When we are caught in darkness and are struggling to find our way, if someone provides light to show the way, we naturally want to know the identity of the light provider.

Gita wisdom urges us to ponder: who is the light provider in the universe at large? The most prominent cosmic light-source is the sun. Who has provided it?

Krishna, answers Gita wisdom.

If we choose body-based desires to enjoy, we set ourselves on a collision course to frustration as the body sickens and perishes.

Whatever be the specific mechanism by which the sun produces light, it has come about not by chance, but by a divine super-intelligence. The Bhagavad-gita (15.12) indicates that Krishna is the source of the light of the sun, as well as that of other light sources such as the moon and fire.

Krishna wants to light not just our outer world, but also our inner world. Just as outer light enables us to choose the right path, the inner light of wisdom enables us to choose the right desires from the many desires crowding our heart and clamoring for our attention. If we choose body-based desires to enjoy, we set ourselves on a collision course to frustration as the body sickens and perishes. If we choose soul-based desires to serve Krishna, we set off on a trans-cosmic journey to his personal abode, the arena of everlasting happiness.

Though Krishna wants us to choose the right desires, he doesn’t intrude on our free will. That’s why he waits in our heart, watching for our smallest desire to turn towards him. When we express whatever little devotional desire we have by trying to serve him according to our capacity, he reciprocates by progressively illumining our heart with the torchlight of knowledge (jnana-dipa), as the Bhagavad-gita (10.11) indicates. That illumination enables us to choose devotional desires more clearly and firmly, thereby marching straight and fast towards Krishna.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Text 11

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