SB 7.6.21 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

परावरेषु भूतेषु ब्रह्मान्तस्थावरादिषु । भौतिकेषु विकारेषु भूतेष्वथ महत्सु च ॥ २० ॥ गुणेषु गुणसाम्ये च गुणव्यतिकरे तथा । एक एव परो ह्यात्मा भगवानीश्वरोऽव्यय: ॥ २१ ॥ प्रत्यगात्मस्वरूपेण द‍ृश्यरूपेण च स्वयम् । व्याप्यव्यापकनिर्देश्यो ह्यनिर्देश्योऽविकल्पित: ॥ २२ ॥ केवलानुभवानन्दस्वरूप: परमेश्वर: । माययान्तर्हितैश्वर्य ईयते गुणसर्गया ॥ २३ ॥

Verse text

parāvareṣu bhūteṣu brahmānta-sthāvarādiṣu bhautikeṣu vikāreṣu bhūteṣv atha mahatsu ca guṇeṣu guṇa-sāmye ca guṇa-vyatikare tathā eka eva paro hy ātmā bhagavān īśvaro ’vyayaḥ pratyag-ātma-svarūpeṇa dṛśya-rūpeṇa ca svayam vyāpya-vyāpaka-nirdeśyo hy anirdeśyo ’vikalpitaḥ kevalānubhavānanda- svarūpaḥ parameśvaraḥ māyayāntarhitaiśvarya īyate guṇa-sargayā

Synonyms

para — avareṣu — in exalted or hellish conditions of life ; bhūteṣu — in the living beings ; brahma — anta — ending with Lord Brahmā ; sthāvara — ādiṣu — beginning with the nonmoving forms of life, the trees and plants ; bhautikeṣu — of the material elements ; vikāreṣu — in the transformations ; bhūteṣu — in the five gross elements of material nature ; atha — moreover ; mahatsu — in the mahat-tattva, the total material energy ; ca — also ; guṇeṣu — in the modes of material nature ; guṇa — sāmye — in an equilibrium of material qualities ; ca — and ; guṇa — vyatikare — in the uneven manifestation of the modes of material nature ; tathā — as well ; ekaḥ — one ; eva — only ; paraḥ — transcendental ; hi — indeed ; ātmā — the original source ; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; īśvaraḥ — the controller ; avyayaḥ — without deteriorating ; pratyak — inner ; ātma — svarūpeṇa — by His original constitutional position as the Supersoul ; dṛśya — rūpeṇa — by His visible forms ; ca — also ; svayam — personally ; vyāpya — pervaded ; vyāpaka — all-pervading ; nirdeśyaḥ — to be described ; hi — certainly ; anirdeśyaḥ — not to be described (because of fine, subtle existence) ; avikalpitaḥ — without differentiation ; kevala — only ; anubhava — ānanda — svarūpaḥ — whose form is blissful and full of knowledge ; parama — īśvaraḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme ruler ; māyayā — by māyā, the illusory energy ; antarhita — covered ; aiśvaryaḥ — whose unlimited opulence ; īyate — is mistaken as ; guṇa — sargayā — the interaction of the material modes of nature .

