Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.31.17
Āśraya· The supreme shelterKṛṣṇa Remains Beyond Material Changes
“My dear Kings, sometimes in the sky there are clouds, sometimes there is darkness, and sometimes there is illumination. The appearance of all these takes place consecutively. Similarly, in the Supreme Absolute, the modes of passion, darkness and goodness appear as consecutive energies. Sometimes they appear, and sometimes they disappear.”
What the purport teaches
- Clouds, darkness and illumination appear and disappear, but the sun remains unaffected. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unaffected by changes in His material energies.
- Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Godhead, with an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the shelter of everything and the cause of all causes.
- Material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation, but it works under the Supreme Lord’s direction. Like a potter who supplies the earth and moves the wheel, the Lord is the original cause.
Try this today
Observe one change in nature today and pause to remember that Kṛṣṇa, its original cause, remains unaffected by material changes.
Ask yourself
Do I see material nature as independent, or as working under the Supreme Lord’s direction?
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.