Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.12.3-6
Mukti· LiberationDevotee Association Transforms Lives
“In every yuga many living entities entangled in the modes of passion and ignorance gained the association of My devotees. Thus, such living entities as the Daityas, Rākṣasas, birds, beasts, Gandharvas, Apsarās, Nāgas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Guhyakas and Vidyādharas, as well as such lower-class human beings as the vaiśyas, śūdras, women and others, were able to achieve My supreme abode. Vṛtrāsura, Prahlāda Mahārāja and others like them also achieved My abode by association with My devotees, as did personalities such as Vṛṣaparvā, Bali Mahārāja, Bāṇāsura, Maya, Vibhīṣaṇa, Sugrīva, Hanumān, Jāmbavān, Gajendra, Jaṭāyu, Tulādhāra, Dharma-vyādha, Kubjā, the gopīs in Vṛndāvana and the wives of the brāhmaṇas who were performing sacrifice.”
What the purport teaches
- In every age, many beings bound by passion and ignorance attained the Lord’s abode through association with His devotees. Even birds and animals received His mercy.
- Devotees such as the gopīs obtained pure love of Kṛṣṇa, whereas the demons generally obtained salvation. These examples show the enormous benefits of devotee association.
- Many purified demons came to accept devotional service as their most important activity. Exalted devotees such as Prahlāda and Bali Mahārāja accepted devotional service as their very life.
Try this today
Arrange a brief conversation with a devotee about Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
What would change if I treated devotional service as central to my life?
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.