Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

So again in next verse Krishna said whatever gives shelter ultimately it is Him only.

Bg 9.18

gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī
nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt
prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ
nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam

Word for word: 

gatiḥ — goal; bhartā — sustainer; prabhuḥ — Lord; sākṣī — witness; nivāsaḥ — abode; śaraṇam — refuge; su–hṛt — most intimate friend; prabhavaḥ — creation; pralayaḥ — dissolution; sthānam — ground; nidhānam — resting place; bījam — seed; avyayam — imperishable.

Translation: 

I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.

 

Gatir, is the ultimate destination, bhartā, He is the maintainer, prabhuḥ, He is the Lord He is the master, sākṣī, He is the witness, nivāsaḥ, He is the shelter, śaraṇaṁ, He is ultimate refuge and surrender for us, suhṛt, He is the greatest friend, 

prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ, when creation takes place it unfolds from Him, pralayaḥ, when dissolution takes place it rests in Him that sthānaṁ is ultimately He only, nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam, He is the resting place for everything, bījam avyayam means He is imperishable seed, in 7th chapter also Krishna talked about bījam avyayam, when He talked about how He is the essence of everything, Bijam Mam serva Bhutanam…we discussed the concept of imperishable seed, normally when a seed grows into a tree a seed no longer exists but Krishna remains as He is, even though so many living entities and universe comes from Him, Krishna will never be depleted from father also many children can come but father gets depleted, but Krishna is avyaya, 

So this verse very wonderfully explains what is God. We have a definition of God, He is generator, organiser, He is source of everything, He is the absolute truth in terms of relationships with us and things around us, this is a verse to meditate on absolute truth.  In this world so many people help us and we are grateful towards them and we also recognise that it is Krishan who is helping through them.

End of transcription.