iti sarvāṇi bhūtāni
mad-bhāvena mahā-dyute
sabhājayan manyamāno
jñānaḿ kevalam āśritaḥ
brāhmaṇe pukkase stene
brahmaṇye 'rke sphulińgake
akrūre krūrake caiva
sama-dṛk paṇḍito mataḥ
iti -- in this way; sarvani -- to all; bhutani -- living beings; mat-bhavena -- with the sense of My presence; maha-dyute -- O greatly effulgent Uddhava; sabhajayan -- giving respect; manyamanah -- so considering; jnanam -- knowledge; kevalam -- transcendental; asritah -- taking shelter of; brahmane -- in the brahmana; pukkase -- in the outcaste of the Pukkasa tribe; stene -- in the thief; brahmanye -- in the man who respects brahminical culture; arke -- in the sun; sphulingake -- in the spark of the fire; akrure -- in the gentle; krurake -- in the cruel; ca -- also; eva -- indeed; sama-drik -- having equal vision; panditah -- a learned scholar; matah -- is considered.
O brilliant Uddhava, one who thus views all living entities with the idea that I am present within each of them, and who by taking shelter of this divine knowledge offers due respect to everyone, is considered actually wise. Such a man sees equally the brahmana and the outcaste, the thief and the charitable promoter of brahminical culture, the sun and the tiny sparks of fire, the gentle and the cruel.
A series of opposites is set forth here -- namely the high-class brahmana and the low-class aborigine, the thief who steals from respectable persons and the respecter of brahminical culture who gives charity to brahmanas, the all-powerful sun and the insignificant spark, and finally the kind and the cruel. Ordinarily, the ability to distinguish between such opposites qualifies one as intelligent. How, then, can the Lord state that ignoring such obvious differences establishes one as a wise man? The answer is given by the words mad-bhavena: a wise person sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead within everything. Therefore, although externally perceiving and dealing with the varieties of material situations, a wise man is more impressed by and concerned with the overwhelming unity of all existence, which is based on the presence of the Supreme Lord within everything. As explained here, a truly wise person is not limited to superficial material discrimination.
