Verse 2.2.87

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.87:

समाधत्स्व मनः स्वीयं ततो द्रक्ष्यसि तं स्वतः ।
सर्वत्र बहिर् अन्तश् च सदा साक्षाद् इव स्थितम् ॥ ८७ ॥

samādhatsva manaḥ svīyaṃ tato drakṣyasi taṃ svataḥ |
sarvatra bahir antaś ca sadā sākṣād iva sthitam || 87 ||

samādhatsva–fix in meditation; manaḥ–mind; svīyam–your; tataḥ–then; drakṣyasi–you will see; tam–Him; svataḥ–automatically; sarvatra–everywhere; bahiḥ–without; antaḥ–within; ca–also; sadā–eternally; sākṣāt–before your eyes; iva–as if; sthitam–situated.

Fix your mind in deep meditation, because it is by meditation alone that can one see Parameśvara. He is everywhere, within and without, but by the potency of samādhi you will see Him as if directly before you in person.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Gopa-kumāra might say, “Darśana of the Lord can be had only with one’s eyes. To search for Him, it is essential that I wander.”

In response to this, in this verse Śrī Pippalāyana replies, “The Supreme Lord can never be seen by external vision. Turn your mind inwards and deeply absorb yourself in meditation (samādhi). Just as when a mirror is cleaned, the reflection of one’s face is automatically visible, so, when the consciousness is cleansed by the power of samādhi, one can easily see the Supreme Lord, Parameśvara.”

“Can the Lord not be seen everywhere?”

“Parameśvara is always present everywhere, as if directly visible without and within.” But here, the import of the word iva (‘sadā sākṣād iva sthitam–as if always directly visible before you’) is that one cannot actually see the Lord with his eyes. “Therefore, there is no use roaming about trying to see the Supreme Lord with your external vision.”