Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.23.15
Nirodha· Winding upBeyond Material Coverings to Spiritual Bliss
“In this way, Pṛthu Mahārāja gradually raised his air of life up to the hole in his skull, whereupon he lost all desire for material existence. Gradually he merged his air of life with the totality of air, his body with the totality of earth, and the fire within his body with the totality of fire.”
What the purport teaches
- The spirit soul is covered by five gross elements and three subtle elements: mind, intelligence and ego. Liberation means becoming free from these material coverings.
- Pṛthu Mahārāja became free from material desires and merged his bodily elements with their total sources. Giving up these coverings does not end the soul’s existence; the living entity remains a spirit soul.
- The Brahman effulgence does not offer the spiritual variety and bliss enjoyed in Vaikuṇṭha or Kṛṣṇaloka. Without knowledge of these spiritual planets, the soul may again seek enjoyment in material activities.
Try this today
Read the purport’s description of spiritual bliss once more, and reflect for a minute on the soul’s need for spiritual variety.
Ask yourself
Why is freedom from material coverings alone not the fullness of spiritual life?
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.