Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.8.7
Ūti· What drives us to actLearn Detachment From the Moth
“One who has failed to control his senses immediately feels attraction upon seeing a woman’s form, which is created by the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. Indeed, when the woman speaks with enticing words, smiles coquettishly and moves her body sensuously, his mind is immediately captured, and thus he falls blindly into the darkness of material existence, just as the moth maddened by the fire rushes blindly into its flames.”
What the purport teaches
- A person with uncontrolled senses can be captured by sexual attraction and fall into material ignorance. The verse compares this to a moth rushing into flames.
- The purport describes how attraction to fragrance, touch, sound and taste can also lead creatures into danger. These helpless creatures teach the need for detachment from material illusion.
- This verse especially illustrates the danger of attraction to form. The moth's example warns against blindly following what attracts the eyes.
Try this today
Today, turn your gaze away from one sight that stirs lust, remembering the moth's lesson.
Ask yourself
When does an attractive sight pull my attention away from thoughtful self-control?
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.