Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 9: The Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret
Bhagavad Gita 9.5
न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् ।
भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः ॥
na ca matsthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogamaiśvaram | bhūtabhṛnna ca bhūtastho mamātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ ||
And yet beings do not rest in me: behold my divine power! My self brings beings into existence and sustains them, yet it does not dwell in them.
Modern context
The verse immediately contradicts the previous one: beings do not rest in me. Then it says 'behold my divine power'. The contradiction is deliberate. Any simple picture of how the divine relates to the world, whether inside it, outside it, or holding it, is too small. Each picture catches something true and misses something else. The verse invites wonder rather than a neat explanation.