Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.11.16
Ūti· What drives us to actThe Mind Can Bind or Liberate
“The soul’s designation, the mind, is the cause of all tribulations in the material world. As long as this fact is unknown to the conditioned living entity, he has to accept the miserable condition of the material body and wander within this universe in different positions. Because the mind is affected by disease, lamentation, illusion, attachment, greed and enmity, it creates bondage and a false sense of intimacy within this material world.”
What the purport teaches
- The mind is the cause of both material bondage and liberation. The impure mind thinks, “I am this body,” while the pure mind knows that the self is not the material body.
- The mind is the root of material designations. While absorbed in material contamination, it remains affected by illusion, attachment, greed and enmity.
- Such mental absorption conditions the living entity and brings material suffering. It also creates bondage and a false sense of intimacy within the material world.
Try this today
When a bodily identification arises today, pause and recall the pure mind’s understanding: “I am not the material body.”
Ask yourself
When does bodily identification lead my mind toward attachment, greed or enmity?
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.