The Bhagavad-gita’s directive (08.07) – always remember
Krishna and do your prescribed duty – raises the question: “How can we do both
simultaneously? If we are to do our duties responsibly, we need to focus on
them. Does the Gita recommend living with a split consciousness – recollecting
Krishna with half of our consciousness and participating in our work with the
other half?”
No, not at all. That distracted functioning isn’t the Gita’s
call is evident from the actions of its original student, Arjuna; after hearing
the Gita, he executed his martial duty whole-heartedly – and did it in divine
consciousness.
We too can infuse our work with such divine consciousness by
making Krishna the purpose of our life and by realizing his proximity.
First and foremost, we need to daily invest some quality
time, wholeheartedly absorbing ourselves in Krishna’s remembrance by connecting
with his direct manifestations such as Deity, scripture and the holy name. By
such absorption, we realize and relish his greatness and sweetness. Thus, our
devotion becomes enhanced and our conviction to dedicate our life to him
becomes reinforced. With this heightened devotional sensibility, we can increasingly
sense Krishna’s immanence, thereby helping us realize that he is never far from
us.
Pertinently, the Gita explains that Krishna is not just
transcendent but is also immanent. The Gita’s tenth chapter illustrates
Krishna’s immanence by listing some fifty opulent manifestations. The chapter
concludes by declaring that everything attractive manifests a spark of
Krishna’s attractiveness (10.41). This insight implies that while doing our
duty, if something attracts our attention, we can redirect our attention from
that object to its source. And that all-attractive source is present in our own
hearts in his immanent manifestation as the Supersoul.
By thus cultivating devotional purposefulness and relishing
divine immanence, we can both remember Krishna and do our duty diligently.
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