eṣa nityo 'vyayaḥ sūkṣma

eṣa nityo 'vyayaḥ sūkṣma

eṣa sarvāśrayaḥ svadṛk

ātmamāyā-guṇair viśvam

ātmānaṁ sṛjate prabhuḥ

The Lord is eternal, without change, beyond perception. He is the shelter of all things and self-manifesting. The Lord creates himself as the universe through the guṇas of his material māyā.

Since the jīva is dependent and powerless, there must be an independent controller. What is he like? Since the jīva is covered by māyā, and the Lord is thus invisible, though he can also be seen, the Lord is described as tat, Brahman. Because the speaker Aṅgirā is not covered by māyā, being free from ignorance as a jīvanmukta, he is able to use words to describe this Brahman as a perceivable object. The Lord is described by three terms which are used in relation to the jīva as well: eternal, unchanging, and subtle. The jīva has been described by two terms not common to the Lord: dependent and without control--powerless. Other qualities are next mentioned to show the qualities unique to the Lord such as being the shelter of all things. The universe is called himself because it arises from his śakti, which is non-different from him.

|| 6.16.10 ||

na hy asyāsti priyaḥ kaścin

nāpriyaḥ svaḥ paro 'pi vā

ekaḥ sarva-dhiyāṁ draṣṭā

kartṝṇāṁ guṇa-doṣayoḥ

The Lord does not favor or disfavor anyone. He does not think that one person is his relative and another is not. He is one entity, the witness of all the jīvas with various types of intelligence, who act in terms of friend and enemy in relation to others.

The Lord does not have relationships due to ignorance, such as relatives through marriage, relatives on the father’s side, enemies, and enemies disguised as friends. That is explained in this verse. The Lord does not like or hate anyone. However, the devotee is very dear to the Lord, considers the devotee to be himself. He shows anger to those who hate the devotees, and considered them enemies and different from himself. Thus the Gītā says:

 

samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ |

ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham ||29||

I am equal to all living beings. I do not hate anyone nor do I favor anyone. To whatever extent a person worships me with devotion, I am attached to him in a similar way. BG 9.29

 

tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān |

kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu ||19||

 

I cast those hateful, cruel, and lowest of humans, constantly doing evil, into repeated birth and death in the wombs of demons. BG 16.19

 

These are ornaments, not faults, in the Lord, who is affectionate to his devotees. The jīvas are many and the Lord is one. The Lord is the witness of all the jīvas with various types of intelligence, who then act as friend or enemy for the benefit or misfortune (gunā-doṣayoḥ) of someone else.

|| 6.16.11 ||