Situated in my energy composed of the guṇas, creating, maintaining and destroying the universe, I take on names according to the activity.

Situated in my energy composed of the guṇas, creating, maintaining and destroying the universe, I take on names according to the activity.

“But the Supreme Lord is only one person. According to the scriptures that is you.” That person who is situated in the material world but is famous for being beyond the guṇas is I alone. According to the activity of creation, maintenance or destruction, I take the names of the creator, maintainer or destroyer.

|| 4.7.52 ||

tasmin brahmaṇy advitīye

kevale paramātmani

brahma-rudrau ca bhūtāni

bhedenājño 'nupaśyati

The ignorant person sees difference between the jīvas and me, who am non-dual, absolute Brahman and Paramātmā, what to speak of seeing different between Brahmā, Śiva and me.

“But how are Brahma who is a jīva taking the form of Hiraṇyagarbha, and Śiva who is touched by the guṇas even though being īśvara, non-different from you?” This is explained through kaimutya-nyāya. The ignorant person sees differences even between jīvas and me, what to speak seeing difference between Brahmā or Śiva and me. But the wise person does not. The jīvas are non-different from me because they are my tataṣṭha-śakti, and śakti is non-different from śaktimān. Brahmā and Śiva are non-different from me because they are guṇāvatāras.

|| 4.7.53 ||

yathā pumān na svāṅgeṣu

śiraḥ-pāṇy-ādiṣu kvacit

pārakya-buddhiṁ kurute

evaṁ bhūteṣu mat-paraḥ

My devotee does not see difference between himself and all living beings, just as a person does not differentiate between himself and his various limbs such as head and hand.

The devotee sees himself as non-different from all beings. The devotee’s seeing non-difference is taking others’ happiness and distress as his own.

|| 4.7.54 ||

trayāṇām eka-bhāvānāṁ