Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.2.42 · one of the 108 chosen verses
Mukti· LiberationDevotion, Experience, and Detachment Grow Together
“Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things — these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating.”
What the purport teaches
- For one taking shelter of the Supreme Lord, devotion, direct experience of Him, and detachment develop together. They resemble the satisfaction, nourishment, and relief from hunger that come with each bite of food.
- Unlike satisfaction with food, experience of Kṛṣṇa never makes a devotee lose interest in Him. Attachment to Kṛṣṇa increases while hankering for other things diminishes.
- Detachment means using things properly in Kṛṣṇa’s service, not making an artificial show of renunciation. Even in beginning devotional practice, one who surrenders to Kṛṣṇa can experience His protection and the results of devotion.
Try this today
Choose one object you use today and put it to a small, concrete use in Kṛṣṇa’s devotional service.
Ask yourself
How could I use something I already have for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure rather than only my own?
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.