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Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.3.22-24

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

The Lord's Energies Are Unlimited

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates His minor parts and parcels, the jīva-tattva, beginning with Lord Brahmā, the demigods and the expansions of Vedic knowledge [Sāma, Ṛg, Yajur and Atharva] and including all other living entities, moving and nonmoving, with their different names and characteristics. As the sparks of a fire or the shining rays of the sun emanate from their source and merge into it again and again, the mind, the intelligence, the senses, the gross and subtle material bodies, and the continuous transformations of the different modes of nature all emanate from the Lord and again merge into Him. He is neither demigod nor demon, neither human nor bird or beast. He is not woman, man, or neuter, nor is He an animal. He is not a material quality, a fruitive activity, a manifestation or nonmanifestation. He is the last word in the discrimination of “not this, not this,” and He is unlimited. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead!”

Śrīla Prabhupāda · Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.3.22-24, translation

What the purport teaches

  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests His parts and parcels through His different potencies. Each potency acts naturally, showing His unlimited power.
  • Living beings, the mind, intelligence, senses and material bodies emanate from Him and again merge into Him, like sparks from a fire or rays from the sun.
  • Nothing is equal to the Lord, and nothing is greater than Him. Although He manifests Himself in many ways, everything is done through the expansions of His unlimited energies.

Try this today

Notice one living being today and recall that its source is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; then offer Him a brief prayer of praise.

Ask yourself

How does recognizing the Lord's unlimited energies deepen my respect for Him?

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.

One of the 108 chosen lessons, close to this verseService Makes Material Things SpiritualSB 8.3.2Next · LeadTeach what you are livingTurn this chapter into a timed class plan or a short reel script.Open Lecture Studio