Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.20.30
Ūti· What drives us to actChoose Devotional Service Over Material Rewards
“My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering. The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devotees. People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions.”
What the purport teaches
- The promises of material rewards can bind people to fruitive activities, or actions done for their results. Such rewards keep them searching for happiness life after life.
- As an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the living entity’s immediate business is devotional service. A pure devotee is not interested in material enjoyment or liberation.
- The Lord knows that material facilities will not make His devotee happy. He may take away such facilities so that the devotee will completely surrender unto Him.
Try this today
Offer a short prayer asking for devotional service rather than a material reward.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking the Lord’s service, or mainly hoping that He will improve my material situation?
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.