Gatir bhartā prabhuḥ. Prabhu, prabhu means the master. And sākṣī. Sākṣī means witness. God is sitting within your heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara, means Supreme Lord, is sitting in everyone's heart. So He is witness. Whatever you are doing, He is witness. He is giving you facility to do whatever you like, but at the same time you may forget. Suppose I wanted to do something in this life, this is not fulfilled. And next life, when I get another body, that God reminds me, "Well, you wanted to do this. Why not experiment?"
That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: "I am seated in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15): "From Me there is remembrance," smṛti, "there is knowledge, and there is forgetfulness also." So what is that, God making one person forgetful and another person encouraging? Why? Because I wanted like that. Because I don't want to revive my relationship with the Supreme Lord. Whenever I speak of God, oh, some person becomes, "Oh, what is God? Swāmījī, what you are speaking, God?" They don't want God.
So God gives him that "Forget Me. Yes, you forget and suffer." And one who wants God . . . just like some poor students are trying to reestablish his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, oh, Kṛṣṇa gives him too: "Yes." So therefore His business is to make you forgetful because you want to forget. And when you are advanced, if you want know . . . if you want to establish, reestablish your relation, He will encourage you.
So therefore two things are there witness. He gives you full independence. Whatever you like, you do, but He gives you instruction at the same time that, "These things will not satisfy you, My dear boy." Sarva-dharmān pari . . . "You give up all this nonsense. Come to Me. I shall give you all protection." But we don't want to take protection. What God will do? Poor God, what can He . . .? He can do everything, but He doesn't interfere with your affair. If you want to forget, He will give you so many facilities by this illusory energy that you'll forget, forget, forget. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram.
Now you have got this beautiful body of human, civilized human being. Or you can get the body of more and more developed body, just like Brahmā, just like the sun, moon, and so many there are. And if you forget, you go down to the cats and dogs and ants and germs and so many things, become a worm of the stool. He will give you all facilities. This is called karma-cakra, cycle of work. As you desire, so God gives you facility.
Therefore our desire should be revived, "What kind of desire we should at all make?" Therefore this Bhagavad-gītā is there, the scriptures are there. You have forgotten. We have forgotten all these things. Therefore the books and the scriptures are there. That is also another mercy of God.
Just like you consult some book, doing something, just like we do every day. What is the postal rate? I do not know. This is a parcel I have to send. So at once I consult book. The direction is there, postal guide is there, and I do the right thing. Similarly, when we forget our acti . . . what is the destination of life, then we shall have to consult. This is the direction.
The Lord says, gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī: "I am the destination. I am your maintainer. I am your Lord. I am witnessing what you are doing." Nivāsa: "And you are living in Me. You are not independent." You are living. Where you are living? I am living on the earth, underneath the sky. And what is the sky, and what is this earth? This is the energy, energy of the Supreme Lord. So nivāsaḥ śaraṇam. "You are trying to live. Every moment you are flattering somebody who is greater than you, but why don't you come to Me? You cannot live without flattering your boss. That is your position." Śaraṇam. Śaraṇam means to take shelter of somebody.