Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.6.67
Āśraya· The supreme shelterWorship Reaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead
“Śrī Yājñavalkya said: I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead appearing as the sun. You are present as the controller of the four kinds of living entities, beginning from Brahmā and extending down to the blades of grass. Just as the sky is present both inside and outside every living being, you exist both within the hearts of all as the Supersoul and externally in the form of time. Just as the sky cannot be covered by the clouds present within it, you are never covered by any false material designation. By the flow of years, which are made up of the tiny fragments of time called kṣaṇas, lavas and nimeṣas, you alone maintain this world, drying up the waters and giving them back as rain.”
What the purport teaches
- Yājñavalkya’s prayer is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, represented by His powerful expansion, the solar deity. The sun-god is not treated as an independent or autonomous entity.
- The Lord is present within all hearts as the Supersoul and externally as time. Like the sky, He is never covered by false material designations.
- He controls living beings from Brahmā down to blades of grass. Through the flow of time, He maintains the world, drying up waters and returning them as rain.
Try this today
Offer a brief, respectful prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, remembering His presence within all hearts.
Ask yourself
How does recognizing the Supreme Lord behind the solar deity deepen my understanding of this prayer?
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.