Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.25.45
Ūti· What drives us to actThe Body Is a Nine-Gated City
“Of the nine gates in that city, seven were on the surface and two were subterranean. A total of nine doors were constructed, and these led to different places. All the gates were used by the city’s governor.”
What the purport teaches
- The body's seven upper gates are the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and mouth. The two lower gates are the rectum and genitals.
- The living entity is the king or ruler of this bodily city. He uses its gates to enjoy different kinds of material pleasure.
- Just as a city's gates lead toward different places, the body's openings provide different avenues of sense enjoyment. Nature supplies these openings for the living entity's use.
Try this today
Identify the body's nine gates, then notice how you use one of them for sense enjoyment today.
Ask yourself
Which bodily gate most often draws my attention toward material enjoyment?
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.