Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.48.22
Āśraya· The supreme shelterKṛṣṇa’s Body Is Always Spiritual
“Since it has never been demonstrated that You are covered by material, bodily designations, it must be concluded that for You there is neither birth in a literal sense nor any duality. Therefore You never undergo bondage or liberation, and if You appear to, it is only because of Your desire that we see You in that way, or simply because of our lack of discrimination.”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa is never covered by material bodily designations and does not undergo material birth, bondage or liberation. There is no distinction between His body and soul.
- By the Lord’s desire, loving devotees may think of Him as their beloved child, friend or lover without thinking of Him as God. Mother Yaśodā’s concern for His safety arises from extraordinary love.
- A different reason for seeing the Lord as material is ignorance or lack of discrimination. In truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s body is eternal, spiritual, omniscient and the reservoir of all pleasure.
Try this today
Before your devotional practice today, recall these qualities of Kṛṣṇa’s body: eternal, spiritual, omniscient and the reservoir of all pleasure.
Ask yourself
Can I distinguish loving absorption in Kṛṣṇa from mistakenly thinking He has an ordinary material body?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.