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A debate was on, between Yãgnavalkya and other Brahmins, in the court of Janaka. Yãgnavalkya was responding to questions from different Brahmins, when ãlaka, the son of Aruna posed a question.

Uddãlaka had a great Guru Bhakti. He used to study in a Gurukula where his Guru had a vast stretch of cultivable land and he practiced agriculture. In the rainy season, the dam overflowed causing flooding of the fields. Immediately, he summoned Uddãlaka and ordered him to block the dam and Uddãlaka immediately obliged, but couldn't succeed in blocking it completely as the water was too forceful. Uddãlaka had a good physical build. As he could not block the dam, he lay himself against the water thereby blocking it. He lay there the whole night as any movement he did would cause the water to overflow into the fields.

Not finding his disciple, the Guru went to the fields calling for Uddãlaka and the latter emerged from the water. History says that as he remained still in the water without food and water and sleep, blocking the dam, he is called Uddãlaka.

Uddãlaka asked, "Oh Yãgnavalkya! Once while in Matra desa, we were learning Shãstra from one, Pathanchala, who hails from Kapi gothra. His wife was under the spell of a Gandharva. We asked him who he was and the Gandharva replied that he was Kapantha, the son of Atharva and asked us if we knew about Antaryãmi. We replied in the negative and requested him to impart the knowledge to us and he obliged. Thus we now happen to know about Antaryãmi of which no one knows. Do you know about the tatva of Antaryãmi?"

Yãgnavalkya replied, "The one who, remaining in this world still transcends it is verily Antaryãmi. The world does not understand him. The whole world is his body. He controls everyone. Any living being acts according to the instructions of the Antaryãmi inside it. He controls all the senses and in his absence all of them are defunct. There is a story in Mahãbhãrata to illustrate this.

Before the war, Sri Krishna went to Hastinãpur as a peace emissary and pleaded to Dritharãshtra that he give atleast five villages to the Pãndavas which Duryodhana did not heed to. Later when Duryodhana met Sri Krishna in person he asked, "Oh Krishna! In the court, you pleaded for five villages for the Pãndavas. But you sat in my mind as Antaryãmi and ordered me reject your request. Which one should I believe? Its verily you who ordered me in both instances. I understand dharma well, but my mind does not comply with it. I understand adharma well too, and my mind goes for it. Thus, one acts as he is instructed by the one inside his mind.

This person in the mind is called Antaryãmi. In the same way, when the Lord gave darshan to Dhruva, the latter wanted to sing praises for the Lord, but he could not utter a word. Then the Lord Himself touched his cheeks with the conch, a representation of the Vedas. Instantly Dhruva sang twelve verses in praise of the Lord, the first being a salutation to the Lord who had entered into him and instructed him to sing praises. Thus speak the Purãnãs of the Antaryãmi. This is found in Brihadãranyaka Upanishad.

The food we eat also is actually fed to the Antaryãmi inside us. That is why Vaishnavites seldom ask if 'we have taken food'. They instead ask, 'Is Antaryãmi ãrãdhana over?'

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