Text 24
manasā vacasā dṛṣṭyā
gṛhyate ’nyair apīndriyaiḥ
aham eva na matto ’nyad
iti budhyadhvam añjasā
manasā — by the mind; vacasā — by speech; dṛṣṭyā — by sight; gṛhyate — is perceived and thus accepted; anyaiḥ — by others; api — even; indriyaiḥ — senses; aham — I; eva — indeed; na — not; mattaḥ — besides Me; anyat — anything else; iti — thus; budhyadhvam — you should all understand; añjasā — by straightforward analysis of the facts.
Within this world, whatever is perceived by the mind, speech, eyes or other senses is Me alone and nothing besides Me. All of you please understand this by a straightforward analysis of the facts.
Lord Kṛṣṇa has already explained that if the sages consider all living entities to be the same, or if they consider the living entity to be the same as his body, then their question “Who are You?” is inappropriate. Now the Lord refutes the conception that He is a Supreme God far beyond and different from everything within this world. Modern agnostic philosophers preach that God created the world and then retired or went away. According to them, God has no tangible connection with this world, nor does He interfere in human affairs. Ultimately, they claim, God is so great that He cannot be known; therefore no one should waste time trying to understand God. To refute such foolish ideas, the Lord here explains that since everything is the expansion of His potency, He is not different from anything. Nothing can exist separately from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus everything shares in the Lord’s nature, although some manifestations are superior and others inferior. The Lord is testing the intelligence of the sages by pointing out various contradictions in their questions. Even if the Lord is supreme, He is not different from His creation; therefore, what is the meaning of the question “Who are You?” We can clearly see that the Lord is paving the way for a deep discussion of spiritual knowledge.