Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.8.28
Mukti· LiberationDetachment Cuts the Network of Material Hopes
“The prostitute felt disgusted with her material situation and thus became indifferent to it. Indeed, detachment acts like a sword, cutting to pieces the binding network of material hopes and desires. Now please hear from me the song sung by the prostitute in that situation.”
What the purport teaches
- Disgusted with her material situation, Piṅgalā became indifferent to it. The speaker now introduces the song she sang.
- Detachment acts like a sword, cutting the binding network of material hopes and desires.
- This network arises from falsely thinking we can establish ourselves permanently in the material world. Without detachment, one continues wandering in māyā without understanding liberated spiritual life.
Try this today
Write down one such hope and acknowledge that its fulfillment cannot give you a permanent position in this world.
Ask yourself
Which hope rests on the assumption that I can make my material situation permanent?
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.