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Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.6.40-41

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Knowing the Pure Lord Through Devotional Service

“The Personality of Godhead is pure, being free from all contaminations of material tinges. He is the Absolute Truth and the embodiment of full and perfect knowledge. He is all-pervading, without beginning or end, and without rival. O Nārada, O great sage, the great thinkers can know Him when completely freed from all material hankerings and when sheltered under undisturbed conditions of the senses. Otherwise, by untenable arguments, all is distorted, and the Lord disappears from our sight.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda · Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.6.40-41, translation

What the purport teaches

  • The Lord is eternally full of perfect knowledge and free from material contamination. Unlike the individual living entities, He never becomes subject to ignorance.
  • The Lord is infinite, while the living entities are infinitesimal and depend upon Him. He possesses all opulences, and no one can equal Him.
  • The Lord can be seen only when the senses are purified by devotional service. Unalloyed devotees seek only to be His obedient servants; demands for sense satisfaction and dry speculative arguments obstruct understanding.

Try this today

Read the translation slowly today, with the intention of serving the Lord rather than gaining something for yourself.

Ask yourself

What desire for personal reward distracts me from simply serving the Lord?

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.

One of the 108 chosen lessons, close to this verseHear Regularly With Serious DevotionSB 2.8.4Next · LeadTeach what you are livingTurn this chapter into a timed class plan or a short reel script.Open Lecture Studio