न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् |
भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावन: || 5||
na cha mat-sthāni bhūtāni paśhya me yogam aiśhwaram
bhūta-bhṛin na cha bhūta-stho mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
na—never; cha—and; mat-sthāni—abide in Me; bhūtāni—all living beings; paśhya—behold; me—My; yogam aiśhwaram—divine energy; bhūta-bhṛit—the sustainer of all living beings; na—never; cha—yet; bhūta-sthaḥ—dwelling in; mama—My; ātmā—Self; bhūta-bhāvanaḥ—the Creator of all beings
Translation:
And yet, the living beings do not abide in Me. Behold the mystery of My divine energy! Although I am the Creator and Sustainer of all living beings, I am not influenced by them or by material nature.
Commentary:
There appears to be an apparent contradiction. In the previous verse, it was declared that all beings are in the Lord. Here it is stated that the beings also are not in Him. The contradiction is only apparent and not real. From the point of view of the ignorant, the world has an existence, as it is touched and confirmed by the senses. So it is said to exist in, and sustained by Paramatma. From the Advaitic plane, the world does not exist at all, in the same manner as water does not exist in the mirage. So it is said here that the beings also do not exist in Him. This is from the pure Advaitic point of view, where there is only one undifferentiated eternal Brahman, and nothing else. The Lord’s declaration means that Drisya the seen world does not exist in Him, or He in Drisya. The man who has awakended from the dream comes to know that he never existed in the dream nor the dream in him. It is nothing. The man who saw the snake in the rope, when he comes to know the form of the rope, knows that snake did not and does not exist. Thus, there are no beings in the Lord, nor He in them. What existed, exists, and shall exist is Paramatma alone. This is the sovereign yoga of the Lord. The cosmic illusion appears to exist but really does not exist. So the world while appearing to exist, does not exist. All this is Brahman and nothing else. This is the royal secret.
Question: What is the sovereign yoga of the Lord?
Answer: While Paramatma seems to create and sustain all beings, really they do not exist in Him and He does not exist in them. This is the royal secret of this Yoga.
Question: In the perfect Advaitic state, where is the world?
Answer: In that state, the world does not exist. Brahman alone is.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9 🔻 (34 Verses)
