Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.14.46
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHear Bharata’s Life and Redirect Your Intelligence
“Devotees interested in hearing and chanting [śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam] regularly discuss the pure characteristics of Bharata Mahārāja and praise his activities. If one submissively hears and chants about the all-auspicious Mahārāja Bharata, one’s life span and material opulences certainly increase. One can become very famous and easily attain promotion to the heavenly planets, or attain liberation by merging into the existence of the Lord. Whatever one desires can be attained simply by hearing, chanting and glorifying the activities of Mahārāja Bharata. In this way, one can fulfill all his material and spiritual desires. One does not have to ask anyone else for these things, for simply by studying the life of Mahārāja Bharata, one can attain all desirable things.”
What the purport teaches
- Devotees regularly hear, chant and discuss the pure characteristics of Bharata Mahārāja. Submissively hearing and glorifying his activities can fulfill material and spiritual desires.
- The forest represents material existence, where the living entity seeks money for sense gratification. The six plunderers are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, touch and mind; the bad leader is diverted intelligence.
- Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Intelligence is meant for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, rather than for acquiring material facilities and using the Lord’s property to satisfy our senses.
Try this today
Reread Bharata’s activities described in this verse and spend one minute aloud praising his pure qualities as an act of devotional hearing and chanting.
Ask yourself
Am I using my intelligence mainly to gain material comforts, or to cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
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.