Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.21.38-40
Āśraya· The supreme shelterAll Vedic Sound Teaches Love of God
“Just as a spider brings forth from its heart its web and emits it through its mouth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as the reverberating primeval vital air, comprising all sacred Vedic meters and full of transcendental pleasure. Thus the Lord, from the ethereal sky of His heart, creates the great and limitless Vedic sound by the agency of His mind, which conceives of variegated sounds such as the sparśas. The Vedic sound branches out in thousands of directions, adorned with the different letters expanded from the syllable om: the consonants, vowels, sibilants and semivowels. The Veda is then elaborated by many verbal varieties, expressed in different meters, each having four more syllables than the previous one. Ultimately the Lord again withdraws His manifestation of Vedic sound within Himself.”
What the purport teaches
- As a spider brings forth its web, the Supreme Personality of Godhead brings forth the vast manifestation of Vedic sound. Ultimately, He withdraws that sound within Himself.
- Vedic sound is itself a manifestation of the Absolute Truth. It emanates from the Supreme Lord and is vibrated to glorify and understand Him.
- All Vedic knowledge is meant to teach us to know and love God. Thinking of Kṛṣṇa, becoming His devotee, worshiping Him and chanting His holy name fulfill its purpose.
Try this today
After studying today, bow down to Kṛṣṇa and chant His holy name with faith and devotion.
Ask yourself
Is my study helping me remember, glorify and love 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.