Text 32
yadā tu sarva-bhūteṣu
dāruṣv agnim iva sthitam
praticakṣīta māṁ loko
jahyāt tarhy eva kaśmalam
yadā — when; tu — but; sarva — all; bhūteṣu — in the living entities; dāruṣu — in wood; agnim — fire; iva — like; sthitam — situated; praticakṣīta — you shall see; mām — Me; lokaḥ — and the universe; jahyāt — can give up; tarhi — then at once; eva — certainly; kaśmalam — illusion.
You will see Me in all living entities as well as all over the universe, just as fire is situated in wood. Only in that state of transcendental vision will you be able to be free from all kinds of illusion.
Brahmā prayed that he might not forget his eternal relationship with the Lord during the course of his material activities. In answer to that prayer, the Lord said that he should not think of existing without a relationship with His omnipotency. The example is given of the fire in wood. The fire kindled in wood is always the same, although the wood may be of different types. Similarly, the bodies within the material creation may be specifically different according to shape and quality, but the spirit souls within them are not different from one another. The quality of fire, warmth, is the same everywhere, and the spiritual spark, or part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, is the same in every living being; thus the potency of the Lord is distributed all over His creation. This transcendental knowledge alone can save one from the contamination of material illusion. Since the Lord’s potency is distributed everywhere, a pure soul, or devotee of the Lord, can see everything in relationship with the Lord, and therefore he has no affection for the outer coverings. That pure spiritual conception makes him immune to all contamination of material association. The pure devotee never forgets the touch of the Lord in all circumstances.