Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.8.42
Āśraya· The supreme shelterEverything Belongs to the Supreme Lord
“It is by the influence of the Supreme Lord’s māyā that I am wrongly thinking that Nanda Mahārāja is my husband, that Kṛṣṇa is my son, and that because I am the queen of Nanda Mahārāja, all the wealth of cows and calves are my possessions and all the cowherd men and their wives are my subjects. Actually, I also am eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord. He is my ultimate shelter.”
What the purport teaches
- Whatever wealth or possessions we have belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not to us. He is everyone’s ultimate shelter and the ultimate owner of everything.
- Following mother Yaśodā, we should give up pride in possessions and the illusion of “I” and “mine.” Knowing the Lord as the owner and well-wisher of all living entities brings peace.
- Mother Yaśodā recognized that her own endeavors could not guarantee her son’s protection. She therefore surrendered to the Supreme Lord, on whom ultimate protection depends.
Try this today
Choose one possession and pause to acknowledge that it belongs to the Supreme Lord, not independently to you.
Ask yourself
Which possession do you most easily think of as entirely yours?
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.