Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.4.15
Mukti· LiberationChoose Loving Service Over Personal Benefit
“O my Lord, devotees who engage in the transcendental loving service of Your lotus feet have no difficulty in achieving anything within the realm of the four principles of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. But, O great one, as far as I am concerned, I have preferred only to engage in the loving service of Your lotus feet.”
What the purport teaches
- Devotees engaged in loving service can achieve religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation without difficulty. Yet these rewards are not the pure devotee’s aim.
- Devotees never accept sāyujya-mukti, merging into the Lord’s rays, the brahmajyoti. Their desire is to remain engaged in His transcendental loving service.
- Uddhava preferred only service to the Lord’s lotus feet. A pure devotee does not consider personal benefit.
Try this today
Do one small act of devotional service today without asking the Lord for any personal reward.
Ask yourself
Do I seek devotional service itself, or mainly what I hope to gain from it?
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.