Shloka 31
Kardama Muni’s Penance, Viṣṇu’s Darśana, and the Arrangement of Devahūti’s Marriage
कृत्वा दयां च जीवेषु दत्त्वा चाभयमात्मवान् । मय्यात्मानं सह जगद् द्रक्ष्यस्यात्मनि चापि माम् ॥ ३१ ॥
kṛtvā dayāṁ ca jīveṣu dattvā cābhayam ātmavān mayy ātmānaṁ saha jagad drakṣyasy ātmani cāpi mām
जीवेषु दयां कृत्वा चाभयं दत्त्वा आत्मवान्, मयि जगत्सहितं आत्मानं द्रक्ष्यसि, आत्मनि च मामपि पश्यसि।
The simple process of self-realization for every living entity is described here. The first principle to be understood is that this world is a product of the supreme will. There is an identity of this world with the Supreme Lord. This identity is accepted in a misconceived way by the impersonalists; they say that the Supreme Absolute Truth, transforming Himself into the universe, loses His separate existence. Thus they accept the world and everything in it to be the Lord. That is pantheism, wherein everything is considered to be the Lord. This is the view of the impersonalist. But those who are personal devotees of the Lord take everything to be the property of the Supreme Lord. Everything, whatever we see, is the manifestation of the Supreme Lord; therefore, everything should be engaged in the service of the Lord. This is oneness. The difference between the impersonalist and the personalist is that the impersonalist does not accept the separate existence of the Lord, but the personalist accepts the Lord; he understands that although He distributes Himself in so many ways, He has His separate personal existence. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā: “I am spread all over the universe in My impersonal form. Everything is resting on Me, but I am not present.” There is a nice example regarding the sun and the sunshine. The sun, by its sunshine, is spread all over the universe, and all the planets rest on the sunshine. But all the planets are different from the sun planet; one cannot say that because the planets are resting on the sunshine, these planets are also the sun. Similarly, the impersonal or pantheistic view that everything is God is not a very intelligent proposal. The real position, as explained by the Lord Himself, is that although nothing can exist without Him, it is not a fact that everything is Him. He is different from everything. So here also the Lord says, “You will see everything in the world to be nondifferent from Me.” This means that everything should be considered a product of the Lord’s energy, and therefore everything should be employed in the service of the Lord. One’s energy should be utilized for one’s self-interest. That is the perfection of the energy.
FAQs
This verse teaches that compassion to all jīvas and giving them fearlessness are essential qualities that lead to spiritual vision—seeing the self and the universe in the Lord.
Kapila instructs Devahūti that genuine spiritual advancement includes non-harm and protection of others; such purity of heart enables realization of the Lord within and everywhere.
Practice kindness, avoid causing fear or harm (in speech, actions, and choices), and cultivate self-control; this supports steady devotion and a clearer sense of God’s presence in all.