Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.6.13-16
Āśraya· The supreme shelterEverything Rests on Kṛṣṇa, Yet He Transcends
“Beginning from me [Brahmā] down to you and Bhava [Śiva], all the great sages who were born before you, the demigods, the demons, the Nāgas, the human beings, the birds, the beasts, as well as the reptiles, etc., and all phenomenal manifestations of the universes, namely the planets, stars, asteroids, luminaries, lightning, thunder, and the inhabitants of the different planetary systems, namely the Gandharvas, Apsarās, Yakṣas, Rakṣas, Bhūtagaṇas, Uragas, Paśus, Pitās, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and all other different varieties of living entities, including the birds, beasts, trees and everything that be, are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future, although He is transcendental to all of them, eternally existing in a form not exceeding nine inches.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands the universal form through His partial representation as Supersoul. This universal form includes all varieties of living beings and material manifestations.
- Everything rests on the potency of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, yet He remains distinct from and transcendental to creation. He is the Supreme Person who controls everything.
- Living beings are one with the Lord in quality but never equal to Him in quantity, like golden ornaments compared with the stock of gold. This simultaneous oneness and difference is called acintya-bhedābheda-tattva.
Try this today
Notice one living being and one material object today, and remember that both rest on Kṛṣṇa’s potency while He remains transcendental.
Ask yourself
How can I recognize my connection with the Lord without thinking myself equal to 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.