Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.5.6-8
Mukti· LiberationLook Within and Seek the Lord’s Shelter
“The great sage Nārada said: My dear Haryaśvas, you have not seen the extremities of the earth. There is a kingdom where only one man lives and where there is a hole from which, having entered, no one emerges. A woman there who is extremely unchaste adorns herself with various attractive dresses, and the man who lives there is her husband. In that kingdom, there is a river flowing in both directions, a wonderful home made of twenty-five materials, a swan that vibrates various sounds, and an automatically revolving object made of sharp razors and thunderbolts. You have not seen all this, and therefore you are inexperienced boys without advanced knowledge. How, then, will you create progeny?”
What the purport teaches
- Nārada Muni saw that the Haryaśvas were already purified and practically ready for liberation. He questioned why they should become entangled in family life.
- Through his analogy, he indirectly asked them to find the Supersoul, Lord Viṣṇu, within their hearts. Absorption in the material environment without looking within increases entanglement in the illusory energy.
- Nārada wanted to turn their attention toward spiritual realization rather than the complicated affairs of propagation. The purport directs one toward shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as freedom from material anxiety.
Try this today
Pause for one quiet minute today to remember Lord Viṣṇu, the Supersoul within your heart.
Ask yourself
Where is absorption in my material surroundings drawing my attention away from the Lord within?
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.