Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 9.11.16
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord’s Grief Is Transcendental Love
“After hearing the news of mother Sītā’s entering the earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was certainly aggrieved. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, upon remembering the exalted qualities of mother Sītā, He could not check His grief in transcendental love.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, could not check His grief as He remembered mother Sītā’s exalted qualities. This grief is not material.
- In the spiritual world, feelings of separation are spiritual bliss. Even grief in separation is transcendentally blissful.
- These feelings show the Lord being controlled by love under the influence of hlādinī-śakti. Material feelings of separation are only a perverted reflection.
Try this today
Reread the translation while keeping this distinction in mind: the Lord’s grief is transcendental love, not material suffering.
Ask yourself
Why should I avoid judging Lord Rāmacandra’s grief by ordinary material experience?
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.