Devanagari
यथा नभसि मेघौघो रेणुर्वा पार्थिवोऽनिले ।
एवं द्रष्टरि दृश्यत्वमारोपितमबुद्धिभि: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
yathā nabhasi meghaugho
reṇur vā pārthivo ’nile
evaṁ draṣṭari dṛśyatvam
āropitam abuddhibhiḥ
Synonyms
yathā
—
as it is
;
nabhasi
—
in the sky
;
megha
—
oghaḥ — a mass of clouds
;
reṇuḥ
—
dust
;
vā
—
as well as
;
pārthivaḥ
—
muddiness
;
anile
—
in the air
;
evam
—
thus
;
draṣṭari
—
to the seer
;
dṛśyatvam
—
for the purpose of seeing
;
āropitam
—
is implied
;
abuddhibhiḥ
—
by the less intelligent persons .
Translation
Clouds and dust are carried by the air, but less intelligent persons say that the sky is cloudy and the air is dirty. Similarly, they also implant material bodily conceptions on the spirit self.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as unintelligent people attribute clouds to be the sky and particles of dust are attributed to be the air, so unintelligent people see the universe, the visible form of the Lord as the Lord.
Purport
It is further confirmed herein that with our material eyes and senses we cannot see the Lord, who is all spirit. We cannot even detect the spiritual spark which exists within the material body of the living being. We look to the outward covering of the body or subtle mind of the living being, but we cannot see the spiritual spark within the body. So we have to accept the living being’s presence by the presence of his gross body. Similarly, those who want to see the Lord with their present material eyes or with the material senses are advised to meditate on the gigantic external feature called the
virāṭ-rūpa.
For instance, when a particular gentleman goes in his car, which can be seen very easily, we identify the car with the man within the car. When the President goes out in his particular car, we say, “There is the President.” For the time being we identify the car with the President. Similarly, less intelligent men who want to see God immediately without necessary qualification are shown first the gigantic material cosmos as the form of the Lord, although the Lord is within and without. The clouds in the sky and the blue of the sky are better appreciated in this connection. Although the bluish tint of the sky and the sky itself are different, we conceive of the color of the sky as blue. But that is a general conception for the laymen only.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
To what can this be compared? Just as a group of clouds are attributed to the sky or particles of dust are attributed to the air, so this universal form is attributed to the Lord. It is like a man on a pedestal being called “the pedestal.” The universal form, situated in the Lord is called the Lord. This is the meaning. What is seen (dṛśyatvam), what is controlled by the Lord, is attributed to be the seer or the controller, the Lord (draṣṭari) who is actually invisible, by foolish people (abuddhibhiḥ). Though sky and air are invisible, we see the sky because it is blue or the air because it is dusty. The adventitious qualities of cloud and dust which are visible are attributed to be the sky and air which are actually invisible, because they become visible through the clouds and dust. Thus the meaning here is that the Lord, visible as the universe, is thus worshipped by the yogīs situated at the beginning stage of practice.