2.19
ananta sphatike yaiche eka surya bhase
taiche jive govindera amsa prakase
SYNONYMS
ananta—unlimited; sphatike—in crystals; yaiche—just as; eka—one; surya—sun; bhase—appears; taiche—just so; jive—in the living entity; govindera—of Govinda; amsa—portion; prakase—manifests.
As the one sun appears reflected in countless jewels, so Govinda manifests Himself (as the Paramatma) in the hearts of all living beings.
PURPORT
The sun is situated in a specific location but is reflected in countless jewels and appears in innumerable localized aspects.
Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although eternally present in His transcendental abode, Goloka Vrndavana, is reflected in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul.
In the Upanisads it is said that the jiva (living entity) and the Paramatma (Supersoul) are like two birds sitting in the same tree.
The Supersoul engages the living being in executing fruitive work as a result of his deeds in the past, but the Paramatma has nothing to do with such engagements.
As soon as the living being ceases to act in terms of fruitive work and takes to the service of the Lord (Paramatma), coming to know of His supremacy, he is immediately freed from all designations, and in that pure state he enters the kingdom of God known as Vaikuntha.
The Supersoul (Paramatma), the guide of the individual living beings, does not take part in fulfilling the desires of the living beings, but He arranges for their fulfillment by material nature.
As soon as an individual soul becomes conscious of his eternal relationship with the Supersoul and looks only toward Him, he at once becomes free from the entanglements of material enjoyment.
Christian philosophers who do not believe in the law of karma put forward the argument that it is absurd for a person to accept the results of past deeds of which he has no consciousness.
A criminal is first reminded of his misdeeds by witnesses in a law court, and then he is punished.
If death is complete forgetfulness, why should a person be punished for his past misdeeds? The conception of the Paramatma is an invincible answer to these fallacious arguments.
The Paramatma is the witness of the past activities of the individual living being.
A man may not remember what he has done in his childhood, but his father, who has seen him grow through different stages of development, certainly remembers.
Similarly, the living being undergoes many changes of body through many lives, but the Supersoul is also with him and remembers all his activities, despite his evolution through different bodies.