Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.10.11-12
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesDevotee Association Awakens Service to the Lord
“The intelligent, who have understood the Supreme Lord in association with pure devotees and have become freed from bad materialistic association, can never avoid hearing the glories of the Lord, even though they have heard them only once. How then could the Pāṇḍavas tolerate His separation, for they had been intimately associated with His person, seeing Him face to face, touching Him, conversing with Him, and sleeping, sitting and dining with Him?”
What the purport teaches
- Our eternal position is to serve the Lord, not the demands of the senses. Serving material desires brings no lasting satisfaction.
- Association with pure devotees and submissive hearing weaken attachment to material enjoyment. Attraction for hearing the Lord’s activities then grows steadily.
- The Pāṇḍavas could not imagine separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa because of their constant personal association. Remembering His form, qualities, name and pastimes also keeps a pure devotee in contact with Him.
Try this today
Set aside five minutes to hear a pure devotee’s teaching about Kṛṣṇa with a willingness to learn.
Ask yourself
How could you give more attention to hearing about Kṛṣṇa rather than serving restless desires?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.