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
.
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