Devanagari
अथ मां सर्वभूतेषु भूतात्मानं कृतालयम् ।
अर्हयेद्दानमानाभ्यां मैत्र्याभिन्नेन चक्षुषा ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
atha māṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
bhūtātmānaṁ kṛtālayam
arhayed dāna-mānābhyāṁ
maitryābhinnena cakṣuṣā
Synonyms
atha
—
therefore
;
mām
—
Me
;
sarva
—
bhūteṣu — in all creatures
;
bhūta
—
ātmānam — the Self in all beings
;
kṛta
—
ālayam — abiding
;
arhayet
—
one should propitiate
;
dāna
—
mānābhyām — through charity and respect
;
maitryā
—
through friendship
;
abhinnena
—
equal
;
cakṣuṣā
—
by viewing .
Translation
Therefore, through charitable gifts and attention, as well as through friendly behavior and by viewing all to be alike, one should propitiate Me, who abide in all creatures as their very Self.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
On the other hand, they should worship me, the soul in all beings, who have taken shelter in all beings, with gifts and respect, treating all beings as equal friends.
“All the starving jīvas on the earth, hearing that there is one who can satisfy their hunger, will go to him. Who will have patience like King Rantideva to feed them all?” In answer to this is said, that on the contrary (atha), they should worship those living entities with gifts as much as they can. Medini says atha can used to indicate doubt, authority, auspiciousness, with meanings of alternative, question, completeness, beginning, or totality. They should not abuse those who criticize them and try to beat them because they are hungry. They should respect them with praise, giving them greater respect than themselves. The Lord himself says:
ye brāhmaṇān mayi dhiyā kṣipato 'rcayantas
tuṣyad-dhṛdaḥ smita-sudhokṣita-padma-vaktrāḥ
vāṇyānurāga-kalayātmajavad gṛṇantaḥ
sambodhayanty aham ivāham upāhṛtas taiḥ
Just as I am controlled by you, I am controlled by those who worship the brāhmaṇas who have offended others, who see those brāhmaṇas as non-different from me, who remain pleased in heart in spite of their harsh words, showing lotus faces moistened with sweet smiles, and who pacify them by praising them with words filled with love, just as a son praises an angry father. SB 3.16.11
They should treat them as friends, equal to themselves, without speaking and with sincerity, for the Lord, treating all beings without duplicity, situated within, does not get angry, even though people become angry at him.
Purport
It should not be misunderstood that because the Supersoul is dwelling within the heart of a living entity, the individual soul has become equal to Him. The equality of the Supersoul and the individual soul is misconceived by the impersonalist. Here it is distinctly mentioned that the individual soul should be recognized in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The method of worshiping the individual soul is described here as either giving charitable gifts or behaving in a friendly manner, free from any separatist outlook. The impersonalist sometimes accepts a poor individual soul as being
daridra-nārāyaṇa,
meaning that Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has become poor. This is a contradiction. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full in all opulences. He can agree to live with a poor soul or even with an animal, but this does not make Him poor.
There are two Sanskrit words used here,
māna
and
dāna.
Māna
indicates a superior, and
dāna
indicates one who gives charitable gifts or is compassionate towards an inferior. We cannot treat the Supreme Personality of Godhead as an inferior who is dependent on our charitable gifts. When we give charity, it is to a person who is inferior in his material or economic condition. Charity is not given to a rich man. Similarly, it is explicitly stated here that
māna,
respect, is offered to a superior, and charity is offered to an inferior. The living entities, according to different results of fruitive activities, may become rich or poor, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unchangeable; He is always full in six opulences. Treating a living entity equally does not mean treating him as one would treat the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Compassion and friendliness do not necessitate falsely elevating someone to the exalted position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We should not, at the same time, misunderstand that the Supersoul situated in the heart of an animal like a hog and the Supersoul situated in the heart of a learned
brāhmaṇa
are different. The Supersoul in all living entities is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. By His omnipotency, He can live anywhere, and He can create His Vaikuṇṭha situation everywhere. That is His inconceivable potency. Therefore, when Nārāyaṇa is living in the heart of a hog, He does not become a hog-Nārāyaṇa. He is always Nārāyaṇa and is unaffected by the body of the hog.