Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.2.9
Ūti· What drives us to actDepend Fully on the Lord’s Mercy
“When the root of a tree is cut and the tree falls down, its branches and twigs automatically dry up. Similarly, when I have killed this diplomatic Viṣṇu, the demigods, for whom Lord Viṣṇu is the life and soul, will lose the source of their life and wither away.”
What the purport teaches
- Hiraṇyakaśipu compared the demigods to branches that dry up when a tree’s root is cut. He imagined that killing Viṣṇu would remove their source of life.
- The demigods follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The demons instead plan to disturb or kill Him.
- Even demons sometimes appreciate the demigods’ full dependence on the Lord’s mercy. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s words therefore indirectly glorified the demigods.
Try this today
Pause once today to acknowledge the Lord as your source of life and remember your dependence on His mercy.
Ask yourself
What would it mean for me to depend more consciously on the Lord’s mercy?
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.