Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.24.21
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord Sustains the Universal Form
“I am the basis of the universal form, which displays endless variety through the repeated creation, maintenance and destruction of the planetary systems. Originally containing within itself all planets in their dormant state, My universal form manifests the varieties of created existence by arranging the coordinated combination of the five elements.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord is the basis of the universal form. Through repeated creation, maintenance and destruction, this form displays endless variety.
- The planets originally rest within the universal form in a dormant state. The coordinated combination of the five elements manifests the varieties of created existence.
- According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, mayā refers to the Lord in His form as eternal time.
Try this today
Notice one example of variety in the world today, and pause to remember the Lord as the basis of the universal form.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that the universal form rests upon the Lord change your view of the world's variety?
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.