Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.85.9
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord and the Stages of Speech
“You are the directions and their accommodating capacity, the all-pervading ether and the elemental sound residing within it. You are the primeval, unmanifested form of sound; the first syllable, om; and audible speech, by which sound, as words, acquires particular references.”
What the purport teaches
- Vasudeva identifies the Lord with the directions, their accommodating capacity, ether and the elemental sound within it.
- The Lord is the primeval unmanifested sound, the first syllable, om, and audible speech that gives words particular references.
- Speech develops from subtle inner impulse to outward expression. The Ṛg Veda describes four stages: three remain hidden within the heart, and the fourth is ordinarily heard as speech.
Try this today
Before one conversation, pause to notice the inner impulse that precedes your spoken words.
Ask yourself
What changes when I remember the Lord’s connection with speech before I speak?
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.