Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.3.13
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Lord Owns and Oversees Everything
“I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the Supersoul, the superintendent of everything, and the witness of all that occurs. You are the Supreme Person, the origin of material nature and of the total material energy. You are also the owner of the material body. Therefore, You are the supreme complete. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”
What the purport teaches
- We may think, “This is my body,” but its actual proprietor is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Our position resembles that of someone occupying a rented house.
- Material nature supplies bodies under the Lord’s supervision. The spirit souls are His parts and parcels, not products of the material world.
- Every living entity in this material world struggles for existence. Full surrender to the Supreme Lord is the only relief from the cycle of birth and death.
Try this today
Offer respectful obeisances and acknowledge that your body belongs to the Supreme Lord.
Ask yourself
How would remembering the Lord as the actual owner of my body change my attitude today?
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.