Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.21.22
Ūti· What drives us to actMake Life Spiritually Meaningful Through Chanting
“Because of absorption in sense gratification, one cannot recognize himself or others. Living uselessly in ignorance like a tree, one is merely breathing just like a bellows.”
What the purport teaches
- Absorption in sense gratification prevents us from knowing our own identity or the identities of others. Merely living and breathing does not make life spiritually fruitful.
- Conditioned souls face the cruel laws of nature, with many miseries culminating in death. Attention only to the external body leaves life without spiritual profit.
- Such a life can be transformed into a perfect life by chanting the holy names of God in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is recommended by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Try this today
Set aside one minute today to chant the holy names of God attentively.
Ask yourself
Am I making room for spiritual benefit, or spending all my attention on bodily needs and pleasures?
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.