Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.63.39
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord Illuminates Even His Covering Potency
“O almighty one, just as the sun, though hidden by a cloud, illuminates the cloud and all other visible forms as well, so You, although hidden by the material qualities, remain self-luminous and thus reveal all those qualities, along with the living entities who possess them.”
What the purport teaches
- The sun produces clouds through its energy, and those clouds cover our vision of the sun. Yet sunlight lets us see the clouds and other visible things.
- Similarly, the Lord expands His illusory potency, which prevents us from directly seeing Him. He alone reveals that covering potency, the material world.
- The Lord remains self-luminous. The reality of His existence makes all things visible, including material qualities and the living beings who possess them.
Try this today
Look at the daylight today and recall that even what hides the Lord from our vision depends on Him.
Ask yourself
How does the sun-and-cloud analogy help me distinguish my limited vision from the Lord’s reality?
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.