The Lord Seated In The Heart

”One should learn the art of how to visualize the Lord seated in one’s own heart because there is nothing better than knowing the Supreme Lord. After fully understanding matter, the enjoyer of matter (the soul) and the controller (Supreme Soul) and the difference between the three one becomes the knower of everything and thus gradually becomes self realized.”

etaj jneyam nityam evatma samstham
natah param veditavyam hi kincit
bhokta bhogyam preritaram ca matva
sarvam proktam trividham brahmam etat

PURPORT BY SRI KRSNA BALARAM SWAMIJI

The Lord is seated inside one’s heart so then there is no need to search for Him outside of the heart. One may wonder why one is asked to execute practical devotional service that has to be performed physically? In answer to this the logic of simha sahodara nyaya of the Nyaya Sastra states, “If one is thinking the lion to be a brother and embraces it, it will kill and eat you immediately.” Meaning, at first, one must externally realize that I am lion’s food and later internally meditate thinking the lion to be a brother. As far as the internal thinking goes, every creature is born from the Lord therefore everyone is related as brothers and sisters. But humans are the lion’s food, therefore, before thinking to embrace the lion and thinking it to be a brother, one must first externally realize that it will kill and eat you. Similarly one must first externally physically practice spiritual life to realize the internal Lord who is seated in the heart. External practice is mechanical but the continuous external practice after some time will turn into internal and automatic practice. This practice makes one see the Lord by knowing Whom everything becomes known. As it is states in the Mundaka Upanisad, yasmin vijnate sarvam eva vijnatam bhavati, “By knowing the Lord everything else automatically becomes known.” It is also confirmed in the Etareya Upanisad, para -brahmanah param kincid api jnatavyam nasti, “There is nothing above the Supreme Lord therefore when one comes to know the Lord in truth then there remains nothing more to be known.”

[Svetasvatara Upanisad, 1.12, KBS0009]