255. Embracing Existence

Krishna says, “The Supreme Lord dwells in the hearts of all living beings, and by His maya (cosmic delusion) makes all beings revolve as if attached to a yantra (machine)” (18.61). This is another way of saying that we are just a nimitta-maatra - an instrument in the hands of the Almighty. Krishna explained the same differently when He said that even if Arjuna, out of ahankaar, thinks that he will not fight, his nature will still compel him to fight (18.59). We will be driven to do karmas, even when we don’t want to, out of our swa-bhaav (material nature) (18.60).

‘Existence’ is the coherence of the manifested, like the perishable physical entities, and the unmanifested which is eternal but can’t be perceived by our senses. Krishna earlier explained this through the example of a string of pearls. The pearls represent the manifested and the invisible string represents the unmanifested. Together, they form a beautiful necklace. Krishna called this invisible force as ‘Supreme Lord’ and says that it is so powerful that all beings are made to follow its dictate as if attached to a revolving machine.

Krishna gives a simple solution and says, “Seek refuge in Him alone with all your being. By His grace you shall obtain the peace and the eternal abode” (18.62). Essentially, there is no point in fighting this powerful existence and instead it is prescribed to seek refuge with all our being.

Thus, it is about realising that we are merely a nimitta-maatra in the mighty creation called the universe and consequently attain the ultimate freedom (moksha) through surrender. Otherwise, we will be compelled to do things which are decided by this eternal existence as a part of creative evolution which is nothing but a life of struggle, pain and misery.