Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.14.50
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Reveals His Eternal Form
“Your grandson will be able to see, inside and outside, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose wife is the beautiful goddess of fortune. The Lord can assume the form desired by the devotee, and His face is always beautifully decorated with earrings.”
What the purport teaches
- Prahlāda Mahārāja would see the Supreme Personality of Godhead both within himself through meditation and personally with his eyes. Such direct vision requires highly elevated Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not merely material sight.
- The Lord has many eternal forms, including Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and Nṛsiṁha. A pure devotee becomes attached to one of these forms, and the Lord is pleased to appear in that form.
- The devotee does not invent a whimsical form or consider the Lord impersonal. He sees the Lord beautifully decorated and accompanied by the eternally beautiful goddess of fortune.
Try this today
Reread the translation and spend a minute remembering the Lord’s beautifully decorated face.
Ask yourself
How can I keep my understanding of the Lord’s form grounded in the description given here?
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.