Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.5.45
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesLong to See the Lord’s Personal Form
“O Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are surrendered unto You, yet we wish to see You. Please make Your original form and smiling lotus face visible to our eyes and appreciable to our other senses.”
What the purport teaches
- Surrendered devotees are eager to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form, with His smiling lotuslike face.
- The Lord has both personal and impersonal features. Lord Brahmā and the members of his disciplic succession seek His personal feature, not the impersonal feature.
- The prayer clearly speaks of the Lord’s smiling face. His personal feature can be directly perceived by our senses.
Try this today
Read this prayer slowly, then express your wish to know the Lord in His personal form.
Ask yourself
How does the Lord’s smiling lotuslike face deepen your sense of a personal relationship with 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.