Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.3.4-5
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesKnow the Lord Through Hearing and Service
“The priests began to offer prayers to the Lord, saying: O most worshipable one, we are simply Your servants. Although You are full in Yourself, please, out of Your causeless mercy, accept a little service from us, Your eternal servants. We are not actually aware of Your transcendental form, but we can simply offer our respectful obeisances again and again, as instructed by the Vedic literatures and authorized ācāryas. Materialistic living entities are very much attracted to the modes of material nature, and therefore they are never perfect, but You are above the jurisdiction of all material conceptions. Your name, form and qualities are all transcendental and beyond the conception of experimental knowledge. Indeed, who can conceive of You? In the material world we can perceive only material names and qualities. We have no other power than to offer our respectful obeisances and prayers unto You, the transcendental person. The chanting of Your auspicious transcendental qualities will wipe out the sins of all mankind. That is the most auspicious activity for us, and we can thus partially understand Your supernatural position.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord’s name, form and qualities are beyond material perception. We must accept the descriptions in Vedic literature and from authorized teachers rather than invent our own.
- The priests approached as eternal servants, asking the self-sufficient Lord to accept their little service. They offered respectful obeisances and praised His auspicious transcendental qualities.
- The Lord reveals Himself when we engage in His devotional service. Hearing authoritative descriptions and serving Him is the way to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Try this today
Read the priests’ prayer aloud today and ask the Lord to accept your small service.
Ask yourself
Do I seek to understand the Lord through authoritative descriptions or through my own imagination?
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.