Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.4.31
Āśraya· The supreme shelterReceive the Lord’s Own Description
“According to their different purposes, men utilize gold in various ways, and gold is therefore perceived in various forms. In the same way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is inaccessible to material senses, is described in various terms, both ordinary and Vedic, by different types of men.”
What the purport teaches
- Gold takes various forms according to people’s purposes. Similarly, people describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead in different ordinary and Vedic terms, although He is inaccessible to material senses.
- Those who are not pure devotees try to exploit the Lord and His energies. Their descriptions of the Absolute Truth reflect their strategies of exploitation.
- In Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Absolute Truth presents Himself as He actually is. These teachings benefit sincere people who seek devotional service rather than conceptually manipulating the Supreme Godhead.
Try this today
Reread this verse with the intention to understand the Lord as He presents Himself, rather than use Him for your own purposes.
Ask yourself
Are you trying to receive the Lord’s teaching sincerely, or shape it around your own purposes?
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.