Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.2.32
Mukti· LiberationDevotion, not imagined liberation, brings perfection
“[Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.”
What the purport teaches
- Severe austerities and hard work do not bring the highest perfection when one neglects the Lord’s lotus feet. Those who think themselves liberated without devotion still have impure intelligence and fall down.
- The perfection of life is to become a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Taking shelter of His lotus feet brings satisfaction beyond material blessings.
- The Lord asks us to think of Him, become His devotees, worship Him and offer Him respect. Only through devotional service can one understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is and enter His kingdom.
Try this today
Pause today to think of the Lord and offer Him a respectful bow, asking to grow in devotional service.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking satisfaction in material achievement, or learning to seek shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet?
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.