Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.9.3
Mukti· LiberationProtect Remembrance Through Devotional Service
“Due to his being especially gifted with the Lord’s mercy, Bharata Mahārāja could remember the incidents of his past life. Although he received the body of a brāhmaṇa, he was still very much afraid of his relatives and friends who were not devotees. He was always very cautious of such association because he feared that he would again fall down. Consequently he manifested himself before the public eye as a madman — dull, blind and deaf — so that others would not try to talk to him. In this way he saved himself from bad association. Within he was always thinking of the lotus feet of the Lord and chanting the Lord’s glories, which save one from the bondage of fruitive action. In this way he saved himself from the onslaught of nondevotee associates.”
What the purport teaches
- Association with the modes of material nature binds living beings to actions and their reactions, leading to different bodies.
- To escape this bondage and rise above the material modes, one must engage in devotional service through hearing and chanting the Lord’s glories.
- Bharata Mahārāja guarded against association that might cause another fall. Although outwardly appearing dull, he remained a pure Vaiṣṇava within, always remembering the Lord’s lotus feet.
Try this today
Use a few minutes usually spent in distracting conversation to hear or chant the Lord’s glories.
Ask yourself
Which associations help me remember the Lord, and which distract me?
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.