Shloka 32
Divinity and Divine Service
Bhagavān and Bhakti as the Supreme Dharma
यथा ह्यवहितो वह्निर्दारुष्वेक: स्वयोनिषु । नानेव भाति विश्वात्मा भूतेषु च तथा पुमान् ॥ ३२ ॥
yathā hy avahito vahnir dāruṣv ekaḥ sva-yoniṣu nāneva bhāti viśvātmā bhūteṣu ca tathā pumān
Just as one fire, resting within its own sources—the pieces of wood—appears in many forms, so the Supreme Person, the Soul of the universe, pervades all beings and seems manifold, though in truth He is the one without a second.
Lord Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by one of His plenary parts expands Himself all over the material world, and His existence can be perceived even within the atomic energy. Matter, antimatter, proton, neutron, etc., are all different effects of the Paramātmā feature of the Lord. As from wood, fire can be manifested, or as butter can be churned out of milk, so also the presence of the Lord as Paramātmā can be felt by the process of legitimate hearing and chanting of the transcendental subjects which are especially treated in the Vedic literatures like the Upaniṣads and Vedānta. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the bona fide explanation of these Vedic literatures. The Lord can be realized through the aural reception of the transcendental message, and that is the only way to experience the transcendental subject. As fire is kindled from wood by another fire, the divine consciousness of man can similarly be kindled by another divine grace. His Divine Grace the spiritual master can kindle the spiritual fire from the woodlike living entity by imparting proper spiritual messages injected through the receptive ear. Therefore one is required to approach the proper spiritual master with receptive ears only, and thus divine existence is gradually realized. The difference between animality and humanity lies in this process only. A human being can hear properly, whereas an animal cannot.
FAQs
This verse explains that the Supreme Soul is one, but appears as many because He is present within all beings—like one fire manifesting from many pieces of wood.
He uses it to show how the Lord’s single, undivided reality can be perceived as diverse due to His presence within countless individual bodies and forms.
By training yourself to see the same Divine presence within all beings, you cultivate humility, compassion, and steadiness in devotion rather than sectarian or ego-based vision.