Entering the Pastimes

Since the Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of pastimes involving the Lord and His devotees, here are some tips that can enrich our experience while reading them:

Place: We can place ourselves in the situation and imagine we are there. What is the mood? What are the emotions of the characters? By doing this, we bring the pastime alive, going beyond the facts and figures and understanding the deeper spirit behind the mysterious events.

Probe: When hearing the pastimes of the Lord we can probe further to grasp the finer details and hidden perspectives. The commentators on Srimad-Bhagavatam have given a wealth of literature which offers additional valuable insights. Sustained contemplation helps embed the events into a deeper space within our consciousness.

Pray: Whilst hearing the pastimes we can pray that the Lord reveals to us the lessons that are particularly pertinent for our life. We can also pray for the qualities or devotional sentiments that each character exhibit.

Practice: Pastimes are often didactic and have very practical lessons for us to learn from them. We can extract these timeless tips and then deeply contemplate how to apply and practice them in our life. When we successfully do this, we gain appreciation for the relevance and power of the knowledge, we attract mercy and grace for our sincerity of purpose, and we feel more tangibly connected with Krishna, the source of that ever-fresh knowledge.

Publicise: When we discuss what we have read, realised, and applied in our life, then the knowledge becomes even more engrained in the depths of one’s heart and consciousness. Publicly discussing with others is a powerful way of edifying and deepening one’s understanding of the Lord.