Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.7.23
Mukti· LiberationSearch for Kṛṣṇa with Devotion and Intelligence
“Although I, the Supreme Lord, can never be captured by ordinary sense perception, those situated in human life may use their intelligence and other faculties of perception to directly search for Me through both apparent and indirectly ascertained symptoms.”
What the purport teaches
- Bhakti-yoga does not require abandoning intelligence. A devotee uses rational faculties to search for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- This search must be guided by authorized Vedic scriptures, not imagination or ordinary speculation. The Lord cannot be grasped by materially contaminated senses.
- Through chanting, hearing and devotional service, the senses become purified and the Lord reveals Himself. This perception is direct, not imaginary.
Try this today
Read a passage about Kṛṣṇa from the supplied text, then spend one minute attentively chanting His name.
Ask yourself
How can I use my intelligence to deepen devotion rather than imagine what Kṛṣṇa must be like?
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.