TEXT 9
na ca māṁ tāni karmāṇi
nibadhnanti dhanañjaya
udāsīna-vad āsīnam
asaktaṁ teṣu karmasu
SYNONYMS
na—never; ca—also; mām—Me; tāni—all those; karmāṇi—activities; nibadhnanti—bind; dhanañjaya—O conqueror of riches; udāsīna-vat—as neutral; āsīnam—situated; asaktam—without attraction; teṣu—for those; karmasu—activities.
TRANSLATION
O Dhanañjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral.
PURPORT
One should not think, in this connection, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no engagement. In His spiritual world He is always engaged. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.6) it is stated, ātmārāmasya tasyāsti prakṛtyā na samāgamaḥ: “He is always involved in His eternal, blissful, spiritual activities, but He has nothing to do with these material activities.” Material activities are being carried on by His different potencies. The Lord is always neutral in the material activities of the created world. This neutrality is mentioned here with the word udāsīna-vat. Although He has control over every minute detail of material activities, He is sitting as if neutral. The example can be given of a high-court judge sitting on his bench. By his order so many things are happening—someone is being hanged, someone is being put into jail, someone is awarded a huge amount of wealth—but still he is neutral. He has nothing to do with all that gain and loss. Similarly, the Lord is always neutral, although He has His hand in every sphere of activity. In the Vedānta-sūtra (2.1.34) it is stated, vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na: He is not situated in the dualities of this material world. He is transcendental to these dualities. Nor is He attached to the creation and annihilation of this material world. The living entities take their different forms in the various species of life according to their past deeds, and the Lord doesn’t interfere with them.
TEXT 10
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
SYNONYMS
mayā—by Me; adhyakṣeṇa—by superintendence; prakṛtiḥ—material nature; sūyate—manifests; sa—both; cara-acaram—the moving and the nonmoving; hetunā—for the reason; anena—this; kaunteya—O son of Kuntī; jagat—the cosmic manifestation; viparivartate—is working.
TRANSLATION
This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
PURPORT
It is clearly stated here that the Supreme Lord, although aloof from all the activities of the material world, remains the supreme director. The Supreme Lord is the supreme will and the background of this material manifestation, but the management is being conducted by material nature. Kṛṣṇa also states in Bhagavad-gītā that of all of the living entities in different forms and species, “I am the father.” The father gives seeds to the womb of the mother for the child, and similarly the Supreme Lord by His mere glance injects all the living entities into the womb of material nature, and they come out in their different forms and species, according to their last desires and activities. All these living entities, although born under the glance of the Supreme Lord, take their different bodies according to their past deeds and desires. So the Lord is not directly attached to this material creation. He simply glances over material nature; material nature is thus activated, and everything is created immediately. Because He glances over material nature, there is undoubtedly activity on the part of the Supreme Lord, but He has nothing to do with the manifestation of the material world directly. This example is given in the smṛti: when there is a fragrant flower before someone, the fragrance is touched by the smelling power of the person, yet the smelling and the flower are detached from one another. There is a similar connection between the material world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead; actually He has nothing to do with this material world, but He creates by His glance and ordains. In summary, material nature, without the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot do anything. Yet the Supreme Personality is detached from all material activities.
