Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.1.39
Ūti· What drives us to actBeyond Changing Bodies Through Devotional Service
“When the present body turns to dust and is again reduced to five elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether — the proprietor of the body, the living being, automatically receives another body of material elements according to his fruitive activities. When the next body is obtained, he gives up the present body.”
What the purport teaches
- The living being is not the material body; the body is a covering, like a dress. Just as the body changes through childhood, youth and old age, the soul receives another body at death.
- Under the laws of nature, the next body follows one’s fruitive activities, desires and ambitions. Sinful activities in ignorance lead to a body with greater suffering.
- One should associate with sattva-guṇa rather than rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa. The goal is śuddha-sattva-guṇa, devotional service, through which one becomes immune to the reactions of the three modes of material nature.
Try this today
Set aside five minutes today for devotional service, reading this teaching attentively rather than pursuing a greedy desire.
Ask yourself
How can remembering that I am not this body help me choose devotional service over greed?
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.