FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.9.15

त्वं नित्यमुक्तपरिशुद्धविबुद्ध आत्मा कूटस्थ आदिपुरुषो भगवांस्त्र्यधीश: । यद्बुद्ध्यवस्थितिमखण्डितया स्वद‍ृष्टय‍ा द्रष्टा स्थितावधिमखो व्यतिरिक्त आस्से ॥ १५ ॥
tvaṁ nitya-mukta-pariśuddha-vibuddha ātmā
[tvam nitya-mukta-parishuddha-vibuddha aatmaa]
kūṭa-stha ādi-puruṣo bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ
[koota-stha aadi-purusho bhagavaams try-adheeshah]
yad-buddhy-avasthitim akhaṇḍitayā sva-dṛṣṭyā
[yad-buddhy-avasthitim akhanditayaa sva-drishtyaa]
draṣṭā sthitāv adhimakho vyatirikta āsse
[drashtaa sthitaav adhimakho vyatirikta aasse]
tvam — You nitya — eternally mukta — liberated pariśuddha — uncontaminated vibuddhaḥ — full of knowledge ātmā — the Supreme Soul kūṭa-sthaḥ — changeless ādi — original puruṣaḥ — person bhagavān — the Lord, full with six opulences tri-adhīśaḥ — master of the three modes yat — whence buddhi — of intellectual activities avasthitim — all stages akhaṇḍitayā — unbroken sva-dṛṣṭyā — by transcendental vision draṣṭā — You witness sthitau — for maintaining (the universe) adhimakhaḥ — enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices vyatiriktaḥ — differently āsse — You are situated.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tvaṁ nitya-mukta-pariśuddha-vibuddha ātmā
tvam
You
nitya
eternally
mukta
liberated
pariśuddha
uncontaminated
vibuddhaḥ
full of knowledge
ātmā
the Supreme Soul
kūṭa-stha ādi-puruṣo bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ
kūṭa-sthaḥ
changeless
ādi
original
puruṣaḥ
person
bhagavān
the Lord, full with six opulences
tri-adhīśaḥ
master of the three modes
yat
whence
yad-buddhy-avasthitim akhaṇḍitayā sva-dṛṣṭyā
buddhi
of intellectual activities
avasthitim
all stages
akhaṇḍitayā
unbroken
sva-dṛṣṭyā
by transcendental vision
draṣṭā
You witness
sthitau
for maintaining (the universe)
draṣṭā sthitāv adhimakho vyatirikta āsse
adhimakhaḥ
enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices
vyatiriktaḥ
differently
āsse
You are situated.
My Lord, by Your unbroken transcendental glance You are the supreme witness of all stages of intellectual activities. You are eternally liberated, Your existence is situated in pure goodness, and You are existent in the Supersoul without change. You are the original Personality of Godhead, full with six opulences, and You are eternally the master of the three modes of material nature. Thus, You are always different from the ordinary living entities. As Lord Viṣṇu, You maintain all the affairs of the entire universe, and yet You stand aloof and are the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices.

An atheistic argument against the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead states that if God, the Supreme Person, appears and disappears and sleeps and awakens, then what is the difference between God and the living entity? Dhruva Mahārāja is carefully distinguishing the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from that of the living entities. He points out the following differences. The Lord is eternally liberated. Whenever He appears, even within this material world, He is never entangled by the three modes of material nature. He is therefore known as try-adhīśa, the master of the three modes of material nature. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā: the living entities are all entangled in the three modes of material nature. The external energy of the Lord is very strong, but the Lord, as the master of the three modes of material nature, is ever liberated from the action and reaction of those modes. He is therefore uncontaminated, as stated in the Īśopaniṣad. The contamination of the material world does not affect the Supreme Godhead. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in the Bhagavad-gītā that those who are rascals and fools think of Him as an ordinary human being, not knowing His paraṁ bhāvam. Paraṁ bhāvam refers to His being always transcendentally situated. Material contamination cannot affect Him.

Another difference between the Lord and the living entity is that a living entity is always in darkness. Even though he may be situated in the mode of goodness, there are still so many things which are unknown to him. But it is not the same for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He knows past, present and future and everything that is happening in everyone’s heart. Bhagavad-gītā confirms this ( vedāhaṁ samatītāni ). The Lord is not part of the soul — He is the unchangeable Supreme Soul, and the living entities are His parts and parcels. The living entity is forced to appear in this material world under the direction of daiva-māyā, but when the Lord appears, He comes by His own internal potency, ātma-māyā. Besides that, a living entity is within the time of past, present and future. His life has a beginning, a birth, and in the conditioned state his life ends with death. But the Lord is ādi-puruṣa, the original person. In the Brahma-saṁhitā Lord Brahmā offers his respect to the ādi-puruṣa, Govinda, the original person, who has no beginning, whereas the creation of this material world has a beginning. The Vedānta says, janmādy asya yataḥ: everything is born from the Supreme, but the Supreme has no birth. He has all the six opulences in full and beyond comparison, He is the master of material nature, His intelligence is not broken under any circumstances, and He stands aloof, although He is the maintainer of the whole creation. As stated in the Vedas ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13), nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. The Lord is the supreme maintainer. Living entities are meant to serve Him by offering sacrifices, for He is the rightful enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. Therefore everyone should engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord with his life, his riches, his intelligence and his words. This is the original, constitutional position of the living entities. One should never compare the sleeping of an ordinary living entity to the sleeping of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Causal Ocean. There is no stage at which the living entity can compare to the Supreme Person. The Māyāvādī philosophers, being unable to adjust to all this, come to the conclusion of impersonalism or voidism.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
You are different from the jīva because you are eternally liberated, completely pure, omniscient, pure soul, possessing one form over all time, the final cause, the puruṣa, endowed with all good qualities, the controller of the three guṇas, stable in intelligence, the constant seer through the cit-śakti, the maintainer of the universe, and the controller of sacrifice. “How am I different from the jīvas if I also go to sleep?” Yad means “because.” You are eternally liberated and the jīva becomes liberated only by your mercy. You are completely pure and the jīva is contaminated. You are omniscient and the jīva has little knowledge. You are ātmā and the jīva has a bodily covering which is material. You are without change (kūṭa-sthaḥ). The jīva is changeable. Or you extend over all time in one form, and the jīva takes many forms over time. You are the cause, with the form of the puruṣa. The jīva is not the cause, and has the form of woman, man or neutral entity. You are Bhagavān, and the jīva is without bhaga (good qualities). You are the master of the three guṇas. The jīva is controlled by the guṇas. You are stable in intelligence. The jīva’s intelligence is subject to conditions of waking, sleeping, and dreaming. You are the continuous witness by your indestructible cit-śakti. The jīva has disrupted vision because his intelligence undergoes waking, dreaming and sleeping. You are situated in action to maintain the universe. The jīva cannot even maintain himself. You preside over sacrifices. The jīva is dependent on sacrifices. Therefore you are different from the jīva. I know that your activities such as sleeping are actions of your cit-śakti.
You are the unchanging witness in pure goodness, eternally liberated, six-opulent Supreme Personality — distinct from the conditioned soul who comes and goes. Be careful not to flatten the Lord's uniqueness when you read 'all is one.'
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I quietly equate myself with God in ways that actually shrink Him?
  • What changes if I keep the distinction sharp: I am part-and-parcel, He is the Whole?
📝 My note

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