Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.2.41
Āśraya· The supreme shelterRespect Everything as Kṛṣṇa’s Energy
“A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans — whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord’s body.”
What the purport teaches
- A devotee sees nothing as separate from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living beings and everything within creation are expansions of His energy and deserve sincere respect.
- Everything is called the Lord’s body because everything is under His control. This does not mean that the material universe and the Lord, with His unique spiritual qualities, are identical in every respect.
- Just as sunshine expands from the sun, the Lord’s energies expand from Him while He retains His personal form. Devotional vision recognizes everything’s connection with Kṛṣṇa rather than overlooking Him.
Try this today
Pause before a tree or a body of water today and offer sincere respects, remembering its connection with Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
What do I usually overlook that I could learn to respect as Kṛṣṇa’s energy?
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.