Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.4.4
Sarga· CreationOur Abilities Depend on the Lord
“Within His body are elaborately arranged the three planetary systems of this universe. His transcendental senses generate the knowledge-acquiring and active senses of all embodied beings. His consciousness generates conditioned knowledge, and His powerful breathing produces the bodily strength, sensory power and conditioned activities of the embodied souls. He is the prime mover, through the agency of the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. And thus the universe is created, maintained and annihilated.”
What the purport teaches
- Without the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s mercy, we can neither work nor cultivate knowledge. Our bodily strength, senses and abilities all depend on Him.
- Material knowledge and activities can suddenly fail, but the Lord wants us to surrender and regain eternal bliss and knowledge at His side. We should humbly follow His direction rather than rely on speculation.
- Through chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, one can find the Supreme Lord within the heart. Bhakti-yoga reveals our position as His eternal servants in a personal loving relationship.
Try this today
Chant attentively once: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Ask yourself
How might remembering my dependence on the Lord change the way I use my abilities?
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.