Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.28.25
Mukti· LiberationPure Service Transcends Apparent Agitation
“For one who has properly realized My personal identity as the Supreme Godhead, what credit is there if his senses — mere products of the material modes — are perfectly concentrated in meditation? And on the other hand, what blame is incurred if his senses happen to become agitated? Indeed, what does it mean to the sun if the clouds come and go?”
What the purport teaches
- A pure devotee has perfectly understood the Lord’s transcendental personality and abode. Always serving the Lord’s mission, such a devotee is considered eternally liberated.
- Events in the material world may make a pure devotee appear agitated while serving the Lord. This does not change the devotee’s status as His eternal servitor.
- Clouds coming and going do not change the sun’s exalted status. Similarly, outward sensory conditions do not determine the standing of one who has truly realized the Supreme Godhead.
Try this today
Reflect for a minute on the sun-and-clouds comparison before judging someone’s outward agitation.
Ask yourself
Am I judging a devotee’s service merely by outward signs of calm or agitation?
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.