Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.16.9
Ūti· What drives us to actHuman Life Has a Higher Goal
“Lazy human beings with paltry intelligence and a short duration of life pass the night sleeping and the day performing activities that are for naught.”
What the purport teaches
- The human form is a special gift and a chance to escape repeated birth and death. Intelligent people value this opportunity and earnestly work toward freedom from material bondage.
- Working hard only for the temporary body's sense enjoyment misses the purpose of human life. Sense enjoyment is also available to lower animals.
- Days spent solely pursuing bodily enjoyment and nights passed in sleep leave this precious opportunity unused. Sense enjoyment is not the ultimate goal of human life.
Try this today
Review today's schedule and reserve ten minutes for considering the higher purpose of human life rather than another bodily pleasure.
Ask yourself
Does my daily effort serve only bodily comfort, or also freedom from material bondage?
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.