Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.22.16
Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protectionThe Lord’s Mercy Beyond Material Wealth
“Prahlāda Mahārāja said: My Lord, it is Your Lordship who gave this Bali the very great opulence of the post of heavenly king, and now, today, it is You who have taken it all away. I think You have acted with equal beauty in both ways. Because his exalted position as King of heaven was putting him in the darkness of ignorance, You have done him a very merciful favor by taking away all his opulence.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord had given Bali Mahārāja the opulence of heavenly kingship and then taken it away. Prahlāda Mahārāja considered both actions equally beautiful.
- Material opulence can make a person puffed up and forget self-realization. It can create the false impression that one is the owner and master of everything.
- To protect His devotee from this misunderstanding, the Lord sometimes takes away material possessions. His mercy helps the devotee understand his constitutional position.
Try this today
Choose one possession and acknowledge that it does not make you its independent owner or master.
Ask yourself
Does anything I possess make me feel independent of the Lord?
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.