15.18: Krishna is realer than reality

In our time of troubles, we may doubt, “Does God really exist?” Gita wisdom turns this doubt on the head by prompting the doubt, “Does the world around me really exist?” To the response, “The world obviously exists because it tugs and pulls at me, making real demands and bringing real consequences,” Gita wisdom counters: is this level of reality much higher than the reality of dreams? Within the dream duration, don’t dreams also make demands and bring consequences? Just as the worries of the dream disappear when we wake up physically, the worries of the world disappear when we wake up spiritually. To ensure that temporary troubles don’t sidetrack us from such a spiritual wakeup, the Bhagavad-gita (2.16) urges us to see the realm of matter as unreal due to its temporality and the realm of spirit as real due to its eternality. The Gita (15.18) further reveals that within the real realm of spirit Krishna is the highest reality. His real love can solace, encourage and invigorate us even when the entire real world around us seems to be falling apart. When amidst our real trouble we take real shelter of Krishna and experience his real love, then we will realize for ourselves that Krishna is realer than reality.