Devanagari
वस्तुनो यद्यनानात्व आत्मन: प्रश्न ईदृश: ।
कथं घटेत वो विप्रा वक्तुर्वा मे क आश्रय: ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
vastuno yady anānātva
ātmanaḥ praśna īdṛśaḥ
kathaṁ ghaṭeta vo viprā
vaktur vā me ka āśrayaḥ
Synonyms
vastunaḥ
—
of the essential reality
;
yadi
—
if
;
anānātve
—
in the concept of nonindividuality
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of the jīva soul
;
praśnaḥ
—
question
;
īdṛśaḥ
—
such
;
katham
—
how
;
ghaṭeta
—
is it possible or appropriate
;
vaḥ
—
of you who are asking
;
viprāḥ
—
O brāhmaṇas
;
vaktuḥ
—
of the speaker
;
vā
—
or
;
me
—
of Me
;
kaḥ
—
what is
;
āśrayaḥ
—
the real situation or resting place .
Translation
My dear brāhmaṇas, if, when asking Me who I am, you believe that I am also a jīva soul and that there is no ultimate difference between us — since all souls are ultimately one without individuality — then how is your question possible or appropriate? Ultimately, what is the real situation or resting place both of yourselves and of Me?
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O brāhmaṇas! If, when asking me who I am, you believe that I am also a jīva, this question cannot occur if there is no plurality of ātmās in the absolute. I would have to answer in terms of plurality of qualities and type.
In asking “Who are you?” do you think I am a jīva? Or do you think I am a material body? Or do you think I am the Supreme Lord? First Haṁsa dismisses the idea that he is a jīva. If you ask if I am a jīva arising from the absolute substance, how can your question arise at all? There exists no plurality of the absolute into many ātmās since the absolute has no distinctions based on qualities and species and all conscious particles are actually one. Who is the shelter of me, the person answering you? (How should I answer?) I would give an answer “I am so and so” based on particular qualities and species (which would be contrary to your belief in one absolute.).
Purport
Āśraya
means “the resting place” or “shelter.” Lord Kṛṣṇa’s question “What is our actual resting place or shelter?” means “What is our ultimate nature or constitutional position?” This is because no one can come to rest or be satisfied unless one is in one’s natural position. The example is given that one may travel all over the world, but ultimately one becomes satisfied by returning to one’s own home. Similarly, a crying child is satisfied when embraced by its own mother. By inquiring about the shelter or resting place of Himself and the
brāhmaṇas,
the Lord is indicating the eternal, constitutional position of every living entity.
If Lord Kṛṣṇa were also in the
jīva
category, and if all living entities including Him were thus equal, there would be no deep purpose in one living entity inquiring and another answering. Only one who is in a superior position can meaningfully answer important questions. It may be argued that the bona fide spiritual master answers all the questions of the disciple, and yet the
guru
is in the
jīva
category. The answer is that the bona fide spiritual master speaks not on his own behalf but as a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is in the Viṣṇu category. A so-called
guru
speaking on his own behalf as a
jīva
soul is useless and is unable to meaningfully answer serious questions. Thus, the sages’ question
ko bhavān
(“Who are You?”) indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally an individual person. And because the sages headed by Lord Brahmā offered obeisances and worshiped the Lord, it is understood that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Brahmā, as the first created being in this universe, could not accept any other living entity except the Lord as worshipable.
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s actual purpose is to explain the ultimate perfection of
yoga,
which the sages were desiring to know. If one becomes fixed in transcendental knowledge, the mutual attraction between the material mind and the material sense objects automatically ceases. The spiritual mind is not attracted to material objects of gratification, and thus by spiritualizing the mind, material existence automatically slackens. By questioning the propriety of the sages’ question, the Lord is assuming the position of the spiritual master and preparing to give valuable instructions. One should never be envious of a bona fide spiritual master, especially if, as in the case of Lord Haṁsa speaking to the sages headed by Brahmā and Sanaka-kumāra, the
guru
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.