Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.18.28
Mukti· LiberationPure Devotion Fulfills the Purpose of Rules
“A learned transcendentalist dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and thus detached from external objects, or My devotee who is detached even from desire for liberation — both neglect those duties based on external rituals or paraphernalia. Thus their conduct is beyond the range of rules and regulations.”
What the purport teaches
- The paramahaṁsa stage is beyond the need for external rituals and paraphernalia. A perfect devotee desires neither material engagement nor even liberation.
- A completely purified mind has no tendency toward sinful behavior. The pure devotee desires only service and fulfills the purpose of all injunctions: always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Him.
- One must not artificially imitate the freedom of a paramahaṁsa. Such imitation quickly ruins one's spiritual progress.
Try this today
Follow one devotional discipline carefully today, keeping its purpose—remembering Kṛṣṇa—in mind.
Ask yourself
Am I using spiritual guidance to remember Kṛṣṇa, or looking for reasons to avoid it?
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.