Bg 9.18
gatir bharta prabhuh saksi
nivasah saranam suhrt
prabhavah pralayah sthanam
nidhanam bijam avyayam
Word for word:
gatih — goal; bharta — sustainer; prabhuh — Lord; saksi — witness; nivasah — abode; saranam — refuge; su-hrt — most intimate friend; prabhavah — creation; pralayah — dissolution; sthanam — ground; nidhanam — resting place; bijam — seed; avyayam — imperishable.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
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.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Gati means the destination where we want to go. But the ultimate goal is Krishna, although people do not know it. One who does not know Krishna is misled, and his so-called progressive march is either partial or hallucinatory. There are many who make as their destination different demigods, and by rigid performance of the strict respective methods they reach different planets known as Candraloka, Suryaloka, Indraloka, Maharloka, etc. But all such lokas, or planets, being creations of Krishna, are simultaneously Krishna and not Krishna. Such planets, being manifestations of Krishna’s energy, are also Krishna, but actually they serve only as a step forward for realization of Krishna. To approach the different energies of Krishna is to approach Krishna indirectly. One should directly approach Krishna, for that will save time and energy. For example, if there is a possibility of going to the top of a building by the help of an elevator, why should one go by the staircase, step by step? Everything is resting on Krishna’s energy; therefore without Krishna’s shelter nothing can exist. Krishna is the supreme ruler because everything belongs to Him and everything exists on His energy. Krishna, being situated in everyone’s heart, is the supreme witness. The residences, countries or planets on which we live are also Krishna. Krishna is the ultimate goal of shelter, and therefore one should take shelter of Krishna either for protection or for annihilation of his distress. And whenever we have to take protection, we should know that our protection must be a living force. Krishna is the supreme living entity. And since Krishna is the source of our generation, or the supreme father, no one can be a better friend than Krishna, nor can anyone be a better well-wisher. Krishna is the original source of creation and the ultimate rest after annihilation. Krishna is therefore the eternal cause of all causes.