Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.5.12
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesWorldly Interest Can Lead to Spiritual Inquiry
“Your friend the great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa has already described the transcendental qualities of the Lord in his great work the Mahābhārata. But the whole idea is to draw the attention of the mass of people to kṛṣṇa-kathā [Bhagavad-gītā] through their strong affinity for hearing mundane topics.”
What the purport teaches
- Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa composed the Mahābhārata to draw people interested in worldly topics toward the Lord’s transcendental qualities. Its purpose is to lead them to kṛṣṇa-kathā.
- Through the Mahābhārata, readers can benefit from Bhagavad-gītā. It provides a preliminary study for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Vedānta-sūtra.
- Serious inquiry into Transcendence begins when one moves beyond inquiries centered on sense gratification. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains the real purpose of Vedānta-sūtra through its author’s own explanation.
Try this today
Use five minutes normally spent reading worldly news to read a passage from Bhagavad-gītā.
Ask yourself
How can my interest in worldly topics become a starting point for spiritual inquiry?
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.