India, Sept. 19 -- The Sanskrit word for controller is niyantrak, yet Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita never uses this term to describe Himself. Instead, He prefers words such as bharta (sustainer) and bhuta-bhrt (maintainer of all beings). The distinction is significant.
The Lord does not micromanage individual lives; rather, He provides the foundational necessities of existence - air, water, sunlight, fertile land - on which all beings depend. What one makes of life is a matter of personal effort and choice.
As Krishna tells Arjuna: "Perform your prescribed duties" (3.8). Yet Krishna also makes clear that He is the Creator, the Maintainer, and the One who causes Dissolution. In Chapter 13, verse 16, He explains that though undivided, H...