SB 6.9.38 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स एव हि पुन: सर्ववस्तुनि वस्तुस्वरूप: सर्वेश्वर: सकलजगत्कारणकारणभूत: सर्व प्रत्यगात्मत्वात् सर्वगुणाभासोपलक्षित एक एव पर्यवशेषित: ॥ ३८ ॥

Verse text

sa eva hi punaḥ sarva-vastuni vastu-svarūpaḥ sarveśvaraḥ sakala-jagat-kāraṇa-kāraṇa-bhūtaḥ sarva-pratyag-ātmatvāt sarva-guṇābhāsopalakṣita eka eva paryavaśeṣitaḥ.

Synonyms

saḥ — He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) ; eva — indeed ; hi — certainly ; punaḥ — again ; sarva — vastuni — in everything, material and spiritual ; vastu — svarūpaḥ — the substance ; sarva — īśvaraḥ — the controller of everything ; sakala — jagat — of the whole universe ; kāraṇa — of the causes ; kāraṇa — bhūtaḥ — existing as the cause ; sarva — pratyak — ātmatvāt — because of being the Supersoul of every living being, or being present in everything, even the atom ; sarva — guṇa — of all the effects of the material modes of nature (such as intelligence and the senses) ; ābhāsa — by the manifestations ; upalakṣitaḥ — perceived ; ekaḥ — alone ; eva — indeed ; paryavaśeṣitaḥ — left remaining .

Translation

With deliberation, one will see that the Supreme Soul, although manifested in different ways, is actually the basic principle of everything. The total material energy is the cause of the material manifestation, but the material energy is caused by Him. Therefore He is the cause of all causes, the manifester of intelligence and the senses. He is perceived as the Supersoul of everything. Without Him, everything would be dead. You, as that Supersoul, the supreme controller, are the only one remaining.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord is the true form among all forms, the Lord of all beings, the cause of all causes of all universes, is inferred by the revealing power of the senses and intelligence, and alone remains after negating matter and its qualities. Therefore, we will take shelter of the philosophy approved by your devotees, giving up the ideas of these learned persons. The Lord is the real form mentioned previously in verse 33. Because of dwelling within all beings, beyond the material senses, you are not visible, but you are definitely known or inferred by the revealing power (ābhāsa) of intelligence and the senses (sarva-guṇa). Guṇa-prakāśair anumīyate bhavān: you are inferred by the revelation of the senses. (SB 10.2.35) You are completely devoid of all material elements (paryavaśeṣitaḥ). Thus the śrutis say neti neti: the Lord is not matter. The Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta explains this starting with the following verse. vinā śarīra-ceṣṭatvaṁ vinā bhūmyādi-saṁśrayam | vinā sahāyāṁs te karmāvikriyasya sudurgamam ||102|| Without activities of a material body, without the support of material earth, without assistance of others, without undergoing transformation, your actions are hard to understand. Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta

Purport

The words sarva-vastuni vastu-svarūpaḥ indicate that the Supreme Lord is the active principle of everything. As described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.35) : eko ’py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I worship the Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who enters the existence of every universe and every atom by one of His plenary portions and thus manifests His infinite energy throughout the material creation.” By His one plenary portion as Paramātmā, antaryāmī, the Lord is all-pervading throughout the unlimited universes. He is the pratyak, or antaryāmī, of all living entities. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3) , kṣetra-jṣaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: “O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies.” Because the Lord is the Supersoul, He is the active principle of every living entity and even the atom ( aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham ). He is the actual reality. According to various stages of intelligence, one realizes the presence of the Supreme in everything through the manifestations of His energy. The entire world is permeated by the three guṇas, and one can understand His presence according to one’s modes of material nature.