Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.3.37
Āśraya· The supreme shelterSee the Lord’s Potencies and Serve Him
“Originally one, the Absolute, Brahman, comes to be known as threefold, manifesting itself as the three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. Brahman further expands its potency, and thus the power to act and the power of consciousness become manifest, along with the false ego, which covers the identity of the conditioned living being. Thus, by the expansion of the multipotencies of the Absolute, the demigods, as the embodiment of knowledge, become manifest, along with the material senses, their objects, and the results of material activity, namely happiness and distress. In this way the manifestation of the material world takes place as the subtle cause and as the material effect visible in the appearance of gross material objects. Brahman, which is the source of all subtle and gross manifestations, is simultaneously transcendental to them, being absolute.”
What the purport teaches
- The Absolute Truth possesses innumerable potencies, through which the subtle and gross material world becomes manifest. He is the possessor of these energies and remains transcendental to them.
- The material world is real as the Lord’s potency, but its various manifestations are temporary. Illusion arises when we take these temporary manifestations to be permanent and identify ourselves with material labels.
- Freedom from illusion comes through surrender to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not through declaring the world nonexistent. Understanding ourselves as spirit souls, part and parcel of Him, leads us to devotional service.
Try this today
Today, pause when a material label comes to mind and reflect: “I am a pure spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Let me serve Him.”
Ask yourself
Which temporary material label do I most often mistake for my true identity as part and parcel of 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.