Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.6.17
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord Guides Without Becoming Entangled
“O Lord, You are the supreme creator of this universe and the ultimate controller of all moving and nonmoving living entities. You are Hṛṣīkeśa, the supreme controller of all sensory activity, and thus You never become contaminated or entangled in the course of Your supervision of the infinite sensory activities within the material creation. On the other hand, other living entities, even yogīs and philosophers, are disturbed and frightened simply by remembering the material objects that they have supposedly renounced in their pursuit of enlightenment.”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa, the supreme controller of all sensory activity. He supervises the activities of living beings without becoming contaminated or entangled.
- The Lord is within every conditioned soul’s heart and guides the pursuit and experience of sense gratification. Its disappointing results gradually convince the soul to reject material life and surrender again to Him.
- Even yogīs and philosophers may be disturbed by remembering objects they have renounced. Kṛṣṇa has no possibility of fear or disturbance, because nothing is ultimately separate from Him.
Try this today
Recall one disappointment in sense gratification and offer a brief prayer of surrender to Kṛṣṇa within your heart.
Ask yourself
Has a disappointing attempt at enjoyment helped me turn toward the Lord within my heart?
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.