Shloka 47
Arjuna Marries Subhadrā; Kṛṣṇa Honors Two Devotees in Mithilā (Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva)
हृदिस्थोऽप्यतिदूरस्थ: कर्मविक्षिप्तचेतसाम् । आत्मशक्तिभिरग्राह्योऽप्यन्त्युपेतगुणात्मनाम् ॥ ४७ ॥
hṛdi-stho ’py ati-dūra-sthaḥ karma-vikṣipta-cetasām ātma-śaktibhir agrāhyo ’py anty upeta-guṇātmanām
हृदिस्थोऽपि त्वं कर्मविक्षिप्तचेतसामतिदूरस्थ इव दृश्यसे; आत्मशक्तिभिरग्राह्योऽपि, ये तव गुणान् सम्यगनुभावयितुं शिक्षिताः, तेषामन्तःकरणे त्वमेव सन्निकर्षेण प्रकाशसे।
The all-merciful Lord is in everyone’s heart. Seeing Him there, however, is possible only when one’s heart is completely purified. Materialists may demand that God prove His existence by coming into view as a result of their empirical investigations, but God has no need to respond to such impudence. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25) :
FAQs
This verse says Kṛṣṇa is present in the heart, but He is experienced as “far away” when consciousness is scattered by karma; He becomes attainable when one’s inner nature is transformed by divine qualities cultivated through bhakti.
He is near as the indwelling Supersoul (antaryāmī), yet He appears far to those absorbed in material activity; proximity is not physical but depends on purity and focus of consciousness.
Reduce distraction-driven living and add steady bhakti practices—hearing, chanting, remembrance, and serving—so the mind becomes imbued with sattvic, devotional qualities that make the Lord “reachable” in experience.