Be conscious that what you are conscious of is Krishna

The Bhagavad-gita (07.06) explains philosophically how everything in existence is a manifestation of the energies of Krishna. As his energies are non-different from him, everything is in that sense Krishna. So whatever we are conscious of, we are ultimately conscious of Krishna. But this sort of Krishna consciousness doesn’t purify us because it is unconscious consciousness – we are not conscious that what we are conscious of is Krishna.

Consider, for example, the Gita’s declaration (07.08) that the taste of water is Krishna. So each time we drink water, we are contacting his manifestation. But while drinking water, we are rarely conscious that its taste is Krishna.

What purifies us and redirects our heart to Krishna is our conscious remembrance of him. Gita wisdom educates us about the connectedness between him and his energies, helping us to become consciously conscious of him.

Developing this consciousness with regards to everything takes time, practice and mercy. Still, we can begin by striving to be Krishna conscious at least when we are encountering his direct manifestations such as Deities, holy names and scriptures. By conscientiously reminding ourselves, “This is Krishna”, we can reverentially focus our attention on those manifestations whenever our mind wanders away due to its default restless nature. Initially, this reminder may be just an intellectual assertion, not a spiritual realization. But, even that intellectual consciousness of Krishna is potently purifying. And when practiced steadily, it will take us towards spiritual realization.

Significantly, even mere sensory contact with these direct manifestations is purifying. For example, the holy names purify even if chanted without conscious awareness of their divinity. But that purification is minimal. Why settle for that when by a little effort at cultivating conscious awareness of Krishna we can maximize the purification and relish the resulting spiritual satisfaction?

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 07 Text 06

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