Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.26.21
Mukti· LiberationQuestion the Pursuit of Bodily Enjoyment
“What difference is there between ordinary worms and persons who try to enjoy this material body composed of skin, flesh, blood, muscle, fat, marrow, bone, stool, urine and pus?”
What the purport teaches
- The verse describes the body through its material components, including skin, flesh, blood, muscle, fat, marrow and bone.
- It also names stool, urine and pus. This description challenges an idealized view of the body as an object of enjoyment.
- The verse asks what difference there is between ordinary worms and people intent on enjoying such a body. It invites serious reflection on the value of bodily enjoyment.
Try this today
Read the verse's list of bodily components once slowly, and reconsider one desire centered on bodily enjoyment.
Ask yourself
What value am I placing on bodily enjoyment when I consider what the body contains?
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.