Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.87.19
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Indwelling Lord Remains Eternally Unchanged
“Apparently entering among the variegated species of living beings You have created, You inspire them to act, manifesting Yourself according to their higher and lower positions, just as fire manifests differently according to the shape of what it burns. Therefore those of spotless intelligence, who are altogether free from material attachments, realize Your undifferentiated, unchanging Self to be the permanent reality among all these impermanent life forms.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Lord’s energies share His nature while remaining distinct from Him. This is acintya-bhedābheda: inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and difference.
- As the Supersoul, the Lord gives every living being intelligence and inspiration without becoming bound by matter. Like fire appearing differently in different objects, He illuminates each soul’s consciousness according to that soul’s capacity.
- Kṛṣṇa eternally maintains His personal form of pure spiritual pleasure, unchanged by creation and destruction. Those free from material entanglement know Him as He is, and we should seek from them the opportunity to engage in His devotional service.
Try this today
Today, offer a short prayer asking for the opportunity to serve the Supreme Lord under the guidance of His devotees.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that the Lord remains unchanged help me turn toward His devotional service?
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.