Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.27.1
Mukti· LiberationAuthorized Deity Worship Cleanses the Heart
“Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Lord, O master of the devotees, please explain to me the prescribed method of worshiping You in Your Deity form. What are the qualifications of those devotees who worship the Deity, on what basis is such worship established, and what is the specific method of worship?”
What the purport teaches
- Alongside their prescribed duties, devotees engage in regulated worship of the Lord in His Deity form in the temple.
- Such worship powerfully cleanses the heart of the desire to enjoy the material body and the material family attachment arising from that desire.
- Deity worship must follow the authorized method to be effective. Uddhava therefore asks the Lord about its basis, the worshiper’s qualifications and the method.
Try this today
Write down one question you have about the authorized method of Deity worship.
Ask yourself
Am I willing to learn the authorized method rather than worship only according to my own preferences?
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.