Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.31.16
Āśraya· The supreme shelterGuidance Comes from Within and Without
“No one other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the localized Paramātmā, the partial representation of the Lord, is directing all inanimate and animate objects. He is present in the three phases of time — past, present and future. Therefore, the conditioned soul is engaged in different activities by His direction, and in order to get free from the threefold miseries of this conditional life, we have to surrender unto Him only.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead, present as Paramātmā, directs animate and inanimate objects. He is the source of real knowledge and memory.
- When a soul sincerely wants freedom from material entanglement, the Lord within gives the knowledge to surrender unto Him. Kṛṣṇa also directs that soul to a bona fide spiritual master.
- The spiritual master is the mercy manifestation of the Supreme Person. By hearing his instructions, the seed of Kṛṣṇa consciousness grows, opening the way out of material bondage.
Try this today
Reread one instruction from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purport here and choose one way to apply it today.
Ask yourself
How seriously do I seek and follow guidance toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
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.