When life hands out difficulties to us, we may feel forlorn and deserted due to the thought that Krishna is far away, somewhere out there in the vast emptiness of space. Gita wisdom informs us that nothing could be further from the truth. Krishna is surely far away in the spiritual world, but being omnipresent he is also close by, right here in our own hearts.

The Bhagavad-gita (15.15) confirms this when it declares that Krishna personally resides in the hearts of all living beings. The revelation of Krishna’s indwelling presence comes at the end of a series of verses (15.12)(15.13)(15.14) that demonstrate his love for all of us. By giving examples that range from the external cosmological realm to the internal physiological realm, these verses indicate that Krishna, out of love for us, maintains the entire material realm to facilitate our existence. His love for us is so great that he is not satisfied just by arranging for our material existence; he also arranges for our spiritual welfare by making himself available to us in our own hearts as a friend and guide.

Why is Krishna personally present in our heart?

Because he wants to do all that he can to help us. He is not satisfied with imparting through the Vedic literature the generic philosophical understanding that our present sufferingsare the just results of our own past misdeeds. He wants to always be by our side, giving us solace and strength in our times of trial. As our bosom partner, he actively and lovingly helps us to tolerate and transcend our due suffering. If we just take his guidance, he will expertly help us to grow and go towards the spiritual realm that is beyond all suffering.