Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.84.17
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Supreme Remains Complete and Independent
“Indeed, the humanlike pastimes of the Almighty are simply a pretense! Effortlessly, He alone sends forth from His Self this variegated creation, maintains it and then swallows it up again, all without becoming entangled, just as the element earth takes on many names and forms in its various transformations.”
What the purport teaches
- The one Supreme expands Himself as many without diminishing His completeness. He does so effortlessly, without depending on anyone or anything else.
- He creates, maintains and withdraws the universe without becoming entangled. Earth and its many transformations offer some idea of this otherwise incomprehensible process.
- Kṛṣṇa’s birth and humanlike pastimes imitate ordinary activities, but He remains the perfectly complete whole. He only pretends to be under higher control.
Try this today
Look at an object made of earth and recall the verse’s example of one substance appearing in many forms.
Ask yourself
How does Kṛṣṇa’s complete independence deepen my respect for His humanlike pastimes?
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.