🌱Morning Descending Mercy— BG 13.16 When the Unknowable Bhagavan Becomes Palpable Through Dependence

🌱 Morning Descending Mercy — BG 13.16 — When the Unknowable Bhagavan Becomes Palpable Through Dependence — 09/20/2026 Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā 13.16. Śrī Bhagavan continues to explain the object of knowledge, the Supersoul, and the Supersoul Himself. How is the Lord situated? He is present outside all living entities. The Lord is present both outside and inside all living entities, whether they are movable or immovable. Bhagavan has already explained that He is everywhere, very firmly situated. Paramātmā is not simply situated very firmly; He is the very basis. Just as the whole material energy rests on Mahā-Viṣṇu, Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Paramātmā is present everywhere and is the basis of everything. In this way, all living entities, moving and nonmoving, are pervaded by Paramātmā. He is the Satya, the truth, the Absolute Truth. Since Paramātmā is present everywhere, He is so big—so big that He is present throughout the entire material universe, inside the living entities and outside the living entities. But at the same time, He is so small and invisible, almost unseeable. Isn’t this a contradiction? He is so big, but He is also so small. He is so small and invisible, yet He is present everywhere. What is so immediately visible to us? It is this mind and this intelligence. These are very visible to us. So much so that we live in them. We see them, and we are so dominated by the mind. We are caught up in the intellectual process so much that Krishna becomes inaccessible, subtle, and invisible to us. And He is unknowable. The whole śāstra is about Bhagavan, about Bhagavan, and yet He remains unknowable. We hear about Him all the time, but He still remains unknowable. Though we hear about Him all the time, He remains unknowable. Though He is present everywhere, He remains invisible. He is far, unreachable, and yet He is also reachable because He is very near. He is far, but He is very near too. He is very near, but He is far. Bhagavan is like that. So how can Bhagavan, who is so far, become very near to us? How can someone who is unknowable become known to us? How can He become visible to us? How does this happen? What does it mean to serve? We understand some service that we perform with the body. That is understood. But what are the dynamics of that service? What does service really mean? How can Bhagavan become accessible to us? What is immediately accessible to us is this mind and intelligence. But Bhagavan is beyond the mind and beyond the intelligence. So when my desire and prayer become, “I want only Bhagavan,” then He becomes accessible. We all know how accessible the mind is. The mind is very loud and impulsive. The immediate, quick response we have to anything in this world is that loud and impulsive reflex. That is more like the mind. Then comes the intellectual analysis: “Okay, what is next? What do I choose now?” That kind of analysis is intelligence. These two things are very familiar to us because that is what we do all the time. But Krishna is beyond them. So how does He become accessible? When this loud, impulsive mind is there, and we choose not to touch the mind, and when we choose not to stir the intelligence, Krishna is right there. That is when Krishna is reachable. When we don’t touch the mind, when we choose not to stir the intelligence, who is left there? Krishna. That is called dependence. When the mind is loud and impulsive, it is almost like dirt falling upon us. We are exposed to the shock of this impulsive mind, and therefore we need a shock absorber. Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna. When this impulsive mind falls upon us and becomes loud, we need a shock absorber to absorb the shock of that loudness and impulsiveness and not act upon it. We need that shock absorber all the time. And when the intelligence comes forward as if it is the best functionality in the world, we can choose not to stir the intelligence. Using the intelligence means coming up with a plan: “Now what do I do to go toward this? I will choose this, and I will put that aside.” With whatever understanding we have, we come up with a plan. Decision-making and discriminating—that is intelligence. But why all this? Why am I using this intelligence? Why am I stirring it? Is it to go to Krishna, to be with Krishna, to serve Krishna? If that is the purpose, then depend on Krishna. Why do I want to stir the intelligence? To serve Him the way He wants to be served? Then depend on Krishna. If I choose not to stir the intelligence, I can simply say, “No, thank you. I just want to depend on Krishna.” Then Krishna is right there. When we say no to the mind and have a shock absorber to absorb the loudness and impulsiveness of the mind, and when we say, “No, thank you,” to the intelligence, then Krishna is right there. That is depending on Krishna. 🙏🙏