Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.7.47
Āśraya· The supreme shelterRecognize the Lord Beyond Material Bodies
“Just as fire manifests differently in pieces of wood of different sizes and qualities, the omnipotent Supreme Soul, having entered the bodies of higher and lower life forms created by His own potency, appears to assume the identity of each.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Lord enters all kinds of bodies but remains the all-powerful Personality of Godhead. Although He is within everything, everything is not the Lord.
- Like fire blazing when wood is stirred, the Lord directly manifests before devotees who chant and hear His glories with love and devotion.
- Temporary bodily identities entangle our consciousness. Our true identity is pure spirit soul, the eternal, blissful servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Try this today
Spend a few minutes chanting or hearing Kṛṣṇa’s glories with attention and devotion.
Ask yourself
Which temporary identity most often distracts me from being Kṛṣṇa’s servant?
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.