Upanishads · Varāha 3.14
॥
Devanāgarī
आदित्यसन्निधौ लोकश्चेष्टते स्वयमेव तु । तथा मत्सन्निधावेव समस्तं चेष्टते जगत्
Transliteration (IAST)
ādityasannidhau lokaśceṣṭate svayameva tu | tathā matsannidhāveva samastaṃ ceṣṭate jagat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आदित्य-सन्निधौ लोकःāditya-sannidhau lokaḥin the presence of the sun, the world
चेष्टते स्वयम् एव तुceṣṭate svayam eva tumoves of itself
तथा मत्-सन्निधौ एवtathā mat-sannidhau evaso, in my presence alone
समस्तं चेष्टते जगत्samastaṃ ceṣṭate jagatthe whole world moves
Translation
"In the presence of the sun, the world moves of itself; so too, in my presence alone, the whole world moves."
Version
8fce0a170210 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison with the sun is given, and it is, in my view, the most precise definition of how He acts. The sun does nothing to the world: it shines. And because it shines, everything is set in motion — people wake, go to work, grass grows, birds fly.
That is, action is ascribed to presence, not intervention. This position is fundamental in Vaishnava teaching and resolves the old difficulty of freedom, discussed when reading the Panchabrahma (11) and the Jabala-darshana (8.9). Let us briefly repeat. If He acts for us, we bear no responsibility. If He has nothing to do with it, the world runs by itself and He is unneeded.
Here a third option is given: He is present, and from His presence everything is set in motion; but it moves of itself. The word sannidhi, "presence, co-presence," is the very one discussed when reading the Ganapati (14.2), where repetition was prescribed pratima-sannidhau, "in the presence of an image." Let us add what follows from the comparison, and deserves saying.
The sun shines the same on all: on the righteous and the wicked, on what grows and what rots. It does not choose. And the difference in what results from this lies not in the sun, but in what it shines upon: one thing blooms from the warmth, another spoils.
That is, the comparison explains, at the same time, why the same grace produces different results in different people; and this explanation is, in my view, the best of all offered for this question.