Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.5.39
Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protectionThe Lord’s Shelter Removes Material Miseries
“The demigods said: O Lord, Your lotus feet are like an umbrella for the surrendered souls, protecting them from all the miseries of material existence. All the sages under that shelter throw off all material miseries. We therefore offer our respectful obeisances unto Your lotus feet.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord’s lotus feet are like an umbrella protecting surrendered souls from the miseries of material existence.
- Sages who take shelter of His lotus feet can completely throw off these miseries. Other transcendental efforts cannot accomplish this without His shelter.
- Severe penances and austerities cannot secure liberation without accepting the Lord’s lotus feet. The demigods, His confidential servants, affirm this need for shelter.
Try this today
Read the demigods’ prayer aloud once, and offer your own respectful prayer for shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet.
Ask yourself
Where do I seek shelter when material difficulties arise?
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.