Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.3.6
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesKnow the Lord Through His Instructions
“An artist onstage, being covered by attractive dresses and dancing with different movements, is not understood by his audience; similarly, the activities and features of the supreme artist cannot be understood even by the demigods or great sages, and certainly not by those who are unintelligent like animals. Neither the demigods and sages nor the unintelligent can understand the features of the Lord, nor can they express in words His actual position. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Lord exists everywhere, within and without, including within the heart. Yet even great yogīs, demigods, and sages cannot understand His features and activities by their own efforts.
- We must accept the instructions the Lord gives when He appears. By following Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we may understand the purpose of Their appearances.
- By the Lord’s grace, one can understand Him and become delivered even within the material body. One’s activities then become activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, leading back home, back to Godhead.
Try this today
Reread this purport’s instruction to accept the Lord’s words, and offer a prayer for the grace to follow them.
Ask yourself
Am I willing to learn from the Lord’s instructions rather than rely only on my own speculation?
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.