Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.4.2
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHear Humbly About the Unlimited Lord
“Śrī Drumila said: Anyone trying to enumerate or describe fully the unlimited qualities of the unlimited Supreme Lord has the intelligence of a foolish child. Even if a great genius could somehow or other, after a time-consuming endeavor, count all the particles of dust on the surface of the earth, such a genius could never count the attractive qualities of the Personality of Godhead, who is the reservoir of all potencies.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Lord’s attractive qualities are unlimited. Even someone able to count every particle of dust on earth could never count them all.
- No one can fully understand the Lord by a tiny, independent endeavor. One should submissively hear His own teachings in Bhagavad-gītā and gradually advance to hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
- A drop of seawater gives an idea of the whole ocean’s flavor. Similarly, submissive hearing gives a qualitative understanding of the Absolute Truth, although our knowledge can never be complete.
Try this today
Read a short passage from Bhagavad-gītā today, approaching it as instruction from the Lord rather than something to master completely.
Ask yourself
Can I hear about the Lord with humility rather than expecting to understand everything?
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.