Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.13.11-12
Āśraya· The supreme shelterGrow in Exclusive Devotional Service
“From beginning to end, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is full of narrations that encourage renunciation of material life, as well as nectarean accounts of Lord Hari’s transcendental pastimes, which give ecstasy to the saintly devotees and demigods. This Bhāgavatam is the essence of all Vedānta philosophy because its subject matter is the Absolute Truth, which, while nondifferent from the spirit soul, is the ultimate reality, one without a second. The goal of this literature is exclusive devotional service unto that Supreme Truth.”
What the purport teaches
- Renunciation means giving up everything that has no relation with the Absolute Truth. The Bhāgavatam encourages this while nourishing devotees with the nectar of Lord Hari’s pastimes.
- The Absolute Truth is a transcendental person, far beyond material ideas of personality. The beauty of this world is only a dim reflection of the Lord’s unlimited beauty.
- Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam trains the sincere reader in love of Godhead. Its goal is exclusive devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, who is supremely lovable because of His eternal, transcendental qualities.
Try this today
Read this passage slowly and reflect on one reason it gives for loving Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Am I reading to grow in love and service to Kṛṣṇa?
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.