Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.20.29
Visarga· Brahmā's creationPassion Shapes What We Imagine
“The body given up by Brahmā took the form of the evening twilight, when the day and night meet, a time which kindles passion. The asuras, who are passionate by nature, dominated as they are by the element of rajas, took it for a damsel, whose lotus feet resounded with the tinkling of anklets, whose eyes were wide with intoxication and whose hips were covered by fine cloth, over which shone a girdle.”
What the purport teaches
- The body Brahmā gave up became evening twilight, the meeting of day and night that kindles passion.
- Dominated by rajas, the passionate asuras took twilight to be a beautiful woman. Their desire for sexual satisfaction shaped what they imagined before them.
- The purport contrasts early morning as a time for spiritual cultivation with the beginning of evening as a time for passion.
Try this today
Set aside a few minutes today to plan an early-morning period for spiritual cultivation.
Ask yourself
How do my desires influence what I notice or imagine?
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.