Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.2.39
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesSeek Kṛṣṇa’s Fearless Shelter
“O Supreme Lord, You are not an ordinary living entity appearing in this material world as a result of fruitive activities. Therefore Your appearance or birth in this world has no other cause than Your pleasure potency. Similarly, the living entities, who are part of You, have no cause for miseries like birth, death and old age, except when these living entities are conducted by Your external energy.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears by His pleasure potency, not because He is forced by karma. He is free to come whenever He likes.
- Living entities are parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa, but wanting enjoyment without Him brings them under the illusory energy. Forgetting their position as His eternal servants, they suffer birth, death, old age and disease.
- Shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet is fearless shelter. By devotional service—thinking of Him, glorifying Him and chanting about Him—we can return to our original, liberated position.
Try this today
Pause today to glorify Kṛṣṇa in a short prayer and ask for shelter as His eternal servant.
Ask yourself
Where do you notice the wish to enjoy independently of Kṛṣṇa in your own life?
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.