कस्माच्च ते न नमेरन्महात्मन्
गरीयसे ब्रह्मणोऽप्यादिकर्त्रे |
अनन्त देवेश जगन्निवास
त्वमक्षरं सदसतत्परं यत् || 37||
kasmāch cha te na nameran mahātman
garīyase brahmaṇo ’py ādi-kartre
ananta deveśha jagan-nivāsa
tvam akṣharaṁ sad-asat tat paraṁ yat
kasmāt—why; cha—and; te—you; na nameran—should they not bow down; mahā-ātman—The Great one; garīyase—who are greater; brahmaṇaḥ—than Brahma; api—even; ādi-kartre—to the original creator; ananta—The limitless One; deva-īśha—Lord of the devatās; jagat-nivāsa—Refuge of the universe; tvam—you; akṣharam—the imperishable; sat-asat—manifest and non-manifest; tat—that; param—beyond; yat—which
Translation:
And why should they not bow down to Thee, O Mighty Being, greater than all, since Thou art the Primal Cause even of Brahmā? O Infinite One, Lord of gods, Abode of the universe, Thou art the Imperishable, Being and non-being, and that which is the Supreme.
Commentary:
Sadasat tatparam: Paramatma is distinct from Sat and Asat. Sat means the world of matter (sthula jagat) and Asat the subtle world of mind (sukshma jagat). Paramatma is distinct from both. Or, Sat may be taken to mean ‘mind’ and Asat the ‘body’. Thus taken also, we get the same idea. From the standpoint of Paramatma, both the physical and mental worlds do not exist. Paramatma alone is. Therefore it is declared here that He is distinct from both. He is the Supreme.
“ARE YOU SIVA OR VISHNU?”
Generally, when we see a great being, a spiritual giant, it is common nature to extol them as an avatāra of Vishnu or Siva or the Divine Mother. A devotee once asked Sri Ramana Maharshi, “Who are you? Are you Siva or Vishnu or some deva?” The devotee asked this in the form of a couplet. When Maharshi had gone out for his walk, the devotee placed on Maharshi’s couch a paper with this question written on it. When the Sage returned, he noticed this paper. He took it, read it, gave a beautiful smile and, on the other side of the same paper, wrote another poem in the same metre as a reply—“I am not any deva, but I am the Self within every deva, right from the Primordial God to a tiny creature. In every heart, that which shines forth as the ‘I’, that Atman, is Arunachala Ramana.”
This is the experience of all the sages. Once we know that what is being eulogised in this verse is the Atman in us, we will understand that the Atman is greater than everything else. This is the true essence of this verse. (Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Elixir of Eternal Wisdom | Vol 1)
Question: What is the nature of Paramatma?
Answer: He is Supreme, Primal cause of Brahma, Infinite Lord of Gods, abode of the Universe, Imperishable, distinct from body and mind.