Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.21.14
Ūti· What drives us to actSeek the Lord Beyond Temporary Pleasure
“Your lotus feet are the true vessel to take one across the ocean of mundane nescience. Only persons deprived of their intelligence by the spell of the deluding energy will worship those feet with a view to attain the trivial and momentary pleasures of the senses, which even persons rotting in hell can attain. However, O my Lord, You are so kind that You bestow mercy even upon them.”
What the purport teaches
- The Lord’s lotus feet are the vessel for crossing the ocean of material ignorance. An intelligent practitioner of yoga seeks His shelter rather than temporary sense pleasure.
- Some devotees desire material pleasures, while others desire only service to the Lord. Sense enjoyment is available even in animal life and is not the perfection of yoga.
- The Lord is so kind that He grants facilities even to those who approach Him for material enjoyment. Yet such enjoyment does not bring the perfection attained by Kardama Muni.
Try this today
Offer one prayer today asking for service to the Lord rather than a temporary material benefit.
Ask yourself
What do my prayers reveal about whether I seek temporary pleasure or service to the Lord?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.