Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.17.22-23
Sarga· CreationAll Powers Depend on the Supreme Lord
“From that Supreme Personality of Godhead appears Lord Brahmā, whose body is made from the total material energy, the reservoir of intelligence predominated by the passionate mode of material nature. From Lord Brahmā, I myself am born as a representation of false ego known as Rudra. By my own power I create all the other demigods, the five elements and the senses. Therefore, I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than any of us and under whose control are situated all the demigods, material elements and senses, and even Lord Brahmā and I myself, like birds bound by a rope. Only by the Lord’s grace can we create, maintain and annihilate the material world. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Being.”
What the purport teaches
- Mahā-Viṣṇu expands from Saṅkarṣaṇa, and Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu expands from Mahā-Viṣṇu. Lord Brahmā is born of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and fathers Lord Śiva, from whom the other demigods gradually evolve.
- Brahmā creates the universe, Lord Viṣṇu maintains it, and Lord Śiva annihilates it. Lord Viṣṇu remains above all material qualities while accepting control of sattva-guṇa, the mode of goodness.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead controls even Brahmā and Śiva, just as a bird’s owner controls it with a rope. Acknowledging that their work is possible only by the Lord’s grace, Śiva offers Him respectful obeisances.
Try this today
Before one task today, offer respectful obeisances to the Supreme Lord and acknowledge your dependence on His grace.
Ask yourself
What can Śiva’s acknowledgment of dependence on the Supreme Lord teach me about humility?
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.