“How can we remember Krishna while doing our duties in the world?” This question often perplexes devotees.
Let’s look closely at the Bhagavad-gita verse (08.07) that recommends such dual engagement in meditation internally and occupation externally. This verse also gives the key for applying the recommendation: offer the mind and intelligence to Krishna (mayy arpita-mano-buddhir).
Our mind and intelligence direct our consciousness. We become conscious of things that stimulate us either emotionally or intellectually or both. Out of all the sensory data that flows constantly into us from the world, our awareness focuses on those things that trigger us to either feel them or make sense of them. While sitting in a room, the normal sounds such as the whirling of a fan don’t attract our awareness. But if we hear a voice that sounds like that of a loved one or like an important announcement, then it penetrates our consciousness.
Devotionalizing our mind sensitizes us emotionally to our purpose of serving our beloved Lord through all our activities.
As our consciousness flows along emotional or intellectual lanes, the Gita urges us to direct these lanes towards Krishna by offering our mind and intelligence to him.
We can offer our mind to Krishna by doing emotionally stirring devotional activities such as kirtans, Deity worship, offering prayers and singing devotional songs. These will devotionalize our mind, thereby emotionally sensitizing us to our purpose of serving our beloved Lord through all our activities.
And we can offer our intelligence to Krishna by scrutinizingly studying scripture. This will devotionalize our intelligence, thereby reminding us that everything is Krishna’s energy and everything attractive manifests a spark of Krishna’s splendor, as the Gita (10.41) indicates.
When we practice offering our mind and intelligence to Krishna thus, then our inner being will progressively become pervaded by his presence, whatever activity we may be engaged in externally.
By constantly being Krishna conscious, the only emotions that are reinforced are those in connection with Krishna. No wonder that the devotees lose taste in engaging in activities that don’t provide the opportunity to make this connection – the sinful activities. The sinful activities thus become dry without emotions and the tendency to engage in them fades away.
Thank You for this wonderfully enlightening article!
This is the best and the most convincing explanation on the Gita verse 8.7 I have ever come across. One can easily take shelter of the instruction mentioned in this article – offering the mind and the intelligence to Krishna. Thank you very much Prabhuji for sharing such nectar of wisdom.