heart of all beings, goes on revolving them by dint of His illusory power, as if they were on a machine!

One point becomes quite clear. The Power and Presence that engenders life and activities, is within. There is no question of an outside agency remotely controlling the beings. The concept that God is distant and remote is to be summarily dispensed with.

The inner Presence in each alone activates the mind, intelligence and senses. Nothing in creation is excluded from that Presence. It is not that the good and noble alone have the Divine within them. The bad and ignoble also have It in full. Thus is the amazing plurality at work. In reality, there is nothing called good or bad. All are different facets of the same Reality. All are equally activated by the same Godly presence within. To understand and accept this fact is not easy. But the spiritual seeker cannot plead weakness or reluctance in taking to Truth.

Bhāva-samarpaṇa (emotional and attitudinal offerings)

A question naturally arises. If the Supreme is present within, why is it that the beings differ so much in their qualities? What makes one virtuous and another vicious? In the 5th chapter Krishna had pointed out in very clear terms:

The Lord of the world does not institute or cause kartṛtva, doership, or enjoin on anyone any specific action or duty. He does not also link anyone with the results of his actions. It is one’s own nature that prevails.

The cause is the inherent nature inextricably associated with everyone. Good and bad feelings are to be attributed to oneself. The source of everything in life is within oneself. On this basis what should be done?

Krishna says that one should seek refuge under the Indweller Himself! Sarva bhāvena is the word he uses. Sarva means all; bhāva means mental notes, attitudes. All that is needed for this is a full unreserved offer of all the bhāvas with their varying attitudes, to the Indweller Himself.

If all feelings and attitudes of the seeker have their source in himself, what prevents the seeker from offering them to that very Source? In all earnestness, make a full offer of all feelings and attitudes to the Indweller, who keeps you revolving as if on a wheel. And by this, what is the gain? When this offering is made, there will inevitably follow a recession along with a new emergence – recession of negative qualities and emergence of virtues. That will ensure the correction or improvement the seeker yearns for.

This bhāva samarpaṇa is the last phase of spiritual and devotional life, which commences with dravya samarpaṇa, the offering of materials to the Lord. Krishna had said, be it a leaf, flower, fruit or water that is offered, coat it with devotion. That devotional note God partakes of (9.26). Devotion starts with such material, external offering.

In the next stage, the devotee does not look for any special items, places and occasions. He instead renders all his activities into a full, hearty offer, outliving previous limitations. The devotion has thus become continuous (18.46). The occasional dravya-samarpaṇa (material-offering) is replaced by all-time karma-samarpaṇa (action-offering). It is obvious as to which is better.

To whom should the offer be made? The devotee thinks of the Source of the whole creation. Krishna added that this Source pervades and permeates everything. Can such an omnipresent entity be ever touched or reached by material offers and rituals? The devotee is obliged to introspect about the nature of the Supreme and understand that it is inseparable from himself. How vividly is devotional progress explained!

Here now he discusses the still loftier level of devotion, in which knowledge takes the leading note. All externality in worship is left or outlived and devotion becomes a refinement. It recedes to the innermost level. Mind’s own products or offshoots, namely attitudes (bhāvas), become the ‘substance’ offered to the Indwelling Lord.

Is not the mind the very cause of all our activities? All outcomes also fall on the mind and linger there alone. Therefore, let the mind’s affairs alone be the items offered. Focus devotional pursuit in the mind-plane. Attitudes and responses alone count, in reality. All others are their resultants.

By such bhāva samarpaṇa, Krishna says, the Indweller will be pleased. By that grace and favour, the seeker will attain supreme peace and also the permanent abode. Judge now the value and merit of bhāva-samarpaṇa! By bhāva-samarpaṇa is the ultimate immortal pedestal attained!

The whole ascent of spiritual devotion has to be clearly grasped. From where it starts, what stages it passes through and finally how it climaxes! The entire course should be reflected upon and assimilated. In that lies the success of the seeker. Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue, aimed at enlightening the seeker about his problems and their respective solutions. The redress or relief it offers at every step is in the nature of wisdom, enlightenment.

To relate what Krishna now says with what he said earlier:

1. He spoke about the supreme reliance (18.56) and then exhorted inner renunciation (18.57).

2. From there, he emphasizes that the Supreme Lord is dwelling in the heart of every being (18.61), explaining that He can as such be approached by the mind alone (18.62). All attitudes of the mind become the hearty offer as well as the means of getting closer to the Lord. Thus all the physical means and procedures become redundant.

3. Mind becomes the sole content, means and focus of devotional worship.

4. By offering the mind and its expressions to the Supreme Indweller, the seeker becomes greatly sublime and divine. He attains verily the Supreme Abode.