Devanagari
परे ब्रह्मणि चात्मानं परं ब्रह्म तथात्मनि ।
वीक्षमाणो
विहायेक्षामस्मादुपरराम ह ॥ ४२ ॥
Verse text
pare brahmaṇi cātmānaṁ
paraṁ brahma tathātmani
vīkṣamāṇo vihāyekṣām
asmād upararāma ha
Synonyms
pare
—
transcendental
;
brahmaṇi
—
in the Absolute
;
ca
—
and
;
ātmānam
—
the self
;
param
—
the supreme
;
brahma
—
Absolute
;
tathā
—
also
;
ātmani
—
in himself
;
vīkṣamāṇaḥ
—
thus observing
;
vihāya
—
giving up
;
īkṣām
—
reservation
;
asmāt
—
from this process
;
upararāma
—
retired
;
ha
—
certainly .
Translation
King Malayadhvaja could thus observe that the Supersoul was sitting by his side, and that he, as the individual soul, was sitting by the side of the Supersoul. Since both were together, there was no need for separate interests; thus he ceased from such activities.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O King! By direct vision of the Lord who takes away all suffering, shining brightly everywhere, by the lamp of pure knowledge taught by guru concerning the Lord’s sweetness, he saw himself possessing love for the Lord and saw the Lord possessing love for him, and after losing that vision because of fainting, he gave up all connection with the gross and subtle bodies.
Then, when prema arose, he saw the Lord directly. By the Supreme Lord who takes away all suffering (hariṇā), with bright effulgence spreading everywhere (viśvataḥmukham sphuratā), and by the lamp of knowledge, the means of realizing the Lord’s sweetness, what is taught by the guru, one sees himself as the possessor of rati for the supreme Brahman (ātmānam pare brahmaṇi), because it has already been said vāsudeve bhagavati nānyad vedodvahan ratim: he saw only that he had rati for Vāsudeva. The Lord also says ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁstathaiva bhajāmyaham: according to how they surrender to me, I reward them. (BG 4.11) Thus he saw the Lord to be full of attraction for him (ātmani parabrahman). At that moment, giving up that vision because of fainting in bliss, he lost interest in gross and subtle coverings completely.
But those who favor the regal aspect of the Lord explain the three verses in the following way. The King, knowing the Supreme Lord (ātmānam) as all-pervading and also situated within the jīva, gave up saṁsāra. Examples are given of each vision. All pervasiveness of the Lord is similar to the witness of reflection, the mind, which spreads through the body of the jīva. The Lord within is similar to realizing in deep sleep that there is only the ātmā, for one says “I slept soundly.” In the deep sleep state, there is realization of only the ātmā, separate from body. How does this knowledge arise? It arises from the Lord who is the witness. Dadāmi buddhiyogaṁ taṁ yena māmupayānti: I give intelligence by which one attains me. (BG10.10) By the lamp of that knowledge, one sees in the Supreme Lord, who is the āśraya-tattva, the pure jīva, who takes shelter of the Lord. And he sees in the pure jīva, you, the Supreme Lord, presiding over the jīva. After attaining prema, one gives up the process of reflection (vihāya īkṣām). Because the Bhāgavatam is like Mohinī avatāra, giving nectar to the devotees and cheating the demons, others interpret these verses differently. The devotees do not accept those interpretations.
Purport
In the advanced stage of devotional service, the devotee does not see anything separate between his own interests and those of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Both interests become one, for the devotee does not act for a separate interest. Whatever he does, he does in the interest of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At that time he sees everything in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supreme Personality of Godhead in everything. Having attained this stage of understanding, he sees no distinction between the spiritual and material worlds. In perfect vision, the material world becomes the spiritual world due to its being the external energy of the Supreme Lord. For the perfect devotee, the energy and the energetic are nondifferent. Thus the so-called material world becomes spiritual (
sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma
). Everything is intended for the service of the Supreme Lord, and the expert devotee can utilize any so-called material thing for the Lord’s service. One cannot serve the Lord without being situated on the spiritual platform; thus if a so-called material thing is dovetailed in the service of the Lord, it is no longer to be considered material. This is how the pure devotee, in his perfect vision, sees from all angles.