Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.19.11
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Is the Devotee’s True Asset
“Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Nara-Nārāyaṇa, the best of all saintly persons, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the most self-controlled and self-realized, He is free from false prestige, and He is the asset of persons who have no material possessions. He is the spiritual master of all paramahaṁsas, who are the most exalted human beings, and He is the master of the self-realized. Let me offer my repeated obeisances at His lotus feet.”
What the purport teaches
- Nara-Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the best of all saintly persons. He is fully self-controlled, self-realized and free from false prestige.
- The Lord is the asset of persons who have no material possessions. This prayer honors Him rather than material wealth.
- He is the spiritual master of the most exalted human beings and the master of the self-realized. The prayer offers repeated respectful obeisances at His lotus feet.
Try this today
Offer respectful obeisances to Nara-Nārāyaṇa today, remembering one of the qualities praised in this prayer.
Ask yourself
What would it mean for me to value the Lord as my true asset?
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.