Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.4.22-23
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord’s Abode Supports Worship
“Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that direction where the Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated, where those purified souls in the renounced order of life, the great saintly persons, go, and from which, having gone, they never return.” Without sleep, fully controlling their minds, and living on only their breath, the predominating deities of the various planets began worshiping Hṛṣīkeśa with this meditation.
What the purport teaches
- The planetary deities worshiped Hṛṣīkeśa with controlled minds and steady meditation. They offered obeisances toward the Lord’s abode, from which purified saintly persons never return.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present everywhere as Brahman and Paramātmā. Yet Hiraṇyakaśipu could not extend his influence into the places of the Lord’s pastimes.
- Places such as Vṛndāvana and Ayodhyā are called dhāmas. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that taking shelter of a dhāma makes worship easier and spiritual advancement quicker.
Try this today
Take a quiet moment to offer respectful obeisances to the Lord, remembering His dhāmas, Vṛndāvana and Ayodhyā.
Ask yourself
What draws me to the shelter of a place dedicated to the Lord’s pastimes?
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.