BG 9.5
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“
Devanagari
न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् ।
भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावन: ॥ ५ ॥
Verse text
na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni
paśya me yogam aiśvaram
bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho
mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
Synonyms
na
—
never
;
ca
—
also
;
mat-sthāni
—
situated in Me
;
bhūtāni
—
all creation
;
paśya
—
just see
;
me
—
My
;
yogam aiśvaram
—
inconceivable mystic power
;
bhūta-bhṛt
—
the maintainer of all living entities
;
na
—
never
;
ca
—
also
;
bhūta-sthaḥ
—
in the cosmic manifestation
;
mama
—
My
;
ātmā
—
Self
;
bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
—
the source of all manifestations.
Translation
And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all living entities and although I am everywhere, I am not a part of this cosmic manifestation, for My Self is the very source of creation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
5. And the living beings as well are not situated in Me. See my power of yoga. My body, maintaining them and protecting them, is not in them.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
5. And the living beings are not in Me. See the inconceivable power of My body. My mind, I maintain them and protecting them, is not in them.
Purport
The Lord says that everything is resting on Him ( mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni ). This should not be misunderstood. The Lord is not directly concerned with the maintenance and sustenance of this material manifestation. Sometimes we see a picture of Atlas holding the globe on his shoulders; he seems to be very tired, holding this great earthly planet. Such an image should not be entertained in connection with Kṛṣṇa’s upholding this created universe. He says that although everything is resting on Him, He is aloof. The planetary systems are floating in space, and this space is the energy of the Supreme Lord. But He is different from space. He is differently situated. Therefore the Lord says, “Although they are situated on My inconceivable energy, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead I am aloof from them.” This is the inconceivable opulence of the Lord.
In the Nirukti Vedic dictionary it is said, yujyate ’nena durghaṭeṣu kāryeṣu: “The Supreme Lord is performing inconceivably wonderful pastimes, displaying His energy.” His person is full of different potent energies, and His determination is itself actual fact. In this way the Personality of Godhead is to be understood. We may think of doing something, but there are so many impediments, and sometimes it is not possible to do as we like. But when Kṛṣṇa wants to do something, simply by His willing, everything is performed so perfectly that one cannot imagine how it is being done. The Lord explains this fact: although He is the maintainer and sustainer of the entire material manifestation, He does not touch this material manifestation. Simply by His supreme will, everything is created, everything is sustained, everything is maintained and everything is annihilated. There is no difference between His mind and Himself (as there is a difference between ourselves and our present material mind) because He is absolute spirit. Simultaneously the Lord is present in everything; yet the common man cannot understand how He is also present personally. He is different from this material manifestation, yet everything is resting on Him. This is explained here as yogam aiśvaram, the mystic power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
“Though everything is situated in Me, they are not situated in Me, since I am completely independent of everything.”
“But this is contrary to what You said before: that You are pervading the universe and that You are the shelter of the universe.”
“See My supernatural (yogam) power (aiśvaryam), My extraordinary skill in doing what cannot be done! And see also something else which is astonishing. Even though I am the maintainer of all the living beings (bhūtā-bhṛt) in the universe, and the protector of them all (bhūtā-bhāvanaḥ), I, in My spiritual body (mamātmā), am not situated in them (na bhūtā-sthaḥ).”
Since in the Lord there is no difference between the body and the soul, the expression “My body” (mamātmā) is employed in the manner of the expression “the head of Rāhu.” Though Rāhu and his head are non-different, [Note: Rāhu has only a head and no other bodily part.] as Kṛṣṇa and His body are non-different, the possessive case is used, making some distinction.
The meaning is this: the jīvas accept a body, protect it, and, developing attachment to it, remain in that body. But though I accept all the living beings and protect them— though they are My material body consisting of all creatures—I am not situated there, because I am not attached.”
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
“But it would be very tiring for You to carry such a heavy burden as the universe.”
“The things created by Me are not within Me like water in a pot. (na ca mat sthāni bhūṭāni)”
“But in the previous verse You said that everything was situated in You (mat sthāni sarva bhūtāni) and in this verse You contradict this by saying everything is not in You (na ca mat sthāni bhūtāni).”
“Understand (paśya) that this is My extraordinary yoga (yogam aiśvaryam).”
Yoga means “the means by which something very difficult to accomplish is accomplished.” Yoga thus refers here to the Lord’s body endowed with inconceivable śakti, whose quality is that His every desire is fulfilled without effort (satya saṇkalpatā śakti). The Lord then clarifies the issue.
“I maintain and protect all beings (bhūta bhṛt) but am not situated in or mixed with them at all, because My mind (mama ātmā) carries out their welfare (bhūta bhāvaṇaḥ). I maintain and protect them by My extraordinary yoga, by My satya saṇkalpatā śakti. I do not have to utilize My body to do this.”
The śruti confirms this:
etasya vā akṣarasya praśāsane gārgi sūryācandram asau vidhṛtau tiṣṭhata etasya vā akṣarasya praśāsane gārgi dyāv āpṛthivyau vidhṛte tiṣṭhataḥ
By the command of that imperishable, O Gārgi, sun and moon remain in their positions. By the command of that imperishable, O Gārgî, heaven and earth remain in their positions. Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.8.8
Though the Lord’s mind is non-different from His body, one makes practical distinctions through the power of viśesā, as one does in statements such as “Being exists.” [Note: Viśeṣa is thus the peculiar characteristic or potency of things which makes description and talk of difference possible, whereas a matter of fact only identity exists. It is the power of things in themselves which, through an underlying identity of essence, enables us to distinguish a particular from its universal; a quality from its substance; motion or power or energy from things possessing them; the svarūpa from the possessor of the svarūpa. The sentence “being exists” makes sense, though the words actually mean the same thing, because of making distinctions within oneness. See the commentary on 1.1 for the same example.]
Surrender Unto Me
Not only Krsna says "They are resting on Me but I am not in them", but He continues "Although I am not in them yet everything that is created does not rest in Me." Before He said that "everything in Me" and now He says "everything th created does not rest in Me".
Misteriously enough, although everything is in Krsna, they are not in Krsna, because He is somewhere else. Everything is in Him but everything is not in Him, because He is somewhere else. This is contradictory. Therefore this is called 'acintya sakti'.
Arjuna asked the question: "How is it possible? It seems like You contradict Yourself by these two verses." And Krsna answers: "Yes, this is My 'pasya me yogam aisvaryam', My mystic opulence!"
Although everything is resting because Krsna is completely separated even though everything is resting in Him, all that that is resting on Him is not a burden on Him at all, because He is separated. This is Krsna's mystic opulences. He is completely somewhere else in the spiritual world, yet everything is resting on Him (in His energy), but He is completely aloof. Completely aloof but everything is resting on Him.
To help us to understand this contradiction and this mystic 'acintya' explanation of how Krsna relates with this material energy, in Text 6 Krsna gives an example.