Devanagari
योगेश्वरा ऊचु
प्रेयान्न तेऽन्योऽस्त्यमुतस्त्वयि प्रभो
विश्वात्मनीक्षेन्न पृथग्य आत्मन: ।
अथापि भक्त्येश तयोपधावता-
मनन्यवृत्त्यानुगृहाण वत्सल ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
yogeśvarā ūcuḥ
preyān na te ’nyo ’sty amutas tvayi prabho
viśvātmanīkṣen na pṛthag ya ātmanaḥ
athāpi bhaktyeśa tayopadhāvatām
ananya-vṛttyānugṛhāṇa vatsala
Synonyms
yoga
—
īśvarāḥ — the great mystics
;
ūcuḥ
—
said
;
preyān
—
very dear
;
na
—
not
;
te
—
of You
;
anyaḥ
—
another
;
asti
—
there is
;
amutaḥ
—
from that
;
tvayi
—
in You
;
prabho
—
dear Lord
;
viśva
—
ātmani — in the Supersoul of all living entities
;
īkṣet
—
see
;
na
—
not
;
pṛthak
—
different
;
yaḥ
—
who
;
ātmanaḥ
—
the living entities
;
atha api
—
so much more
;
bhaktyā
—
with devotion
;
īśa
—
O Lord
;
tayā
—
with it
;
upadhāvatām
—
of those who worship
;
ananya
—
vṛttyā — unfailing
;
anugṛhāṇa
—
favor
;
vatsala
—
O favorable Lord .
Translation
The great mystics said: Dear Lord, persons who see You as nondifferent from themselves, knowing that You are the Supersoul of all living entities, are certainly very, very dear to You. You are very favorable toward those who engage in devotional service, accepting You as the Lord and themselves as the servants. By Your mercy, You are always inclined in their favor.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The masters of yoga said: O Lord! There is no one dearer to you than those who see the jīvas as non-different from you, the soul of the universe. However, O Lord, most affectionate to the devotees, please bestow pure bhakti on those serving you!
There is no one dearer than those who do not see the jīvas as different from you since there are your śakti, who know the jīvas to be not different from you. You have said:
teṣāṁ jṣānī nitya-yukta eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate
priyo hi jṣānino 'tyartham ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ
Of these four types, the jṣānī, who is constantly engaged in thinking of me, who is practicing bhakti alone, is the best. I am cherished by that jṣānī, and he is cherished by me. BG 7.17
However, please favor us with the pure bhakti (ananya-vṛttiḥ) of persons serving with the notion of “I am your servant, and you are my master.” We are the most fallen. How could we obtain the state of non-difference? By praising it, they condemn impersonal realization. The servants of the Lord are most dear. This is directed to the jṣānīs. You have said:
na tathā me priyatama ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥ
na ca saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr naivātmā ca yathā bhavān
My dear Uddhava, neither Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, the goddess of fortune nor indeed my own self is as dear to me as you are. SB 11.14.15
nāham ātmānam āśāse mad-bhaktaiḥ sādhubhir vinā
śriyaṁ cātyantikīṁ brahman yeṣāṁ gatir ahaṁ parā
O best of the brāhmaṇas, without saintly persons for whom I am the only destination, I do not desire to enjoy my transcendental bliss and my supreme opulences. SB 9.4.64
This is understood by the word vatsala. You are most affectionate to the devotee. This is heard everywhere in the scriptures. It is never said that you are affectionate to the jṣānīs.
Purport
It is indicated in this verse that the monists and the great mystics know the Supreme Personality of Godhead as one. This oneness is not the misunderstanding that a living entity is equal in every respect to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This monism is based on pure knowledge as described and confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.17)
:
priyo hi jṣānino ’tyartham ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ.
The Lord says that those who are advanced in transcendental knowledge and know the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness are very dear to Him, and He also is very dear to them. Those who are actually in perfect knowledge of the science of God know that the living entities are superior energy of the Supreme Lord. This is stated in
Bhagavad-gītā,
Seventh Chapter: the material energy is inferior, and the living entities are superior energy. Energy and the energetic are nondifferent; therefore, energies possess the same quality as the energetic. Persons who are in full knowledge of the Personality of Godhead, analyzing His different energies and knowing their own constitutional position, are certainly very, very dear to the Lord. Persons, however, who may not even be conversant with knowledge of the Supreme Personality but who always think of the Lord with love and faith, feeling that He is great and that they are His parts and parcels, ever His servitors, are even more favored by Him. The particular significance of this verse is that the Lord is addressed as
vatsala.
Vatsala
means “always favorably disposed.” The Lord’s name is
bhakta-vatsala.
The Lord is famous as
bhakta-vatsala,
which means that He is always favorably inclined to the devotees, whereas He is never addressed anywhere in the Vedic literature as
jṣāni-vatsala.