Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.4.21
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesServing the Lord Keeps Us Near Him
“My dear Vidura, now I am mad for want of the pleasure of seeing Him, and just to mitigate this I am now proceeding to Badarikāśrama in the Himālayas for association, as I have been instructed by Him.”
What the purport teaches
- A pure devotee like Uddhava associates with the Lord through simultaneous separation and meeting. The Lord’s transcendental service remains the devotee’s main occupation.
- Although separation from the Lord was unbearable, Uddhava proceeded to Badarikāśrama in obedience to His order.
- The Lord’s order and the Lord Himself are identical. While carrying out His order, a devotee has no factual separation from Him.
Try this today
Choose one instruction of the Lord you have learned and take one small step to follow it today.
Ask yourself
How can faithfully serving the Lord shape my response when I feel distant from Him?
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.