Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.22.49
Mukti· LiberationLearn From Birth and Death
“By the death of one’s father or grandfather one can surmise one’s own death, and by the birth of one’s son one can understand the condition of one’s own birth. A person who thus realistically understands the creation and destruction of material bodies is no longer subject to these dualities.”
What the purport teaches
- By studying one’s child, one can understand bodily stages that one cannot remember, such as life in the womb and infancy.
- The death of a father or grandfather gives definite proof that one’s own material body will also die, despite hopes of living forever.
- Knowing the soul to be eternal, a sober person gives up identification with the temporary, unreliable body and takes shelter of devotional service to the Lord. This frees one from the artificial imposition of birth and death.
Try this today
Spend a quiet minute reflecting on the body’s temporary nature, then make time for one act of devotional service to the Lord.
Ask yourself
How can observing birth and death encourage me to take shelter of devotional service?
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.