Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 5.11.4
Ūti· What drives us to actGo Beyond Both Piety and Sin
“As long as the mind of the living entity is contaminated by the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), his mind is exactly like an independent, uncontrolled elephant. It simply expands its jurisdiction of pious and impious activities by using the senses. The result is that the living entity remains in the material world to enjoy and suffer pleasures and pains due to material activity.”
What the purport teaches
- A mind contaminated by goodness, passion and ignorance is like an uncontrolled elephant. Through the senses, it expands both pious and impious activities.
- Material pious and impious activities both entangle the living entity in pleasure and pain. Devotional service means freedom from this material entanglement.
- Moving from ignorance to passion, or from passion to goodness, does not fully solve the problem. Life’s mission requires reaching the transcendental platform.
Try this today
Set aside a few minutes today for devotional service without seeking a material result.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking only better material conditions, or freedom through devotional service?
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.