Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.24.30
Āśraya· The supreme shelterWorship of the Lord Never Goes Wasted
“O my Lord, possessing eyes like the petals of a lotus, the worship of the demigods, who are in the bodily concept of life, is fruitless in all respects. But because You are the supreme friend and dearmost Supersoul of everyone, worship of Your lotus feet is never useless. You have therefore manifested Your form as a fish.”
What the purport teaches
- The demigods are differentiated parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Like other embodied living entities, they must change their bodies in due course of time.
- Worship of the demigods for material purposes brings limited and temporary results. The Lord’s personal viṣṇu-tattva forms, however, are all spiritual.
- One should take to worshiping the lotus feet of Hari, the supreme friend and dearmost Supersoul of everyone. Even a slight attempt at this devotional worship is a permanent asset and gives immense benefit.
Try this today
Spend one minute offering a sincere prayer to Hari, seeking devotional service rather than a temporary material reward.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking only temporary results, or am I making devotional worship of the Lord my goal?
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.