SB 10.85.23 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अहं यूयमसावार्य इमे च द्वारकौकस: । सर्वेऽप्येवं यदुश्रेष्ठ विमृग्या: सचराचरम् ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

ahaṁ yūyam asāv ārya ime ca dvārakāukasaḥ sarve ’py evaṁ yadu-śreṣṭha vimṛgyāḥ sa-carācaram

Synonyms

aham — I ; yūyam — you ; asau — He ; āryaḥ — My respected brother (Balarāma) ; ime — these ; ca — and ; dvārakā — okasaḥ — inhabitants of Dvārakā ; sarve — all ; api — even ; evam — in this same way ; yadu — śreṣṭha — O best of the Yadus ; vimṛgyāḥ — to be considered ; sa — along with ; cara — that which moves ; acaram — and that which does not move .

Translation

Not only I, but also you, along with My respected brother and these residents of Dvārakā, should all be considered in this same philosophical light, O best of the Yadus. Indeed, we should include all that exists, both moving and nonmoving.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Not only I, but also you, along with My respected brother and these residents of Dvārakā, should all be considered in this same philosophical light, O best of the Yadus. Indeed, we should include all that exists, both moving and nonmoving. KB 10.85.23-24 After this, Lord Kṛṣṇa informed His father of the spiritual identity of all living entities. He continued: “My dear Father, everyone and everything, including Me and My brother Balarāma, as well as all the inhabitants of the city of Dvārakā and the whole cosmic manifestation, are exactly as you have already explained, but all of us are also qualitatively one.” Lord Kṛṣṇa intended for Vasudeva to see everything with the vision of a mahā-bhāgavata, a first-class devotee, who sees that all living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and that the Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. In fact, every living entity has a spiritual identity, but in contact with material existence he becomes influenced by the material modes of nature. He becomes covered by the concept of bodily life, forgetting that his spirit soul is of the same quality as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One mistakenly considers one individual to be different from another simply because of their material bodily coverings. Because of differences between bodies, the spirit soul appears before us differently.

Purport

To protect His parents’ intimate relationship with Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa stresses the oneness of all existence in this statement to His father, Vasudeva. Vasudeva had been reminded of his sons’ greatness by hearing the sages gathered at Kurukṣetra. But his sense of awe was ruining his intimate parental relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and therefore Kṛṣṇa wanted to dispel it. We should not misunderstand the “oneness” Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks of here. The subtle words of the Upaniṣads often mislead impersonalists into believing that all existence is ineffably one, without any variety in the ultimate issue. Some Upaniṣadic mantras emphasize the sameness of God and His creation, while others speak about their difference. Tat tvam asi śvetaketo (“You are that, O Śvetaketu”), for example, is an abheda-vākya, a mantra affirming that all things are one with God, being His dependent expansions. But the Upaniṣads also contain many bheda-vākyas, statements that affirm the unique, distinguishing qualities of the Supreme, such as this statement: ka evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyād yady eṣa ākāśa ānando na syāt, eṣa evānandayati. “Who would there be to activate the creation and give life to all beings if this infinite Supreme were not the original enjoyer? Indeed, He alone is the source of all pleasure.” ( Taittirīya Upaniṣad. 2.7.1) By the influence of the Supreme Lord’s bewildering Māyā, envious impersonalists read the abheda-vākyas literally and accept the bheda-vākyas only in a figurative way. Authoritative Vaiṣṇava commentators, on the other hand, carefully reconcile the apparent contradictions in accordance with the interpretive principles of Vedic Mīmāṁsā and the logically established conclusions of Vedānta.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"One should only consider one’s son such as me to be the paramatma. You should see everyone as such. Everyone should be sought out (vimrgyah) by his quality as the paramatma." Alternate version has drastavyah in stead of vimrgyah. "We, having obtained teachings from you, should see everywhere, in persons such as Pradyumna, the paramatma."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

You have taught that since everything appears from the Supreme Lord, we two can be perceived as the same, and similarly all others should be perceived in the same way. This is known from statements like sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: everything is Brahman alone. That is explained in this verse. Sa-carācaram is an avyayībhava compound. O best of the Yadus, this is suitable for you to say since people like you appear in this world in order that people can cross saṁsāra by your revelation of knowledge. Or, just as you think of us as sons by your mercy, you should think of all beings as your sons. All beings should be considered (vimṛgyāḥ) as objects of mercy by those who are merciful. Another version has vimṛśyāḥ. Then all people in the material world will be delivered.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Satisfying Vasudeva with his greeting, he then speaks with humility since he is the ocean of good qualities. Yūyam (you) in the plural indicates respect or includes Devakī and others. Asau indicates that Balarāma is the supreme Lord. All these known as friends or as jīvas should be considered in the same way. O best of the Yadus! Such vision, with respect for the lower entities, is appropriate for the greatest person.