Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.12.22-23
Ūti· What drives us to actUnderstand Material Existence Through Spiritual Guidance
“This tree of material existence has two seeds, hundreds of roots, three lower trunks and five upper trunks. It produces five flavors and has eleven branches and a nest made by two birds. The tree is covered by three types of bark, gives two fruits and extends up to the sun. Those lusty after material enjoyment and dedicated to family life enjoy one of the tree’s fruits, and swanlike men in the renounced order of life enjoy the other fruit. One who with the help of the bona fide spiritual masters can understand this tree to be a manifestation of the potency of the one Supreme Truth appearing in many forms actually knows the meaning of the Vedic literature.”
What the purport teaches
- Sinful and pious activities are the tree's two seeds, and innumerable material desires are its roots. Its trunks represent the modes and gross elements, while its branches represent the senses and mind.
- The individual soul and the Supersoul are the two birds in this tree, whose fruits are happiness and distress. Those pursuing material enjoyment taste unhappiness, while those who renounce material goals for spiritual enlightenment taste happiness.
- With the help of bona fide spiritual masters, one understands this tree as the external potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedic rituals or speculation do not bring perfection without knowledge of the Supreme Lord as the ultimate cause of everything.
Try this today
Write down one recurring material desire and note how pursuing it may bring distress rather than the happiness you expect.
Ask yourself
Which material desire is acting like a root that keeps me attached to temporary enjoyment?
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.