Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.24.56
Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protectionTime Cannot Destroy Devotional Service
“Simply by expansion of His eyebrows, invincible time personified can immediately vanquish the entire universe. However, formidable time does not approach the devotee who has taken complete shelter at Your lotus feet.”
What the purport teaches
- Everything in the material world perishes in time, and death takes away a person’s possessions. But time cannot destroy the devotional service of one who takes shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet.
- Material success and impersonal realization without devotional service do not guarantee lasting liberation. A devotee’s spiritual achievement, however, is never lost.
- Even incomplete devotional service continues from where it was left off in the next life. The devotee receives another opportunity to progress, because these spiritual assets remain beyond time’s influence.
Try this today
Set aside five minutes today for devotional service, remembering that even a small sincere effort is not destroyed by time.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that devotional service is never lost affect what you value today?
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.