SB 10.86.47 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

हृदिस्थोऽप्यतिदूरस्थ: कर्मविक्षिप्तचेतसाम् । आत्मशक्तिभिरग्राह्योऽप्यन्त्युपेतगुणात्मनाम् ॥ ४७ ॥

Verse text

hṛdi-stho ’py ati-dūra-sthaḥ karma-vikṣipta-cetasām ātma-śaktibhir agrāhyo ’py anty upeta-guṇātmanām

Synonyms

hṛdi — in the heart ; sthaḥ — situated ; api — although ; ati — very ; dūra — sthaḥ — far away ; karma — by material activities ; vikṣipta — disturbed ; cetasām — for those whose minds ; ātma — by one’s own ; śaktibhiḥ — powers ; agrāhyaḥ — not to be taken hold of ; api — although ; anti — near ; upeta — realized ; guṇa — Your qualities ; ātmanām — by whose hearts .

Translation

But although You reside within the heart, You are very far away from those whose minds are disturbed by their entanglement in material work. Indeed, no one can grasp You by his material powers, for You reveal Yourself only in the hearts of those who have learned to appreciate Your transcendental qualities.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

But although You reside within the heart, You are very far away from those whose minds are disturbed by their entanglement in material work. Indeed, no one can grasp You by his material powers, for You reveal Yourself only in the hearts of those who have learned to appreciate Your transcendental qualities. KB 10.86.47 “Others, who are bewildered by fruitive activities, either by Vedic injunction or by customary dealings, and who do not take to devotional service, are captivated by the external happiness of the bodily concept of life. You are not revealed to such persons. Rather, You remain far, far away from them. But for one who engages in Your devotional service and purifies his heart by constant chanting of Your holy name, You are very easily understood as his eternal, constant companion.

Purport

The all-merciful Lord is in everyone’s heart. Seeing Him there, however, is possible only when one’s heart is completely purified. Materialists may demand that God prove His existence by coming into view as a result of their empirical investigations, but God has no need to respond to such impudence. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25) : nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam “I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

"Moreover, you display other wonderful qualities. Though you reside in the hearts of both the non devotees and the devotees, you are not visible to the non devotees and are visible to the devotees." "How is it possible for me to be in their hearts and to be far away from them?" "You are not visible because of the action of ignorance (atma saktibhih), with its covering pride and envy. Though separate from those people (atidurasthah), you are in the heart (anti) of those who in their hearts think of your qualities (upeta guna atmanam); you are perceived by them."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

“As antaryāmī I reside in their hearts. Why do you say that I appear to those who are dedicated to hearing and other processes?” You are in everyone’s heart but are also far away. “By doing good works the mind becomes pure. Then I can reside in them.” You cannot be attained by an individual’s power. “Though that is so, how do I then appear?” As was said in verse 45, it is possible for those who hear and chant about your qualities.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Though you are situated in the heart as antaryāmī, you are situated far from those whose hearts are agitated by karma. You are not revealed to them. “Since I am in everyone’s heart as antaryāmī, why say that I appear to those who are hearing or chanting?” You are not revealed to persons involved in karmas. “Since one becomes purified by proper actions, I should appear to these people.” You appear by mercy and nothing else. You cannot be seen by the power of a pure mind generated by sat-karmas (ātma-śaktibhiḥ), belonging to persons who are affected by sat-karmas attained independently (anti upeta). Because of many sat-karmas there are many śaktis. Or the plural is used out of respect.