Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.7.31
Āśraya· The supreme shelterBrahman Is the Supreme Lord’s Effulgence
“O Lord Girīśa, since the impersonal Brahman effulgence is transcendental to the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, the various directors of this material world certainly cannot appreciate it or even know where it is. It is not understandable even to Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu or the King of heaven, Mahendra.”
What the purport teaches
- The brahmajyoti is the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is beyond the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance.
- The impersonal feature is an expansion of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. The purport directs worship toward Govinda, whose transcendental form is the source of this effulgence.
- Lord Viṣṇu is omniscient. His not needing to attend to everything in His all-pervading expansion does not mean that His knowledge is limited.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer to Govinda, remembering Him as the personal source of the Brahman effulgence.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that Brahman is Kṛṣṇa’s effulgence shape my understanding of 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.