Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.23.56
Mukti· LiberationDevotional Service Is the Perfection of Work
“Anyone whose work is not meant to elevate him to religious life, anyone whose religious ritualistic performances do not raise him to renunciation, and anyone situated in renunciation that does not lead him to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must be considered dead, although he is breathing.”
What the purport teaches
- Work should lead to religious life, and religious life should lead to renunciation. Renunciation should then lead to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- When this progression reaches devotional service, one attains the perfection of work. Work that does not ultimately lead to devotional service causes material bondage.
- Work that does not lead to understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness is considered useless. The verse strongly compares a life without this spiritual direction to a dead body, although it is breathing.
Try this today
Choose one regular task and consider one concrete way to direct it toward devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Is my work helping me move toward devotional service, or merely keeping me occupied?
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.