1254 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch, 29

yo mam sarvesu bhittesu
santam atmanam isvaram

hitvarcam bhajate maudhyad
bhasmany eva juhoti sah

yah—one who; mam—Me; sarvesu—in all; bhitesu—living entities; santam
—being present; adtmanam—the Paramatma; isvaram—the Supreme Lord;
hitud—disregarding; arcam—the Deity; bhajate—worships; maudhyat—
because of ignorance; bhasmani—into ashes; eva—only; juhoti—offers
oblations; sah—he.

TRANSLATION

One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not
know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramatma, is situated in every living
entity’s heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers
oblations into ashes.

PURPORT

It is stated clearly herein that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in
His plenary expansion of Supersoul, is present in all living entities. The
living entities have 8,400,000 different kinds of bodies, and the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is living in every body both as the individual soul
and as the Supersoul. Since the individual soul is part and parcel of the
Supreme Lord, in that sense the Lord is living in every body, and, as
Supersoul, the Lord is also present as a witness. In both cases the presence
of God in every living entity is essential. Therefore persons who profess to
belong to some religious sect but who do not feel the presence of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in every living entity, and everywhcre
else, are in the mode of ignorance.

If, without this preliminary knowledge of the Lord’s omnipresence
everywhere, one simply attaches himself to the rituals in a temple, church
or mosque, it is as if he were offering butter into ashes rather than into the
fire. One offers sacrifices by pouring clarified butter into a fire and chant-
ing Vedic mantras, but even if there are Vedic mantras and all conditions
are favorable, if the clarified butter is poured on ashes, then such a sacrifice
will be useless. In other words, a devotee should not ignore any living
entity. The devotee must know that in every living entity, however insig-
nificant he may be, even in an ant, God is present, and therefore every
living entity should be kindly treated and should not be subjected to any
violence. In modern civilized society, slaughterhouses are regularly main-
tained and supported by a certain type of religious principle. But without
