Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.17.19
Ūti· What drives us to actKṛṣṇa Is the Ultimate Cause
“Some of the philosophers, who deny all sorts of duality, declare that one’s own self is responsible for his personal happiness and distress. Others say that superhuman powers are responsible, while yet others say that activity is responsible, and the gross materialists maintain that nature is the ultimate cause.”
What the purport teaches
- Different philosophers attribute happiness and distress to the self, superhuman powers, activity, or material nature. The purport examines these differing explanations.
- The mind can be one’s friend or enemy. Rather than becoming entangled through material attachments, one should free the mind from them.
- The Lord declares Himself the source of impersonal Brahman. Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, is therefore the ultimate cause of all causes.
Try this today
Notice one material attachment occupying your mind today, and pause to remember Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate cause of all causes.
Ask yourself
Is my mind helping me loosen material attachments or strengthening them?
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.