The Gita in 18 days · Lesson 15 of 18
God in your own heart
Chapter 15 starts with an unusual picture: a giant tree that grows upside down, with its roots up in heaven and its branches spreading down into our world. It means our world grows out of something higher.
Then Krishna says something very personal. He lives in the heart of every being. Our memory, our understanding, even our forgetting, come from him.
So God is not only in a temple, or far away in the sky. God is also inside you, closer than your own breath.
This can be very comforting. When you feel alone, in a new school, a hospital room or a quiet house after loved ones have moved away, you are not completely alone. The divine is already with you, in your own heart.
It also means you can turn inward for guidance. When you have a hard choice, getting quiet and listening to the calm voice inside is a way of listening to God.
Many people put a hand on their heart when they pray. It's a simple reminder that the one they're praying to is right there.
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च। वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् ॥
sarvasya chāhaṁ hṛidi sanniviṣhṭo mattaḥ smṛitir jñānam apohanaṁ cha vedaiśh cha sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛid veda-vid eva chāham
And I am seated in the hearts of all, and from Me memory and wisdom and their absence. And that which is to be known in all the Vedas am I; and I indeed the Veda-knower and the author of the Vedanta.
In plain words: Krishna says he lives in the heart of every being. Memory and wisdom, and also forgetting, come from him. He is what all the Vedas, the holy books, aim to teach, and he is the one who wrote and truly knows them.
Ask the Swami about this lesson
A quick question while you read