I am sama in all beings; none is hateful to Me, none beloved. Yet — those who worship Me with bhakti, they are in Me, and I in them. Two clauses; the apparent paradox is the verse's structure.
Krishna is uniformly distributed; bhakti changes nothing about that distribution. Yet bhakti opens a relational field within the uniform — the bhaktas are in Krishna, and Krishna in them.
Shankara reads samata as Krishna's structural sovereignty. There is no preference at the level of being; the relation arises through bhakti's response, not through Krishna's selection. The bhakta is in Krishna because the bhakta's mind is set on Krishna; Krishna is in the bhakta because the inner condition has made the dwelling-place ready. The reciprocity is real, but it does not break the samata.
Ramanuja reads with characteristic relational warmth.
Krishna's sama-bhava is impartial across all beings; bhakti, however, transforms the relationship — not by gaining Krishna's preference but by allowing the natural relation between bhakta and Bhagavan to flower. The bhakta dwells in Krishna because the bhakta has chosen to dwell; Krishna dwells in the bhakta because that is the relation's natural fullness.
Madhusudana reads the verse on the non-dual axis with the bhakti-axis preserved.
Krishna's samata is the structural truth; the bhakta's dwelling is the relational truth that the bhakti opens. Both are real on their own register; neither cancels the other.
Madhva reads samata as Hari's impartiality at the level of structure; bhakti is the jiva's chosen orientation that brings the relation into operation. The eternal distinctness is preserved; the relation is real because Hari himself enters it.
Vallabha reads the verse through pushti-marga: Krishna's grace is uniformly available; bhakti is the receptacle that catches it. The flow is constant; the catch depends on the bhakta's open hand.
Shridhara reads the verse cleanly: samata is structural; bhakti is the inner movement that makes the structural relation operative.