Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.11.24
Āśraya· The supreme shelterDevotion and Humility Reveal the Lord
“O best of brāhmaṇas, He alone is the self-luminous, original source of the Vedas, perfect and complete in His own glory. By His material energy He creates, destroys and maintains this entire universe. Because He is the performer of various material functions, He is sometimes described as materially divided, yet He always remains transcendentally situated in pure knowledge. Those who are dedicated to Him in devotion can realize Him to be their true Soul.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord is the self-luminous source of the Vedas, perfect and complete in His own glory. Though He creates, maintains, and destroys the universe through His material energy, He remains situated in pure knowledge and is realized through devotion.
- Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura recommends meditating on the earth as an expansion of the Lord’s lotus feet. All moving and nonmoving living beings sheltered on earth are thus sheltered at His feet.
- All living entities constitute the Kaustubha gem on the Lord’s chest. We should therefore respect every living being and never envy or deride anyone.
Try this today
When you next feel tempted to belittle someone, pause and remember that this living being is sheltered at the Lord’s lotus feet.
Ask yourself
Whom might I respect more deeply by remembering their shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet?
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.