Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.88.4
Ūti· What drives us to actMaterial Worship Brings Corresponding Opulences
“The sixteen elements have evolved as transformations of that false ego. When a devotee of Lord Śiva worships his manifestation in any one of these elements, the devotee obtains all sorts of corresponding enjoyable opulences.”
What the purport teaches
- False ego transforms into sixteen elements: the mind, ten senses and five physical elements.
- Lord Śiva appears in a special liṅga form in each of these sixteen substances. These forms are worshiped individually in sacred locations.
- Worship of a particular liṅga brings its corresponding mystic opulences. The ākāśa-liṅga bestows opulences of ether, and the jyotir-liṅga bestows opulences of fire.
Try this today
List one material benefit you hope to gain from worship, and reflect on its connection with material enjoyment.
Ask yourself
What kinds of material enjoyment do I find myself seeking through worship?
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.