ŚB 11.22.4
Devanagari
युक्तं च सन्ति सर्वत्र भाषन्ते ब्राह्मणा यथा ।
मायां मदीयामुद्गृह्य वदतां किं नु दुर्घटम् ॥ ४ ॥
Text
yuktaṁ ca santi sarvatra
bhāṣante brāhmaṇā yathā
māyāṁ madīyām udgṛhya
vadatāṁ kiṁ nu durghaṭam
Synonyms
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; yuktam — reasonably; ca — even; santi — they are present; sarvatra — everywhere; bhāṣante — they speak; brāhmaṇāḥ — brāhmaṇas; yathā — how; māyām — the mystic energy; madīyām — My; udgṛhya — resorting to; vadatām — of those who speak; kim — what; nu — after all; durghaṭam — will be impossible.
Translation
Lord Kṛṣṇa replied: Because all material elements are present everywhere, it is reasonable that different learned brāhmaṇas have analyzed them in different ways. All such philosophers spoke under the shelter of My mystic potency, and thus they could say anything without contradicting the truth.
Purport
The words santi sarvatra in this verse indicate that all material elements are found within each other in gross and subtle forms. In this way there are innumerable ways to categorically describe them. The material world is ultimately illusory, undergoing constant transformation. It may be measured in different ways, just as the mirage of an oasis may be described in different ways, but the Lord’s own analysis of twenty-eight elements is perfect and should be accepted. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states that the word māyā in this verse does not refer to mahā-māyā, or the potency of ignorance, but to the Lord’s inconceivable mystic power, which shelters the learned followers of Vedic knowledge. Each of the philosophers mentioned here reveals a particular aspect of truth, and their theories are not contradictory, since they are simply describing the same phenomena with different categorical systems. Such philosophical disagreement is endless within the material world; thus everyone should unite on the platform of the Lord’s own opinion, as stated in this verse. Similarly, in Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa requests all conditioned souls to give up their various forms of worship and surrender unto Him in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, becoming His devotees. Thus the whole universe can be united in love of Godhead by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. By the Lord’s revealing Himself to a sincere devotee, the controversy of analytic philosophy is ended.