Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.3.50-51
Mukti· LiberationRecognize the Lord’s Mercy in the Deity
“The devotee should gather whatever ingredients for worshiping the Deity are available, make ready the offerings, the ground, his mind and the Deity, sprinkle his sitting place with water for purification and prepare the bathing water and other paraphernalia. The devotee should then place the Deity in His proper place, both physically and within his own mind, concentrate his attention, and mark the Deity’s heart and other parts of the body with tilaka. Then he should offer worship with the appropriate mantra.”
What the purport teaches
- The devotee should gather available ingredients and carefully prepare the offerings, worshiping place, mind and Deity. Worship is then offered with concentrated attention and the appropriate mantra.
- The Deity form is a special manifestation of the Lord’s mercy toward beginners who cannot yet perceive Him in His eternal abode. He is not an ordinary material object.
- To a sincere worshiper, the Deity manifests Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By learning Deity worship from a bona fide spiritual master, one can revive one’s lost relationship with the Lord.
Try this today
Before worship today, carefully prepare the available offerings and pause to gather your attention on serving the Lord.
Ask yourself
How would recognizing the Deity as the Lord’s merciful presence change my attention during worship?
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.