Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.5.51
Sarga· CreationSeek the Lord’s Guidance for Service
“O Supreme Self, please give us, who are created in the beginning from the mahat-tattva, the total cosmic energy, Your kind directions on how we shall act. Kindly award us Your perfect knowledge and potency so that we can render You service in the different departments of subsequent creation.”
What the purport teaches
- Creation gives conditioned souls a chance for sense gratification, but its deeper purpose is to help them recognize that they are meant for the Supreme Lord’s pleasure. Their true position is to render transcendental loving service to Him.
- The demigods ask the Lord for intelligence and power to carry out their entrusted work. No one can act unless enlightened and empowered by the Lord, who helps sincere devotees engaged in His service.
- A conditioned soul can serve the Lord under the guidance of an expert spiritual master and gradually become free from material entanglement. Pure devotees have no desire to lord it over material energy; they desire only to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Try this today
Before beginning one responsibility today, offer a brief prayer asking the Lord for the intelligence and strength to do it in His service.
Ask yourself
How could I approach one responsibility as service to the Lord rather than an opportunity for my own enjoyment or control?
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.