Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.29.23-25
Ūti· What drives us to actUse the Senses in the Lord’s Service
“The followers of Yavaneśvara [Yamarāja] are called the soldiers of death, and they are known as the various types of disturbances that pertain to the body and mind. Prajvāra represents the two types of fever: extreme heat and extreme cold — typhoid and pneumonia. The living entity lying down within the body is disturbed by many tribulations pertaining to providence, to other living entities and to his own body and mind. Despite all kinds of tribulations, the living entity, subjected to the necessities of the body, mind and senses and suffering from various types of disease, is carried away by many plans due to his lust to enjoy the world. Although transcendental to this material existence, the living entity, out of ignorance, accepts all these material miseries under the pretext of false egoism (“I” and “mine”). In this way he lives for a hundred years within this body.”
What the purport teaches
- The living entity is spiritual and separate from the material elements. Contact with the material body brings suffering from the body and mind, other living entities, and sources beyond our control.
- Although surrounded by suffering, the living entity makes many plans for sense enjoyment. Through ignorance and false ego, he accepts the bodily ideas of “I” and “mine.”
- Understanding material misery should encourage us to return home, back to Godhead. By withdrawing from sense gratification and using the senses in the Lord’s service, we advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become free from material tribulations.
Try this today
Spend a few minutes reading this purport attentively, using your attention in the service of the Lord.
Ask yourself
How could I use one of my senses in the Lord’s service rather than only for my own 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.