मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना |
मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थित: || 4||
mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na chāhaṁ teṣhvavasthitaḥ
mayā—by Me; tatam—pervaded; idam—this; sarvam—entire; jagat—cosmic manifestation; avyakta-mūrtinā—the unmanifested form; mat-sthāni—in Me; sarva-bhūtāni—all living beings; na—not; cha—and; aham—I; teṣhu—in them; avasthitaḥ—dwell
Translation:
This entire cosmic manifestation is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest form. All living beings dwell in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
Commentary:
Paramatma is inconceivable by the senses and the mind. Even the elemental ether is not visible to the senses. How then can the chidakasa, the intelligence – consciousness (God) be an object of sense-perception? Just as the material world is pervaded by the elemental ether, even so by that supreme intelligence (chit) all beings are pervaded. So the whole universe is in Paramatma.
The Lord is not placed in the world, because when closely examined, the world has no existence like the snake which is superimposed on the rope. How can paramatma, the reality, exist in that unreality – the so-called world as we see it? So, it is said that all beings are in Atma (the Lord) and He is not in them.
As the Lord pervades all beings, material and mental the seeker should cognise His existence everywhere. He should not do evil deeds, should have love for all, and devotion to the Supreme.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
Ishan intended to retire to a solitary place and practise a special discipline of the Gayatri, through which Brahman is invoked. But the Master said that the Knowledge of Brahman was not possible without the complete destruction of worldliness. Further, he said that it was impossible for a man totally to withdraw his mind from the objects of the senses in the Kaliyuga, when his life was dependent on food. That is why the Master discouraged people from attempting the Vedic worship of Brahman and asked them to worship Sakti, the Divine Mother, who is identical with Brahman.
MASTER (to Ishan): “Why do you waste your time simply repeating ‘Neti, neti’? Nothing whatsoever can be specified about Brahman, except that It exists.
“Whatever we see or think about is the manifestation of the glory of the Primordial Energy, the Primal Consciousness. Creation, preservation, and destruction, living beings and the universe, and further, meditation and the meditator, bhakti and prema — all these are manifestations of the glory of that Power.
“But Brahman is identical with Its Power. On returning from Ceylon, Hanuman praised Rama, saying: ‘O Rama, You are the Supreme Brahman, and Sita is Your Sakti. You and She are identical.’ Brahman and Sakti are like the snake and its wriggling motion. Thinking of the snake, one must think of its wriggling motion, and thinking of its wriggling motion, one must think of the snake. Or they are like milk and its whiteness. Thinking of milk, one has to think of its colour, that is, whiteness, and thinking of the whiteness of milk, one has to think of milk itself. Or they are like water and its wetness. Thinking of water, one has to think of its wetness, and thinking of the wetness of water, one has to think of water.
“This Primal Power, Mahamaya, has covered Brahman. As soon as the covering is withdrawn, one realises: ‘I am what I was before’, ‘I am Thou; Thou art I’.
“As long as that covering remains, the Vedantic formula ‘I am He’, that is, man is the Supreme Brahman, does not rightly apply. The wave is part of the water, but the water is not part of the wave. As long as that covering remains, one should call on God as Mother. Addressing God, the devotee should say, ‘Thou art the Mother and I am Thy child; Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant.’ It is good to have the attitude of the servant toward the master. From this relationship of master and servant spring up other attitudes: the attitude of serene love for God, the attitude of friend toward friend, and so forth. When the master loves his servant, he may say to him, ‘Come, sit by my side; there is no difference between you and me.’ But if the servant comes forward of his own will to sit by the master, will not the master be angry?
“God’s play on earth as an Incarnation is the manifestation of the glory of the Chitsakti, the Divine Power. That which is Brahman is also Rama, Krishna, and Siva.”
ISHAN: “Yes, sir. Both Hari and Hara are derived from the same root. The difference lies only in the pratyaya.”
MASTER: “Yes, there is only One without a second. The Vedas speak-of It as ‘Om Satchidananda Brahma’, the Puranas as ‘Om Satchidananda Krishna’, and the Tantra as ‘Om Satchidananda Siva’.
“The Chitsakti, as Mahamaya, has deluded all with ignorance. It is said in the Adhyatma Ramayana that when the rishis saw Rama, they prayed to Him in these words only: ‘O Rama, please do not delude us with Your world-bewitching maya.'” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Question: What is the nature of Paramatma?
Answer: He is most subtle and inconceivable by the senses and the mind.
Question: Where is Paramatma?
Answer: He pervades all beings and the whole universe.
Question: Where do all beings exist?
Answer: In Paramatma.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9 
(34 Verses)
