Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.26.8
Ūti· What drives us to actAccept Guidance Rather Than Follow Whims
“Otherwise, a person who acts whimsically falls down due to false prestige. Thus he becomes involved in the laws of nature, which are composed of the three qualities [goodness, passion and ignorance]. In this way a living entity becomes devoid of his real intelligence and becomes perpetually lost in the cycle of birth and death. Thus he goes up and down from a microbe in stool to a high position in the Brahmaloka planet.”
What the purport teaches
- One who disregards Vedic instructions and acts with false pride becomes more deeply bound by the three modes of material nature. Such actions bring neither perfection nor lasting happiness.
- Every living entity is an eternal part of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Forgetting Him and trying to become an independent enjoyer brings suffering in material existence.
- Kṛṣṇa has kindly given Vedic literature to guide us. By surrendering to Him and accepting ourselves as His servants, we can rise above the material modes.
Try this today
Read one instruction from Bhagavad-gītā today and identify one way to follow it as a servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Where am I following my own whims rather than accepting spiritual guidance?
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.