Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.85.14
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord Sustains Creation Yet Transcends It
“Thus these created entities, transformations of material nature, do not exist except when material nature manifests them within You, at which time You also manifest within them. But aside from such periods of creation, You stand alone as the transcendental reality.”
What the purport teaches
- Material manifestations have real, functioning existence only when the Lord turns His attention to creating and maintaining the material cosmos.
- During universal dissolution, these manifestations no longer exist. The Lord stands alone as the transcendental reality.
- He mercifully pervades everything as impersonal Brahman and enters every atom as Paramātmā, accompanying the jīva souls in their bodies. Yet He is never within material objects in a material sense.
Try this today
Pause briefly today to remember that the Lord accompanies you as Paramātmā without becoming material.
Ask yourself
How does the Lord's presence as Paramātmā help me appreciate His mercy?
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.