Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.32.1
Ūti· What drives us to actMake Self-Realization the Aim of Home Life
“The Personality of Godhead said: The person who lives in the center of household life derives material benefits by performing religious rituals, and thereby he fulfills his desire for economic development and sense gratification. Again and again he acts the same way.”
What the purport teaches
- A gṛhamedhī makes sense gratification the goal of household life. Religious rituals, charity and hard work are used for material prosperity.
- Even wealth and heavenly enjoyment do not end repeated birth and death. The gṛhamedhī repeatedly experiences material suffering but does not want to give up this way of life.
- A gṛhastha lives with family without attachment. The chief aim is self-realization, or coming to the standard of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Try this today
Before one household task today, pause and remember that the aim of family life is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not merely comfort.
Ask yourself
Is my household life mainly directed toward material comfort or Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
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.