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, who is infallible and indefatigable, is present in different forms of life, from the inert living beings [sthāvara], such as the plants, to Brahmā, the foremost created living being. He is also present in the varieties of material creations and in the material elements, the total material energy and the modes of material nature [sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa], as well as the unmanifested material nature and the false ego. Although He is one, He is present everywhere, and He is also the transcendental Supersoul, the cause of all causes, who is present as the observer in the cores of the hearts of all living entities. He is indicated as that which is pervaded and as the all-pervading Supersoul, but actually He cannot be indicated. He is changeless and undivided. He is simply perceived as the supreme sac-cid-ānanda [eternity, knowledge and bliss]. Being covered by the curtain of the external energy, to the atheist He appears nonexistent.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The unchanging Lord, Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān, different from prakṛti, is present in higher and lower beings from Brahmā to the plants, in all gross objects, in the gross elements, in the guṇas, in pradhāna, and in its transformations such as mahat-tattva. He is described as the pervader in the form of Paramātmā, and is known as the pervaded in the form of the universe. Though he is beyond definition, he is realized by various types of worshippers. This Supreme Lord, though having a spiritual form of pure knowledge and bliss, is falsely seen as an entity without powers, because of māyā, which creates material sense objects for the jīva. Not only is the Lord to be served within the heart, but he is present everywhere, and should be satisfied by giving him all respect. To teach this, two verses show how the Lord pervades everything. He is present in all excellent and inferior jīvas from Brahmā to the plants. He is present in non-living objects such as pots (bhautikeṣu vikareṣu), in the five gross elements (mahatsu bhūteṣu), in pradhāna (guṇa-samye), and in its transformations such as mahat-tattva (guṇa-vyatikare). He is different from prakṛti and its transformations. He is the one Lord called supreme Brahman (ekaḥ), Paramātmā (ātmā) and Bhagavān. The verb of the sentence is īyate in verse 23. He is without deterioration through all time (avyayaḥ). “If the Lord is like this, then let this be defined.” He is the ātmā within all jīvas (pratyag-ātma), Paramātmā. He is the pervader in that form, and as the visible universe, he is pervaded. Thus he is specified as the pervader and the pervaded. But actually he cannot be specified. Though indefinable or invisible, by different worshippers he is manifested variously (vikalpitaḥ) as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Still he is one form, made of knowledge and bliss. Though he is manifest by the powers arising from his svarūpa everywhere, by his power of ignorance, māyā, he seems to be without power, since it is impossible for the jīva to see him. What is māyā? Māyā creates (sargayā) sense objects (guṇa) like sound which are realized by the senses. Thus sound and other sense objects are perceived, but not the Lord, since the jīva’s vision for seeing the Lord is concealed by avidyā, a transformation of māyā. The Lord says: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā | mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te || My māyā made of the guṇas, fit for jīva’s pleasure, is hard to surpass, but those who surrender to me alone can cross over māyā. BG 7.14 Thus when māyā is overcome by bhakti to the Lord, the Lord becomes visible according to the degree of bhakti.

Purport

Not only is the Supreme Personality of Godhead present as the Supersoul of all living entities; at the same time, He pervades everything in the entire creation. He exists in all circumstances and at all times. He exists in the heart of Lord Brahmā and also in the cores of the hearts of the hogs, dogs, trees, plants and so on. He is present everywhere. He is present not only in the heart of the living entity, but also in material things, even in the atoms, protons and electrons being explored by material scientists. The Lord is present in three features — as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Because He is present everywhere, He is described as sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Viṣṇu exists beyond Brahman. Bhagavad-gītā confirms that Kṛṣṇa, by His Brahman feature, is all-pervading ( mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam ), but Brahman depends upon Kṛṣṇa ( brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham ). Without Kṛṣṇa, there could be no existence of Brahman or Paramātmā. Therefore, Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the ultimate realization of the Absolute Truth. Although He is present as the Paramātmā in the core of everyone’s heart, He is nonetheless one, either as an individual or as the all-pervading Brahman. The supreme cause is Kṛṣṇa, and devotees who have surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead can realize Him and His presence within the universe and within the atom ( aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham ). This realization is possible only for devotees who have fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord; for others it is not possible. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) : daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te The process of surrender in a devotional attitude is accepted by a fortunate living being. After wandering through many varieties of life on many planetary systems, when one comes to the real understanding of the Absolute Truth by the grace of a devotee, one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ( bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jṣānavān māṁ prapadyate ). Prahlāda Mahārāja’s class friends, who were born of Daitya families, thought that realizing the Absolute was extremely difficult. Indeed, we have experience that many, many people say this very thing. Actually, however, this is not so. The Absolute, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is most intimately related to all living entities. Therefore if one understands the Vaiṣṇava philosophy, which explains how He is present everywhere and how He acts everywhere, to worship the Supreme Lord or to realize Him is not at all difficult. Realization of the Lord, however, is possible only in the association of devotees. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in His teachings to Rūpa Gosvāmī said ( Cc. Madhya 19.151): brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja The living entity in the material condition wanders through many varieties of life and many varieties of circumstances, but if he comes in contact with a pure devotee and is intelligent enough to take instructions from the pure devotee regarding the process of devotional service, he can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin of Brahman and Paramātmā, without difficulty. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya says: antaryāmī pratyag-ātmā vyāptaḥ kālo hariḥ smṛtaḥ prakṛtyā tamasāvṛtatvāt harer aiśvaryaṁ na jṣāyate The Lord is present as antaryāmī in everyone’s heart and is visible in the individual soul covered by a body. Indeed, He is everywhere at every time and every condition, but because He is covered by the curtain of material energy, to an ordinary person there appears to be no God.