The Bhagavad-gita repeatedly recommends that we remember the ultimate reality, Krishna. Let’s consider three practical benefits of such remembrance: 

Clarity: Our inner world is often murky, being crowded and clouded by many emotions, desires and ideas. Such murkiness leaves us unsure of what we should or shouldn’t do. When we cultivate remembrance of Krishna, that remembrance stimulates the Krishna sun to rise in our consciousness (Bhagavad-gita 10.11). When the inner fog is thus dissipated, we understand which things are truly important for us and which things are the world’s propaganda. We also see better which of our desires and emotions are healthy and uplifting, and which are unhealthy and degrading. 

Purity: Krishna is the all-attractive source of all happiness — when we invoke his presence inside us by remembering him, we become internally satisfied. And the more satisfied we are, the less we are allured by impure desires for worldly indulgence. As we pay those desires lesser and lesser attention, they start weakening and dying. Additionally, remembering Krishna strengthens our healthy desires centered on loving him (12.09) — and on loving everyone in relationship with him (12.13). Over time, our inner world becomes populated and animated by pure desires that enable us to become an instrument of good in the world. 

Simplicity: Clarity and purity bring about an alignment between what we know is good for us and what feels good to us. That alignment makes unnecessary the many superficial things we frequently do just to feel good: for example, over-shopping, overeating, over-indulging in comforts, entertainments and sensual pleasures. Thus we can declutter our life, reducing or even removing  the many unnecessities that otherwise congest it. Indeed, remembrance of Krishna frees us from any unhealthy dependence on worldly things (12.16).

One-sentence summary:

Remembering Krishna empowers us with the clarity to know what is truly important for us, the purity to focus on those things and the simplicity to get rid of nonessentials. 

Think it over:

  • How does remembering Krishna provide us clarity?
  • How does remembering Krishna provide us purity?
  • How does remembering Krishna provide us simplicity?

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10.11: To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

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