Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.3.8-9
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord’s Names and Activities Are Spiritual
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material birth, activities, name, form, qualities or faults. To fulfill the purpose for which this material world is created and destroyed, He comes in the form of a human being like Lord Rāma or Lord Kṛṣṇa by His original internal potency. He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material form, qualities, or faults; He is the reservoir of all spiritual qualities. Rāma and Kṛṣṇa appear through spiritual potency, not under the force of material energy.
- His protecting devotees and annihilating demons are both transcendental activities. Devotees become His associates in the spiritual planets, while demons He kills attain His impersonal effulgence.
- The names Rāma and Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one associates with Him and becomes liberated.
Try this today
Chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra for two minutes, remembering that His spiritual name brings His association.
Ask yourself
How would my chanting change if I remembered that Kṛṣṇa’s name is nondifferent from 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.