Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.4.19
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesConfidential Knowledge Reveals Loving Dealings
“When I thus expressed my heartfelt desires unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the lotus-eyed Lord instructed me about His transcendental situation.”
What the purport teaches
- Uddhava expressed his heartfelt desires to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The lotus-eyed Lord responded by teaching him about His transcendental situation.
- This teaching concerns the Lord’s dealings with devotees in transcendental loving service, as exhibited at Dvārakā and Vṛndāvana. The Lord disclosed it specifically to Uddhava, although Maitreya was present.
- These confidential pastimes are rarely disclosed to devotees whose devotion is mixed with speculative knowledge, fruitive activities or mysticism. The Lord’s activities in confidential love are inconceivable.
Try this today
Offer one heartfelt prayer asking to understand the Lord through loving service rather than personal achievement.
Ask yourself
What personal ambitions might be mixing with my desire to understand and serve 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.