Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.16.33
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesPrepare the Mind for Authorized Prayer
“Thereafter, by controlling his mind with his intelligence and thus restricting his senses from external engagements, he recovered suitable words with which to express his feelings. Thus he began offering prayers to the Lord, who is the personification of the holy scriptures [the sātvata-saṁhitās like the Brahma-saṁhitā and the Nārada-pañcarātra] and who is the spiritual master of all. He offered his prayers as follows.”
What the purport teaches
- By controlling his mind and withdrawing his senses from external engagements, Citraketu recovered suitable words for prayer. Spiritual advancement, rather than mundane words alone, prepares one to pray.
- Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī instructs devotees to sing songs composed by authorized devotees. The purport emphasizes Vaiṣṇava behavior, following the rules and regulations, and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
- The Lord is the spiritual master of all and the personification of the holy scriptures. His spiritual body is not made of māyā, and His form is not imaginary.
Try this today
Set aside one distraction and spend a minute attentively chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
Ask yourself
How could you give your mind and senses more fully to authorized devotional prayer?
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.