Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.5.13
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHear the Lord’s Pastimes From Pure Devotees
“O Vyāsadeva, your vision is completely perfect. Your good fame is spotless. You are firm in vow and situated in truthfulness. And thus you can think of the pastimes of the Lord in trance for the liberation of the people in general from all material bondage.”
What the purport teaches
- People naturally want to hear and read something new. Out of compassion, Nārada asks Vyāsadeva to provide attractive spiritual literature that can free them from material bondage.
- The Lord’s pastimes become manifest to devotees absorbed in His transcendental loving service. Speculation alone cannot enable someone to know or describe them.
- Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the all-perfect Personality of Godhead. Its transcendental narrations can satisfy the longing for eternal peace and liberation from misery.
Try this today
Read a short passage of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam today and pause to remember what it describes about the Lord.
Ask yourself
Does my desire to hear something new lead me toward the Lord’s pastimes or toward more material distraction?
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.