Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.24.17
Ūti· What drives us to actLoving Service Frees Us from Karma
“Because it is karma that causes the conditioned living entity to accept and then give up different high- and low-grade material bodies, this karma is his enemy, friend and neutral witness, his spiritual master and controlling lord.”
What the purport teaches
- Karma brings conditioned beings into different material bodies, and even the demigods are bound by its laws. Govinda awards every creature the appropriate results of its work.
- Demigods cannot grant benefits independently; all benefits ultimately come from the Supreme Lord. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is Himself above karma.
- The Lord burns up the accumulated karma of those engaged in His loving service. By surrendering to Him, we can escape karma’s bonds rather than accept its rule as supreme.
Try this today
Offer one small act of service to Kṛṣṇa today with a conscious wish to surrender to Him.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking only better material results, or freedom through loving service to Kṛṣṇa?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.