SB 4.20.8

SB 4.20.8

Devanagari

य एवं सन्तमात्मानमात्मस्थं वेद पूरुष: । नाज्यते प्रकृतिस्थोऽपि तद्गुणै: स मयि स्थित: ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

ya evaṁ santam ātmānam ātma-sthaṁ veda pūruṣaḥ nājyate prakṛti-stho ’pi tad-guṇaiḥ sa mayi sthitaḥ

Synonyms

yaḥ anyone who ; evam thus ; santam existing ; ātmānam the individual ātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā ; ātma stham — situated within his body ; veda knows ; pūruṣaḥ person ; na never ; ajyate is affected ; prakṛti in material nature ; sthaḥ situated ; api although ; tat guṇaiḥ — by the material modes of nature ; saḥ such a person ; mayi in Me ; sthitaḥ situated .

Translation

Although within the material nature, one who is thus situated in full knowledge of the Paramātmā and ātmā is never affected by the modes of material nature, for he is always situated in My transcendental loving service.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The person who knows the Paramātmā situated in the self, though situated in the body, is not affected by guṇas of the body, since he is situated in me. Though he is situated in the body (prakṛti-sthaḥ) he is not affected by the guṇas of the body. He is not situated in the body at all.

Purport

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in this material world, He is not affected by the modes of material nature. Similarly, those who are always connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even though they be within the material body or the material world, are not affected by the material qualities. That is explained very nicely in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) : māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate “One who is unflinchingly engaged in the devotional service of the Lord surpasses the material qualities and attains Brahman realization.” In this connection Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that if a person is always engaged in the service of the Lord with his body, words and mind, he is to be considered liberated although living in the material world.