Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.9.12
Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protectionPure Service Pleases the Lord Most
“My Lord, You are not very much satisfied by the worship of the demigods, who arrange for Your worship very pompously, with various paraphernalia, but who are full of material hankerings. You are situated in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul just to show Your causeless mercy, and You are the eternal well-wisher, but You are unavailable for the nondevotee.”
What the purport teaches
- Pompous worship does not fully satisfy the Lord when the worshiper’s heart is filled with material desires. He does not want living entities to remain subject to birth, death, old age and disease.
- Pure devotees align their desires with the Lord’s desires and do not act for personal sense gratification. As Paramātmā, the Lord sits in everyone’s heart as a well-wisher, offering the opportunity for good counsel.
- Pure devotees also help others become devotees, and this especially pleases the Lord. Through their work, He offers His mercy even to those who are averse to serving Him.
Try this today
Offer one brief prayer today asking to serve the Lord’s desires rather than seeking a material reward.
Ask yourself
How could my service become less concerned with personal gain and more concerned with pleasing 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.