Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.10.21
Ūti· What drives us to actHeaven Shares Earth’s Limitations
“That material happiness of which we hear, such as promotion to heavenly planets for celestial enjoyment, is just like that material happiness we have already experienced. Both are polluted by jealousy, envy, decay and death. Therefore, just as an attempt to raise crops becomes fruitless if there are many problems like crop disease, insect plague or drought, similarly, the attempt to attain material happiness, either on earth or on the heavenly planets, is always fruitless because of innumerable obstacles.”
What the purport teaches
- Heavenly enjoyment is not basically different from enjoyment on earth. Both are disturbed by jealousy, envy, decay and death.
- Just as damaged seeds, drought or pests can spoil a harvest, countless obstacles frustrate the pursuit of material happiness.
- Vaikuṇṭha, the kingdom of God, is beyond the limitations of material nature. We should not imagine that material imperfections exist there.
Try this today
Write one sentence distinguishing temporary heavenly enjoyment from Vaikuṇṭha, which is free from material disturbances.
Ask yourself
Do I picture spiritual happiness as merely a more comfortable version of material life?
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.