Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.12.18
Āśraya· The supreme shelterVedic Knowledge Kindles Devotion
“When sticks of kindling wood are vigorously rubbed together, heat is produced by contact with air, and a spark of fire appears. Once the fire is kindled, ghee is added and the fire blazes. Similarly, I become manifest in the sound vibration of the Vedas.”
What the purport teaches
- Just as fire gradually appears through rubbing wood and blazes when ghee is added, Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes manifest through Vedic sound and the progression of Vedic sacrifice.
- Vedic sacrifices accustom a materialistic worker to offering the fruits of work to a superior Vedic authority. As the possibilities of material enjoyment are exhausted, one turns toward deeper understanding.
- Increased knowledge reveals the unlimited glories of the Supreme and leads to loving devotional service. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the goal of Vedic knowledge, which destroys the chain of fruitive work.
Try this today
Read this translation aloud once, then pause to remember that knowing and serving Kṛṣṇa is the purpose of Vedic knowledge.
Ask yourself
Is my spiritual learning helping me move from seeking rewards toward loving service to Kṛṣṇa?
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.