Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 22
Bali Mahārāja Upholds Truth; Vāmana Reveals the Universal Form and Takes the Two Steps
काये बलिस्तस्य महाविभूते: सहर्त्विगाचार्यसदस्य एतत् । ददर्श विश्वं त्रिगुणं गुणात्मके भूतेन्द्रियार्थाशयजीवयुक्तम् ॥ २२ ॥
kāye balis tasya mahā-vibhūteḥ sahartvig-ācārya-sadasya etat dadarśa viśvaṁ tri-guṇaṁ guṇātmake bhūtendriyārthāśaya-jīva-yuktam
Bali Mahārāja, avec les prêtres, les ācāryas et les membres de l’assemblée, contempla le Corps universel du Seigneur Suprême, empli de majesté. Dans cette forme cosmique étaient contenus le monde des trois guṇas : les éléments matériels, les sens et leurs objets, le mental—intelligence et faux ego—, les êtres vivants de toutes sortes, ainsi que le karma et ses réactions.
In Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: Kṛṣṇa is everything. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: everything rests in the body of the Lord, yet the Lord is not everywhere. Māyāvādī philosophers think that since the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, has become everything, He has no separate existence. Their philosophy is called advaita-vāda. Actually, however, their philosophy is not correct. Here, Bali Mahārāja was the seer of the Personality of Godhead’s universal body, and that body was that which was seen. Thus there is dvaita-vāda; there are always two entities — the seer and the seen. The seer is a part of the whole, but he is not equal to the whole. The part of the whole, the seer, is also one with the whole, but since he is but a part, he cannot be the complete whole at any time. This acintya-bhedābheda — simultaneous oneness and difference — is the perfect philosophy propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
FAQs
This verse says Bali Mahārāja and the assembly saw the entire universe within the Lord—everything shaped by the three guṇas, including elements, senses, their objects, mental dispositions, and the jīvas—revealing the Lord as the container and controller of cosmic manifestation.
In the narrative, Vāmana expands His divine potency; Bali and those present are granted a direct vision of the Lord’s all-pervading supremacy, underscoring that Bali’s offering is ultimately to the Supreme who already encompasses all.
By recognizing that perceptions, desires, and even identity are influenced by sattva, rajas, and tamas, one can cultivate sattva through discipline and devotion, and redirect the mind toward the Lord who transcends the guṇas.