Shloka 9
Uddhava’s Remembrance of Kṛṣṇa and the Theology of the Lord’s Disappearance
इङ्गितज्ञा: पुरुप्रौढा एकारामाश्च सात्वता: । सात्वतामृषभं सर्वे भूतावासममंसत ॥ ९ ॥
iṅgita-jñāḥ puru-prauḍhā ekārāmāś ca sātvatāḥ sātvatām ṛṣabhaṁ sarve bhūtāvāsam amaṁsata
Les Yadu étaient versés dans les signes, très mûrs et établis dans la voie sātvata. Dans tous les moments de détente, ils demeuraient toujours avec le Seigneur; pourtant, tous ne purent le connaître que comme le Suprême, le meilleur des sātvatas, qui réside en tous les êtres.
In the Vedas it is said that the Supreme Lord or the Paramātmā cannot be understood simply by the strength of one’s erudition or power of mental speculation: nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23). He can be known only by one who has the mercy of the Lord. The Yādavas were all exceptionally learned and experienced, but in spite of their knowing the Lord as the one who lives in everyone’s heart, they could not understand that He is the original Personality of Godhead. This lack of knowledge was not due to their insufficient erudition; it was due to their misfortune. In Vṛndāvana, however, the Lord was not even known as the Paramātmā because the residents of Vṛndāvana were pure unconventional devotees of the Lord and could think of Him only as their object of love. They did not know that He is the Personality of Godhead. The Yadus, or the residents of Dvārakā, however, could know Lord Kṛṣṇa as Vāsudeva, or the Supersoul living everywhere, but not as the Supreme Lord. As scholars of the Vedas, they verified the Vedic hymns: eko devaḥ . . . sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ . . . , antaryāmī . . . and vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devatā. . . . The Yadus, therefore, accepted Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supersoul incarnated in their family, and not more than that.
FAQs
They are spiritually mature, able to understand the Lord’s subtle intentions, and take exclusive joy in Him (ekārāma), seeing Him as the supreme shelter of all beings.
Bhūtāvāsa means the abode and shelter of all living beings—indicating the Lord as the ultimate refuge and indwelling support of existence.
Cultivate single-minded devotion, learn to perceive divine guidance through scripture and saintly association, and take shelter in the Lord rather than changing external circumstances for happiness.