Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.85.19
Āśraya· The supreme shelterSeek Shelter and Pure Love Alone
“Therefore, O friend of the distressed, I now approach Your lotus feet for shelter — the same lotus feet that dispel all fear of worldly existence for those who have surrendered to them. Enough! Enough with hankering for sense enjoyment, which makes me identify with this mortal body and think of You, the Supreme, as my child.”
What the purport teaches
- Vasudeva approaches the Lord's lotus feet for shelter. Those feet remove the fear of worldly existence for surrendered souls.
- He rejects hankering for sense enjoyment, which fosters identification with the mortal body and his view of the Supreme as his child.
- Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī suggests that Vasudeva condemns the thought of gaining special opulences as the Supreme Lord's father. He contrasts himself with Nanda, who was satisfied with pure love of God and nothing else.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer for shelter at the Lord's lotus feet without asking for material benefits.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking the Lord's shelter for pure love, or hoping for special advantages?
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.