सर्वभूतस्थितं यो मां भजत्येकत्वमास्थित: |
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि स योगी मयि वर्तते || 31||
sarva-bhūta-sthitaṁ yo māṁ bhajatyekatvam āsthitaḥ
sarvathā vartamāno ’pi sa yogī mayi vartate
sarva-bhūta-sthitam—situated in all beings; yaḥ—who; mām—me; bhajati—worships; ekatvam—in unity; āsthitaḥ—established; sarvathā—in all kinds of; varta-mānaḥ—remain; api—although; saḥ—he; yogī—a yogi; mayi—in me; vartate—dwells
Translation:
The Yogi who worships Me abiding in all beings and who is established in unity abides in me in whatever manner he is acting.
Commentary:
Where is God? What is the way to establish oneself in Him? These questions are answered here. God exists everywhere, in all beings of the universe. Nothing exists where He is not. Like cream in milk, like honey in flowers, like sugar in sugar cane, God is present in – everything. So knowing that God is present in all, one should not harm others. One should have friendly feeling and kindness for all beings, and do service to them. This would be the worship of the Lord.
The Yogi who has realised the oneness of all beings by perceiving the Lord as the inner reality, lives forever in the Lord. Just as the same Sun is reflected in a thousand different globules of water, just as the same man can play different parts in a drama by change of dress, just as the same gold exists in a hundred varieties of jewels, just as the same clay appears in pots of different shape and size, even so, the Lord exists in everything as the undifferentiated substratum. To worship Him and meditate on Him is the way to reach Him.
The Yogi does not always remain in meditation. There are times when he acts in the world. Will he then lose contact with the Lord? This doubt is cleared here. Though the Yogi is engaged in a hundred practical works in the world, he lives in the Lord. This is the Lord’s declaration. Like the mariner’s compass whose needle always points to the North, the mind of the Yogi is always in union with the Lord, though he is acting in the world in a variety of ways. This becomes natural to him by long practice. So he never commits the error of thinking that he is different from others, though from a physical angle of view, every being is separate from everything else. Absorption in samadhi or work in the world is the same for him because he sees the same Reality in both. This is the secret of all-mighty works performed by the perfected Yogi for the benefit of mankind. Writing good books, delivering lectures, conversing and explaining the scriptures, relieving the poor and the suffering, organising people for holy purposes, moving and acting with common humanity, the perfected yogi lives in the Lord only, and has no idea of his being a separate individual.
In every way: The word has to be carefully understood. The Lord has not prescribed the nature of action here. But it is self-evident that wilful and sinful actions are not intended. The man who acts in evil ways is neither a Jnani nor a Bhakta. The perfected has already transcended all Tamasic and Rajasic propensities. His actions are born of sattva guna. So they are all pure and helpful, never impure and injurious. It is intended to suggest that the yogi may remain in the ecstasy of meditation or maybe actively working in the world, but in both cases, he sees and lives in the Lord.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
Prafulla finished her studies and then practised spiritual austerity for many days. Then one day Bhavani visited her; he wanted to instruct her about selfless work. He quoted to her from the Gita: “Therefore do thou always perform obligatory actions without attachment; by performing action without attachment one attains to the highest.” (BG 3.19)
He told her the three characteristics of disinterested action: first, control of the sense-organs; second, absence of egotism; and third, surrendering the fruit of action to Sri Krishna. He further told her that no dharma is possible for the egotistic person. Quoting from the Gita, he said: “The gunas of Prakrit; perform all action. With the understanding deluded by egotism, man thinks, I am the doer.” (BG 3.27)
Bhavani next spoke to her about surrendering the fruit of action to Sri Krishna. Again he quoted from the Gita: “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give away, and whatever you practise in the form of austerities, Ο son of Kunti— do it as an offering to Me.” (BG 9.27)
MASTER: “This is fine. These are the words of the Gita; one cannot refute them. But something else must be noted. The author speaks about surrendering the fruit of action to Sri Krishna, but not about cultivating bhakti for Him.”
M: “No, that is not especially mentioned here.
“Next Prafulla and Bhavani talked about the use of money. Prafulla said that she offered all her wealth to Krishna.”
M. read from the book again.
PRAFULLA: “Like my actions, I offer all my wealth to Sri Krishna.”
BHAVANI: “All?”
PRAFULLA: “Yes, all.”
BHAVANI: “In that case you won’t be able to perform action in a detached spirit. If you have to work to earn your food, you will be attached to that work. Hence there are two alternatives before you: either you will have to get your food by begging, or you will have to live on your money. Even a beggar becomes attached to the alms he receives; therefore you must use your own money to maintain your body.”
M. (to the Master, smiling): “That is the nature of the calculating mind.”
MASTER: “Yes, that is the nature of the calculating mind; that is the way the worldly man thinks. But he who seeks God plunges headlong; he doesn’t calculate about how much or how little he needs for the protection of his body.”
M: “Next Bhavani asked Prafulla, ‘How will you offer all this money to Sri Krishna?’ Prafulla said: ‘Why, Sri Krishna dwells in all beings. I shall distribute the money among them.’ Bhavani answered, ‘Good! Good!’
“Quoting from the Gita, Bhavani said: ‘He who sees Me in all things and all things in Me, never becomes separated from Me, nor do I become separated from him. That yogi who, established in unity, worships Me dwelling in all beings, abides in Me, whatever his mode of life. O Arjuna, that yogi is regarded as the highest who judges the pleasure and pain of all beings by the same standard that he applies to himself.” (BG 6.30, BG 6.31, BG 6.32)
MASTER: “These are the characteristics of the highest bhakta.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
Question: Where is God?
Answer: He is in all beings.
Question: What should man do to attain Him?
Answer: He should cultivate an equal and universal vision of the Lord in all things.
Question: How should he work in the world?
Answer: Whether he is absorbed in samadhi or works in the world, he sees the Lord everywhere and abides in him.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6 
(47 Verses)
