Bhagavad Gita 15.15 · BG 15.15
Chapter 15Verse 15
Purushottama Yoga
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च। वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम्॥
sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
Translation
I am seated in the hearts of all. Memory, knowledge and forgetting come from me. I am what all the Vedas aim to know. I am the author of Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas.
The moment
Krishna has been describing how his presence sustains the world: as the light of the sun and moon, the strength that holds up the earth and the fire that digests food. Here he moves from the world into the human heart.
What it means
Krishna lives in every heart. He's where memory, understanding and even forgetting come from. All scripture is ultimately about knowing him.
Going deeper
The surprising word is 'apohanam', forgetting. Krishna claims not only memory and knowledge but forgetting too.
That makes sense if you've ever been grateful to forget something painful. Forgetting is part of how a mind heals, and the verse treats it as coming from the same source as knowing.
In your life
Next time you can't stop replaying something painful, try treating forgetting as something you're allowed to receive rather than a failure. Stop rehearsing it on purpose, and give your mind room to let it go.
Everything you know, remember and forget begins in the heart.
Keep reading
2.22
The body is worn like clothing. What's underneath it doesn't end.
2.14
This too shall pass. Meet both joy and sorrow with the same steady heart.
6.30
Once you see the same thread running through everything, nothing can fully cut you off.
10.20
What you're looking for out there is also already here, at the center of you.