Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.8.25
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Mothers’ Anxiety Is Transcendental
“When mother Yaśodā and Rohiṇī were unable to protect the babies from calamities threatened by horned cows, by fire, by animals with claws and teeth such as monkeys, dogs and cats, and by thorns, swords and other weapons on the ground, they were always in anxiety, and their household engagements were disturbed. At that time, they were fully equipoised in the transcendental ecstasy known as the distress of material affection, for this was aroused within their minds.”
What the purport teaches
- Yaśodā and Rohiṇī were anxious to protect their restless babies from cows, fire, animals and other dangers. Their household duties were disturbed.
- These pastimes and the mothers’ enjoyment are entirely transcendental, not material. The purport describes them as ānanda-cinmaya-rasa.
- The spiritual world includes anxiety, crying and other feelings resembling those here. Yet the mothers enjoyed these feelings transcendentally; the material world is only an imitation.
Try this today
Write one sentence explaining why the mothers’ anxiety should not be understood as ordinary material distress.
Ask yourself
How does the purport change your understanding of the mothers’ anxiety?
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.