Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.9.26
Ūti· What drives us to actBodily Attachment Continues Material Existence
“A man attached to the body accumulates money with great struggle to expand and protect the position of his wife, children, property, domestic animals, servants, homes, relatives, friends, and so on. He does all this for the gratification of his own body. As a tree before dying produces the seed of a future tree, the dying body manifests the seed of one’s next material body in the form of one’s accumulated karma. Thus assuring the continuation of material existence, the material body sinks down and dies.”
What the purport teaches
- Attachment to the body drives great struggles to accumulate wealth and expand possessions and relationships for bodily gratification.
- Like a tree producing seeds before dying, the body’s lusty desires lead to accumulated karma that seeds another material body.
- The body teaches detachment through pain and misery, not like a benevolent teacher. Understanding the eternal soul’s superiority helps one turn toward devotional service rather than treating the temporary body as all-important.
Try this today
Before one optional purchase today, pause and ask whether it is driven by bodily gratification.
Ask yourself
Where are you expecting lasting happiness from bodily gratification?
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.