CHAPTER 13, TEXT 14: Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.
When I finish cooking a dish, I scoop a portion onto a plate, place it in front of tiny carved effigies of Radha and Krishna in my kitchen, ring a bell, and murmur some prayers. I ask the Lord to please partake in what I have made.
After a few minutes I transfer that food back into the pot or onto another plate. Maybe a take a sip/bite to check for salt or flavor to make adjustments. The understanding is that God just ate, and now I may eat.
How is that?
How can the Supreme Creator and God of Gods and the Supersoul who Pervades Everything eat a little plate of pasta from little ol' Bhakti lata's kitchen in the backwoods of Florida?
This verse states clearly that God has hands, legs, eyes, heads, faces, and ear everywhere. The Supersoul pervades everything with senses that transcend our restricted notions. God is Supersoul within my heart, so of course he knows when I'm cooking and when I turn to Him to offer Him a little food.
So "Although [God is] far, far away, He is also near to all" (13.16). God is simultaneously very far away - the Supreme Creator, the God of Gods who lives in the spiritual world far away from this earthly planet, He is also very near.
He is within our own hearts.
He can accept whatever little offering we make, even if it's some little plate of pasta we cooked up in a rush. Prabhupad writes that "In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that if anyone offers Him a flower, or a fruit, or a little water, He accepts it. If the Lord is a far distance away, how can He accept things? This is the omnipotence of the Lord: even though He is situated in His own abode, far, far away from earth, He can extend His hand to accept what anyone offers." In this verse of the Gita, Krishna is trying to paint a picture of that omnipotence, explaining that if one offers God a flower, He can still take it with His hand for they are everywhere. If one offers God a prayer, God can still hear it with His ears for they are everywhere.
So yes, although Krishna is so far away in his own home, He is also right here with us, ready to receive and give love.
Even if it's just a plate of pasta, made in haste.
Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/13/16/
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