Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.20.12
Mukti· LiberationLoving Service Keeps the Devotee Steady
“Lord Viṣṇu told King Pṛthu: My dear King, the constant change of this material world is due to the interaction of the three modes of material nature. The five elements, the senses, the demigods who control the senses, as well as the mind, which is agitated by the spirit soul — all these taken together comprise the body. Since the spirit soul is completely different from this combination of gross and subtle material elements, My devotee who is connected with Me in intense friendship and affection, being completely in knowledge, is never agitated by material happiness and distress.”
What the purport teaches
- The activities of the bodily combination are different from those of the spirit soul. Like a businessman riding in a car, the soul can supervise the body while remaining absorbed in a different concern.
- That concern is rendering loving service to the Lord. Absorption in this service allows the devotee to remain separate from the activities of the material body.
- The devotee is bound in intimate friendship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Through this relationship and knowledge, the devotee remains undisturbed by material happiness and distress.
Try this today
Before one ordinary task today, pause and bring your attention back to your purpose of rendering loving service to the Lord.
Ask yourself
While attending to your body's activities, how can you keep loving service to the Lord as your main concern?
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.