अयं हि सर्वकल्पानां सध्रीचीनो मतो मम ।
मद्भाव: सर्वभूतेषु मनोवाक्कायवृत्तिभि: ॥
ayaṁ hi sarva-kalpānāṁ sadhrīcīno mato mama |
mad-bhāvaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu mano-vāk-kāya-vṛttibhiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.19; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 332)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Uddhava:] Indeed, this thought of me in all beings [performed] with the functions of the mind, speech, and body is considered by me to be the proper one among all processes.”
Commentary
kim ayam evopāyo’sti vānyo’pi? ity apekṣāyāṁ santi bahavaḥ, samīcīnas tv ayam evety āha—ayaṁ hīti |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“In expectation of [the question], ‘Is this the only means [to realize Brahman], or are there also others?,’ he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] speaks this verse (ayaṁ hi … ) to say that there are many, but this one alone is correct [alt., complete].”
tataś ca ‘nareṣv abhīkṣṇam’ ity-ādinā tādṛśa-svopāsanā-viśeṣasya jhaṭiti spardhādi-ksaya-lakṣaṇaṁ phalam uktvā, ‘visṛjya’ ity-ādinā tathā-dṛṣṭa-sādhanaṁ sarva-namaskāram upadiśya, ‘yāvat’ ity-ādinā tādṛśopāsanāyā avadhiṁ ca sarvatra svataḥ sva-sphūrtim uktvā, ‘sarvaṁ’ ity-ādinā ‘navyavad dhṛd aye yaj jño brahmaitad brahma-vādibhiḥ | na muhyanti na śocanti na hṛṣyanti yato gatāḥ ||’ iti pracetasaḥ prati śrī-bhagavad-vākye taṭ-ṭīkāyāṁ ca tasya bhagavataḥ pratipada-navya-sphūrtir eva brahmeti yad uktaṁ, tad eva tat-phalam ity uktvā, yad vā, ‘katham asyāvatārasya brahmatā bhavati?’ iti gopāla-tāpanī-prasiddha-brahmety-abhidhāna-narākṛti-para-brahma-rūpa-sphūrtis tat-phalam ity uktvā, tenaiva tādṛśopāsanāṁ sarvordhvam api praśaṁsati—ayaṁ hīti | sarva-kalpānāṁ sarvopāyānāṁ sadhrīcīnaḥ samīcīnaḥ | mad-bhāvo mama śrī-kṛṣṇa-rūpasya bhāvanā |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā; Bhakti Sandarbha: 332)
“Then, furthermore, after describing the result, in form of the quick dissolution of rivalry and so forth, of such specific worship of himself [i.e., of meditation upon his constant presence in all human beings] in nareṣv abhīkṣṇam … [i.e., SB 11.29.15], teaching in visṛjya … [i.e., SB 11.29.16] the sādhana seen there of [offering] obeisances to all, describing in yāvat … [i.e., SB 11.29.17] the limit of such worship and the manifestation (sphūrti) of himself everywhere of its own accord [i.e., the result of such worship, upon the emergence of which one can desist from the practice], and describing in sarvaṁ … [i.e., SB 11.29.18] that result, that is, ever-new manifestation (sphūrti) at every moment of him, that is, of Bhagavān, which is described as Brahman [in this verse as it is] in the statement of Śrī Bhagavān to the Pracetas navyavad dhṛd aye yaj jño … [i.e., SB 4.30.20], and in the commentary [of Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda] thereupon, and, alternately, after describing that result, [viz.,] manifestation (sphūrti) of the form of Parabrahman in human figure, which has the well known designation Brahman in [verse 2.28 of] the Gopāla-tāpanī [Upaniṣad], ‘How does this avatāra [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] have the nature of Brahman?,’ he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣnā] then praises such worship (upāsanā) as even topmost [amongst all types of worship]: ayaṁ hi … [i.e., he speaks SB 11.29.19]. ‘Among all processes’ (sarva-kalpānām) means among all means, and ‘proper’ (sadhrīcīnaḥ) means correct [alt., complete]. ‘Thought of me’ (mad-bhāvaḥ) means meditation on me, that is, on the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”
jñānināṁ brahma-prāptāv ataḥ paraḥ sugamaḥ samīcīnaś copāyo nāstīty āha—ayaṁ hīti |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“In regard to jñānīs’ attainment of Brahman, there is no other better, practicable, and correct means than this. Thus, he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] speaks this verse (ayaṁ hi … ).”
Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī interprets this verse and the verses preceding it in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam to refer to the upāsanā of a jñānī for realizing Brahman, whereas Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī interprets these verses to refer to the upāsanā of a bhakta for realizing Bhagavān, specifically, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and bhakti to him. In Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s view, a bhakta aspiring to attain bhakti for Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa will see Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself as the Paramātmā, that is, Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī), rather than a Viṣṇu form or a non-distinct form in this capacity.