Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 29 Verses 13-14

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 29: Bhakti-yoga

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.29.13-14

iti sarvāṇi bhūtāni

mad-bhāvena mahā-dyute

sabhājayan manyamāno

jñānaḿ kevalam āśritaḥ

brāhmaṇe pukkase stene

brahmaṇye 'rke sphulińgake

akrūre krūrake caiva

sama-dṛk paṇḍito mataḥ

SYNONYMS

iti — in this way; sarvāṇi — to all; bhūtāni — living beings; mat-bhāvena — with the sense of My presence; mahā-dyute — O greatly effulgent Uddhava; sabhājayan — giving respect; manyamānaḥ — so considering; jñānam — knowledge; kevalam — transcendental; āśritaḥ — taking shelter of; brāhmaṇe — in the brāhmaṇa; pukkase — in the outcaste of the Pukkasa tribe; stene — in the thief; brahmaṇye — in the man who respects brahminical culture; arke — in the sun; sphulińgake — in the spark of the fire; akrūre — in the gentle; krūrake — in the cruel; ca — also; eva — indeed; sama-dṛk — having equal vision; paṇḍitaḥ — a learned scholar; mataḥ — is considered.

TRANSLATION

O brilliant Uddhava, one who thus views all living entities with the idea that I am present within each of them, and who by taking shelter of this divine knowledge offers due respect to everyone, is considered actually wise. Such a man sees equally the brāhmaṇa and the outcaste, the thief and the charitable promoter of brahminical culture, the sun and the tiny sparks of fire, the gentle and the cruel.

PURPORT

A series of opposites is set forth here — namely the high-class brāhmaṇa and the low-class aborigine, the thief who steals from respectable persons and the respecter of brahminical culture who gives charity to brāhmaṇas, the all-powerful sun and the insignificant spark, and finally the kind and the cruel. Ordinarily, the ability to distinguish between such opposites qualifies one as intelligent. How, then, can the Lord state that ignoring such obvious differences establishes one as a wise man? The answer is given by the words mad-bhāvena: a wise person sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead within everything. Therefore, although externally perceiving and dealing with the varieties of material situations, a wise man is more impressed by and concerned with the overwhelming unity of all existence, which is based on the presence of the Supreme Lord within everything. As explained here, a truly wise person is not limited to superficial material discrimination.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari