Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.3.2
Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protectionDevotion Brings the Lord’s Merciful Presence
“In the performance of a sacrifice, there are seven transcendental means to obtain the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: (1) by sacrificing valuable things or eatables, (2) by acting in terms of place, (3) by acting in terms of time, (4) by offering hymns, (5) by going through the priest, (6) by offering gifts to the priests and (7) by observing the regulative principles. However, one cannot always obtain the Supreme Lord through this paraphernalia. Nonetheless, the Lord is affectionate to His devotee; therefore when Mahārāja Nābhi, who was a devotee, worshiped and offered prayers to the Lord with great faith and devotion and with a pure uncontaminated mind, superficially performing some yajña in the line of pravargya, the kind Supreme Personality of Godhead, due to His affection for His devotees, appeared before King Nābhi in His unconquerable and captivating form with four hands. In this way, to fulfill the desire of His devotee, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested Himself in His beautiful body before His devotee. This body pleases the mind and eyes of the devotees.”
What the purport teaches
- Sacrificial ingredients, proper place and time, hymns, priests, gifts and regulative principles do not by themselves ensure that one obtains the Supreme Lord.
- The Lord appeared before Mahārāja Nābhi because of his devotional service, not merely because of his sacrifices. Nābhi worshiped with great faith and a pure, uncontaminated mind.
- Only through devotional service can one understand and see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Affectionate toward His devotees, He revealed His beautiful four-handed form.
Try this today
Before offering a prayer today, pause and focus on serving the Lord with faith rather than merely completing a duty.
Ask yourself
Am I giving more attention to outward arrangements or to sincere devotion?
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.