Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.30.41
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesPray Sincerely According to Your Capacity
“Dear Lord, even great yogīs and mystics who are very much advanced by virtue of austerities and knowledge and who have completely situated themselves in pure existence, as well as great personalities like Manu, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, cannot fully understand Your glories and potencies. Nonetheless they have offered their prayers according to their own capacities. In the same way, we, although much lower than these personalities, also offer our prayers according to our own capability.”
What the purport teaches
- Even Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and great sages cannot fully describe the Lord’s unlimited glories. No one can equal the Supreme Personality of Godhead in knowledge.
- Everyone is a servant of the Supreme Lord and can offer prayers according to their capacity. Our perfection is to glorify Him with heart and soul as far as we can appreciate Him.
- One who takes shelter of the Lord is purified by His grace and the grace of His servant, the spiritual master. Whatever one’s birth, one can become eligible to return home, back to Godhead.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer in your own words, expressing whatever you sincerely appreciate about the Lord.
Ask yourself
Does feeling unqualified hold me back from offering heartfelt prayers?
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.