Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.7.24
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord’s Feelings Are Transcendental
“The Personality of Godhead Rāmacandra, being aggrieved for His distant intimate friend [Sītā], glanced over the city of the enemy Rāvaṇa with red-hot eyes like those of Hara [who wanted to burn the kingdom of heaven]. The great ocean, trembling in fear, gave Him His way because its family members, the aquatics like the sharks, snakes and crocodiles, were being burnt by the heat of the angry red-hot eyes of the Lord.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord is the chief eternal living being, and all other eternal beings depend on Him. As the original source of living beings, He has a complete range of sentiments.
- Rāmacandra’s angry glance heated the whole ocean and made it tremble in fear. His feelings are not limited like those of ordinary living beings.
- The Lord’s anger and mercy are both on the absolute plane. Spiritual perfection does not mean that the Supreme Person has no feelings.
Try this today
Reread the description of Rāmacandra’s glance and spend a moment reflecting that His feelings are transcendental.
Ask yourself
How does this teaching help me understand the Lord as a person without judging His feelings by human limits?
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.