Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.4.7
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe One Lord Maintains All Beings
“Kindly describe how the Supreme Lord, who is all-powerful, engages His different energies and different expansions in maintaining and again winding up the phenomenal world in the sporting spirit of a player.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Lord maintains all living beings, both conditioned and liberated. He does this through His expansions and His internal, external and marginal energies.
- Living beings are His marginal energy. Some, such as Brahmā and Marīci, are entrusted with work in creation and receive inspiration from the Lord.
- The one Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself in many forms yet remains distinct from them all. By His inconceivable potencies, everything is simultaneously one with and different from Him.
Try this today
Pause today to acknowledge the Supreme Lord as your maintainer and thank Him for His care.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that the Lord maintains all beings change your sense of dependence on Him?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.