Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.31.12
Āśraya· The supreme shelterEvery Spiritual Process Requires Devotional Service
“Transcendental practices that do not ultimately help one realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead are useless, be they mystic yoga practices, the analytical study of matter, severe austerity, the acceptance of sannyāsa, or the study of Vedic literature. All these may be very important aspects of spiritual advancement, but unless one understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, all these processes are useless.”
What the purport teaches
- Mystic yoga, analytical study, austerity, renunciation, and Vedic study are useless unless they help one realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari.
- Discriminating between matter and spirit and practicing mystic yoga are beneficial insofar as they complement devotional service. Without a touch of devotion, these practices cannot give their desired results.
- The Absolute Truth is realized as impersonal Brahman, Paramātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All these realizations require a touch of devotional service, though practitioners may have different motives.
Try this today
Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa for a few minutes today with the intention of serving the Lord rather than seeking impersonal merging.
Ask yourself
Is my spiritual practice directed toward devotional service, or toward a different result?
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.