Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 35
Brahmā’s Tapasya, the Vision of Vaikuṇṭha, and the Lord’s Seed Instructions
Catuḥ-śloki
यथा महान्ति भूतानि भूतेषूच्चावचेष्वनु । प्रविष्टान्यप्रविष्टानि तथा तेषु न तेष्वहम् ॥ ३५ ॥
yathā mahānti bhūtāni bhūteṣūccāvaceṣv anu praviṣṭāny apraviṣṭāni tathā teṣu na teṣv aham
Hỡi Brahmā, như các đại nguyên tố thấm vào mọi loài—thô và tế—mà đồng thời như không thấm vào, cũng vậy Ta hiện hữu trong mọi tạo vật, và đồng thời ở ngoài mọi tạo vật.
The great elements of material creation, namely earth, water, fire, air and ether, all enter into the body of all manifested entities — the seas, mountains, aquatics, plants, reptiles, birds, beasts, human beings, demigods and everyone materially manifested — and at the same time such elements are differently situated. In the developed stage of consciousness, the human being can study both physiological and physical science, but the basic principles of such sciences are nothing but the material elements and nothing more. The body of the human being and the body of the mountain, as also the bodies of the demigods, including Brahmā, are all of the same ingredients — earth, water, etc. — and at the same time the elements are beyond the body. The elements were created first, and therefore they entered into the bodily construction later, but in both circumstances they entered the cosmos and also did not enter. Similarly, the Supreme Lord, by His different energies, namely the internal and external, is within everything in the manifested cosmos, and at the same time He is outside of everything, situated in the kingdom of God (Vaikuṇṭhaloka), as described before. This is very nicely stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37) as follows:
FAQs
This verse explains that the Lord pervades all beings like the great elements, yet He is never limited by them—He is immanent as Paramatma and simultaneously transcendent.
Brahma was receiving direct instruction on the nature of the Supreme Truth before creation; the Lord clarifies His inconceivable position—present within creation while remaining beyond it.
See every being as spiritually significant because the Lord is present within all, while remembering that God is not reducible to matter—cultivate reverence, humility, and steady bhakti.