Devanagari
सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थित: ।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
sarva-bhūta-sthitaṁ yo māṁ
bhajaty ekatvam āsthitaḥ
sarvathā vartamāno ’pi
sa yogī mayi vartate
Synonyms
sarva-bhūta-sthitam
—
situated in everyone’s heart
;
yaḥ
—
he who
;
mām
—
Me
;
bhajati
—
serves in devotional service
;
ekatvam
—
in oneness
;
āsthitaḥ
—
situated
;
sarvathā
—
in all respects
;
vartamānaḥ
—
being situated
;
api
—
in spite of
;
saḥ
—
he
;
yogī
—
the transcendentalist
;
mayi
—
in Me
;
vartate
—
remains.
Translation
Such a yogī, who engages in the worshipful service of the Supersoul, knowing that I and the Supersoul are one, remains always in Me in all circumstances.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
31. The yogī who worships Me as the one living being who is the cause of all, exists in Me, no matter what his manner of worship.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
31. The yogī who meditates on Me as one, though situated in all entities, exists in Me, no matter whether he performs prescribed duties or not.
Purport
A yogī who is practicing meditation on the Supersoul sees within himself the plenary portion of Kṛṣṇa as Viṣṇu – with four hands, holding conchshell, wheel, club and lotus flower. The yogī should know that Viṣṇu is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa in this form of Supersoul is situated in everyone’s heart. Furthermore, there is no difference between the innumerable Supersouls present in the innumerable hearts of living entities. Nor is there a difference between a Kṛṣṇa conscious person always engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa and a perfect yogī engaged in meditation on the Supersoul. The yogī in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – even though he may be engaged in various activities while in material existence – remains always situated in Kṛṣṇa. This is confirmed in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.187) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate. A devotee of the Lord, always acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is automatically liberated. In the Nārada Paṣcarātra this is confirmed in this way:
dik-kālādy-anavacchinne kṛṣṇe ceto vidhāya ca tan-mayo bhavati kṣipraṁ jīvo brahmaṇi yojayet
“By concentrating one’s attention on the transcendental form of Kṛṣṇa, who is all-pervading and beyond time and space, one becomes absorbed in thinking of Kṛṣṇa and then attains the happy state of transcendental association with Him.”
Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest stage of trance in yoga practice. This very understanding that Kṛṣṇa is present as Paramātmā in everyone’s heart makes the yogī faultless. The Vedas ( Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.21) confirm this inconceivable potency of the Lord as follows: eko ’pi san bahudhā yo ’vabhāti. “Although the Lord is one, He is present in innumerable hearts as many.” Similarly, in the smṛti-śāstra it is said:
eka eva paro viṣṇuḥ sarva-vyāpī na saṁśayaḥ aiśvaryād rūpam ekaṁ ca sūrya-vat bahudheyate
“Viṣṇu is one, and yet He is certainly all-pervading. By His inconceivable potency, in spite of His one form, He is present everywhere, as the sun appears in many places at once.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The yogī who worships Me as Paramātmā situated everywhere, even before direct realization, is beyond the rules. He who, acknowledging that the Paramātmā alone exists, since He is the cause of all (ekatvam āsthitaḥ), worships Me through hearing and chanting, resides in Me, not in saṁsāra, whether performing the acts indicated in the scriptures or not (sarvathā vartamāno ’pi).
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
This yogī, experiencing My inconceivable svarūpa śakti, becomes very dear to Me. The verse is spoken with this intention.
I, the size of seven inches [Note: The size of the Lord is one pradeśa: the length from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the extended forefinger.], with four arms holding cakra, conch, club and lotus, with complexion of the atasī flower, reside in the hearts of all jīvas. The yogī who meditates (bhajati) on Me situated in the hearts of all, understanding that all My numerous forms are one (by acintya śakti), whether he performs or neglects his prescribed duties during unfavorable times (sarvathā vartamanaḥ), resides in Me. That means the yogī, whose fault of sensuality has been burned up by the great influence of realizing My quality of possessing inconceivable śakti, enjoys liberation in the form of closeness to Me, rather than experiencing saṁsāra. The śrutis speak of the Lord’s possessing acintya śakti:
eko’pi san bahudhā yo’vabhāti
Though one, he exists as many. Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.21
The smṛti says:
eka eva paro viṣṇuḥ sarva-vyāpī na saṁśayaḥ
aiśvaryād rūpam ekaṁ ca sūryavad bahudheyate
Supreme Viṣṇu is one, and yet He is certainly all-pervading. By His inconceivable potency, He makes the one form become many, as the sun spreads its rays everywhere. Matsya Purāṇa