Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.24.41
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesChoose Remembrance and Devotional Service
“My dear Lord, You are the viewer of the results of pious activities. You are inclination, disinclination and their resultant activities. You are the cause of the miserable conditions of life caused by irreligion, and therefore You are death. I offer You my respectful obeisances.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is seated in everyone’s heart. From Him come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness, as well as inclinations and disinclinations.
- The Lord enables devotees to remember Him. Because the asuras do not wish to engage in devotional service, the Lord within gives them the intelligence to forget Him.
- One’s position in life is attained according to one’s activities. Nondevotees remain in the miserable cycle of birth and death, showing the importance of turning toward devotional service.
Try this today
Pause before one choice today and ask the Lord within your heart to help you remember Him and choose service.
Ask yourself
Do my choices express a desire to remember the Lord or to forget 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.