Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 9
Vibhūti-yoga in the Bhāgavata: The Lord’s Manifest Opulences and the Discipline of Control
अहमात्मोद्धवामीषां भूतानां सुहृदीश्वर: । अहं सर्वाणि भूतानि तेषां स्थित्युद्भवाप्यय: ॥ ९ ॥
aham ātmoddhavāmīṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ suhṛd īśvaraḥ ahaṁ sarvāṇi bhūtāni teṣāṁ sthity-udbhavāpyayaḥ
我亲爱的乌达婆啊，我是一切众生的超灵（Paramātmā），因此我本然是他们的善友与至上主宰。作为万有的创造、维持与毁灭者，我与他们并不相异。
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī points out that the Personality of Godhead maintains an ablative and genitive relationship with His opulences. In other words, the Lord is not different from all living entities, because they are coming from Him and they belong to Him. The Lord gave a similar explanation to Arjuna in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā (10.20) , beginning with the same words, aham ātmā. Although the Lord describes His external, or material, opulences, the Lord’s position is always transcendental and nonmaterial. Just as the living soul within the body gives life to the body, similarly, the Lord, by His supreme potency, gives life to all universal opulences.
FAQs
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa declares that He is the ātmā within all beings—the indwelling Self—and also their supreme controller and well-wisher.
During the Uddhava Gītā, Kṛṣṇa instructs Uddhava in spiritual knowledge and devotion, emphasizing His all-pervading presence as the inner Self and the Lord governing creation, maintenance, and dissolution.
Practice respect and compassion toward all life, reduce envy and hostility, and cultivate devotion by remembering that the same Lord resides within everyone as their true friend and guide.