Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.2.35
Āśraya· The supreme shelterUnderstand Kṛṣṇa Through Mercy and Devotion
“O Lord, cause of all causes, if Your transcendental body were not beyond the modes of material nature, one could not understand the difference between matter and transcendence. Only by Your presence can one understand the transcendental nature of Your Lordship, who are the controller of material nature. Your transcendental nature is very difficult to understand unless one is influenced by the presence of Your transcendental form.”
What the purport teaches
- Only by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can one understand Him. Speculation under the modes of material nature cannot reveal His transcendental nature.
- Kṛṣṇa’s form is not material, nor does it belong to the material mode of goodness. His form belongs to the transcendental, eternal status of bliss and knowledge.
- Transcendental knowledge must be received through disciplic succession rather than manufactured through imagination. Following the principles of devotional service and worshiping the Deity awaken the devotee’s transcendental nature and attachment to the Lord’s lotus feet.
Try this today
Reread the passage describing Kṛṣṇa’s eternal form, and write down one teaching to remember instead of imagining His form.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking to understand Kṛṣṇa through received knowledge and devotional service, or mainly through my own imagination?
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.