Shloka 28
The Lord’s Advent: Yoga-māyā’s Mission, Saṅkarṣaṇa’s Transfer, and the Demigods’ Prayers
त्वमेक एवास्य सत: प्रसूति-स्त्वं सन्निधानं त्वमनुग्रहश्च । त्वन्मायया संवृतचेतसस्त्वांपश्यन्ति नाना न विपश्चितो ये ॥ २८ ॥
tvam eka evāsya sataḥ prasūtis tvaṁ sannidhānaṁ tvam anugrahaś ca tvan-māyayā saṁvṛta-cetasas tvāṁ paśyanti nānā na vipaścito ye
O Lord, You alone are the efficient cause of this material world, manifest in many varieties like the original tree; You are also its maintainer, and after annihilation everything is preserved within You. But those whose minds are covered by Your external māyā cannot see You behind this manifestation; that is not the vision of learned devotees.
Various demigods, beginning from Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and even Viṣṇu, are supposed to be the creator, maintainer and annihilator of this material world, but actually they are not. The fact is that everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, manifested in varieties of energy. Ekam evādvitīyaṁ brahma. There is no second existence. Those who are truly vipaścit, learned, are those who have reached the platform of understanding and observing the Supreme Personality of Godhead in any condition of life. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti ( Brahma-saṁhitā 5.38 ). Learned devotees accept even conditions of distress as representing the presence of the Supreme Lord. When a devotee is in distress, he sees that the Lord has appeared as distress just to relieve or purify the devotee from the contamination of the material world. While one is within this material world, one is in various conditions, and therefore a devotee sees a condition of distress as but another feature of the Lord. Tat te ’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ ( Bhāg. 10.14.8 ). A devotee, therefore, regards distress as a great favor of the Lord because he understands that he is being cleansed of contamination. Teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt (Bg. 12.7). The appearance of distress is a negative process intended to give the devotee relief from this material world, which is called mṛtyu-saṁsāra, or the constant repetition of birth and death. To save a surrendered soul from repeated birth and death, the Lord purifies him of contamination by offering him a little distress. This cannot be understood by a nondevotee, but a devotee can see this because he is vipaścit, or learned. A nondevotee, therefore, is perturbed in distress, but a devotee welcomes distress as another feature of the Lord. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. A devotee can actually see that there is only the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no second entity. Ekam evādvitīyam . There is only the Lord, who presents Himself in different energies.
FAQs
This verse explains that when consciousness is covered by the Lord’s māyā, a person lacking spiritual discernment perceives the Supreme as divided into many separate realities, rather than recognizing the one Lord as the underlying truth.
In Canto 10, Chapter 2, the demigods glorify the unborn Lord appearing in Devakī’s womb, affirming that all cosmic functions—creation, maintenance, and protection—rest ultimately in Him, not in independent powers.
Practice seeing life’s diversity as resting on one divine center—Krishna—by cultivating bhakti (hearing, chanting, remembering). This reduces fragmentation, anxiety, and ego-based separation by restoring spiritual unity of vision.