41.1 In the Samvat year 1876, on the evening of Mahã sud 5 [20th January, 1820], Shreeji Mahãrãj was sitting on a decorated bedstead on the platform under the neem tree near the mandir of Shree Vãsudev-Nãrãyan in Dãdã Khãchar’s darbãr in Gadhadã. He was dressed entirely in white clothes. He was also wearing garland of yellow flowers. Bunches of yellow flowers had been placed above His ears, and tassels of yellow flowers were dangling from His pãgh. A sabhã of munis, as well as haribhaktas from various places, had gathered before Him.
41.2 Then, Shreeji Mahãrãj said, “Please engage in a question-answer discussion.”
41.3 Nrusinhãnand Swãmi then said,
“Many pandits and vedãntis in the world interpret this Vedic shlok to mean: ‘The one Bhagvãn present at the time of destruction, Himself takes the form of all jeevs and ishvars by His own will’. But this belief can only be accepted by someone who is a fool. We have accepted your refuge, so this belief does not make sense in our minds. Our understanding is that Bhagvãn is achyut, and that he does not divide and assume the svarups of various jeevs and ishvars. Therefore, we can only fully understand the meaning of this shlok if you explain it to us.”
41.4 Shreeji Mahãrãj then explained, “The meaning of that Vedic shlok is not as they interpret it to be. In fact, it has a different meaning altogether. In the Ved-Stuti, it is stated:
This means: ‘Purushottam Bhagvãn creates and enters the various types of life-forms as their cause, He is antaryãmi, and He inspires them to a greater or lesser degree’.
41.5 “More specifically, at the time of creation, Purushottam Bhagvãn, who is greater than even Akshar, looks towards Akshar. As a result, Purush incarnates from Akshar. After entering Akshar, Purushottam enters Purush, and in the form of Purush, inspires Prakruti. In this way, as Purushottam successively entered the various entities, the activities of creation took place. Then, Pradhãn-Purush were produced from Prakruti-Purush. From Pradhãn-Purush, maha-tattva was produced. From maha-tattva, the three types of ahankãr were produced. From ahankãr, the bhuts, the vishays, the indriyas, the antah-karans, and their presiding devs were produced. From those, Virãt-Purush was produced, and from the lotus extending from his naval, Brahmã was produced. From that Brahmã, Marichi and other prajãpatis were produced. From them, Indra and other devs, the demons, and all the sthãvar and jangam creatures were produced.
41.6 “Purushottam Bhagvãn enters and dwells in all the above as their cause, and is antaryãmi. However, He does not reside in Prakruti-Purush to the extent that He resides in Akshar. He does not reside in Pradhãn-Purush to the extent that He resides in Prakruti-Purush. He does not reside in maha-tattva and the rest of the twenty-four tattvas to the extent that He resides in Pradhãn-Purush. He does not reside in Virãt-Purush to the extent that He resides in the twenty-four tattvas. He does not reside in Brahmã to the extent that He resides in Virãt-Purush. He does not reside in those like Marichi to the extent that He resides in Brahmã. He does not reside in Kashyap to the extent that He resides in Marichi. He does not reside in Indra and the other devs to the extent that He resides in Kashyap. He does not reside in human beings to the extent that He resides in Indra and the other devs. He does not reside in animals and birds to the extent that He resides in human beings. In this way, Purushottam Bhagvãn resides in all – to a greater or lesser degree – as their cause, and is antaryãmi.
41.7 “For example, fire resides within wood. Large fire resides in large pieces of wood, long fire resides in a long piece of wood, and bent fire resides in a bent piece of wood. In a similar way, Purushottam Bhagvãn resides in various entities with varying degrees of power according to the task to be accomplished through that entity.
41.8 “Purushottam Bhagvãn also resides in those like Akshar and Prakruti-Purush, and is antaryãmi. However, because of the difference in the abilities of those entities, there is a difference in their power. So, there is only one Purushottam Bhagvãn, and it is He who enters all and resides in them as antaryãmi. But, He Himself does not become the jeevs and ishvars by assuming many svarups. This is how that Vedic shlok should be interpreted.”
End of Vachanãmrut Gadhadã I || 41 || 41 ||