Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.24.61
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesKnow the Vedas Through the Supreme Lord
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who pretended to be a gigantic fish, who restored the Vedic literature to Lord Brahmā when Lord Brahmā awakened from sleep, and who explained the essence of Vedic literature to King Satyavrata and the great saintly persons.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Viṣṇu recovered the Vedic literatures from Hayagrīva and restored them to Lord Brahmā. By His causeless mercy, He also instructed Satyavrata and the great saintly persons.
- Whatever the Supreme Lord speaks is accepted as Veda. He is the compiler of all Vedic knowledge and knows its true meaning.
- One should receive Vedic knowledge from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or from Bhagavad-gītā as it is, rather than from those who misconstrue the Vedas. In this way, one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the purpose of Vedic knowledge.
Try this today
Offer respectful obeisances to the Supreme Lord and read one passage of Bhagavad-gītā with the intention of understanding Him.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking to understand Kṛṣṇa through His teachings rather than imposing my own meaning on them?
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.