Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.17.23
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Supreme Lord Is Impartial
“Although the Supreme Lord is unattached to our happiness and distress according to karma, and although no one is His enemy or favorite, He creates pious and impious activities through the agency of His material potency. Thus for the continuation of the materialistic way of life He creates happiness and distress, good fortune and bad, bondage and liberation, birth and death.”
What the purport teaches
- Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate doer of everything, the happiness and distress of conditioned souls result from their own fruitive activities.
- A judge may release one person and imprison another, but their different situations arise from their own actions. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is neutral toward everyone.
- The Lord’s material energy controls the activities of living entities under His direction. He remains unattached to their happiness and distress.
Try this today
Before making one choice today, pause and consider the consequences of your action.
Ask yourself
How can remembering the Lord’s impartiality help me take responsibility for my actions?
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.