Shloka 9
Kṛṣṇa’s Impending Departure; Uddhava’s Surrender; King Yadu and the Avadhūta’s Twenty-Four Gurus
Beginnings
तस्माद् युक्तेन्द्रियग्रामो युक्तचित्त इदम् जगत् । आत्मनीक्षस्व विततमात्मानं मय्यधीश्वरे ॥ ९ ॥
tasmād yuktendriya-grāmo yukta-citta idaṁ jagat ātmanīkṣasva vitatam ātmānaṁ mayy adhīśvare
അതുകൊണ്ട് ഇന്ദ്രിയസമൂഹത്തെ നിയന്ത്രിച്ച് ചിത്തം ഏകാഗ്രമാക്കി, ഈ സമസ്ത ലോകവും സർവ്വത്ര വ്യാപിച്ച ആത്മയിൽ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നതായി കാണുക; ആ ആത്മാവിനെയും എന്നിൽ—പരമ അധീശ്വരനിൽ—കാണുക।
The word vitatam, or “widely expanded,” implies that the individual jīva soul is present throughout the material universe. Similarly, in Bhagavad-gītā (2.24) Lord Kṛṣṇa states, nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ: the individual soul is eternal and is expanded everywhere throughout the material and spiritual worlds. This does not mean, however, that each individual soul is all-pervading, but that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has expanded His marginal potency everywhere. Thus, one should not blindly conclude that a minute living entity is all-pervading; rather, one should understand that God is great and expands His personal energy everywhere. In this verse, ātmanīkṣasva vitatam means that this material world is created to facilitate the sense gratification of the conditioned souls, who are trying to enjoy without Kṛṣṇa, their actual master. The living entities are busily trying to exploit the external energy of the Lord, but their jurisdiction over the material world is illusory. Both the material nature and the conditioned living being are energies of the Lord and thus exist within the Personality of Godhead and are under His supreme control.
FAQs
This verse teaches that with disciplined senses and a mind fixed in yoga, one should perceive the whole world as pervaded by the Self, and recognize that Self as resting in Krishna, the Supreme Lord.
Krishna was instructing Uddhava in steady spiritual vision—how to move beyond distracted sense-life and cultivate realized perception that everything is pervaded by the Self and ultimately grounded in the Supreme Controller.
Practice sense-discipline, reduce compulsive distractions, and regularly fix the mind on the Lord through japa, hearing Bhagavatam, and mindful remembrance—so your daily perception becomes spiritually integrated rather than fragmented.